Physics
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We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
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ChemistryLong Live Plastics
With plastics in museums decomposing, a new effort seeks to halt the demise of materials commonly thought to be unalterable.
By Sid Perkins -
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LifeHeat sensors guide insects to a hot meal
Bugs home in on seeds by detecting infrared radiation.
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PhysicsClean coal for cars has a dirty side
Getting liquid fuels from coal would likely increase carbon emissions, and certainly not reduce them.
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TechCoal Country’s New Foresters
New techniques may be shaving a century or two off the recovery of mined mountain tops.
By Janet Raloff -
TechTrading Forests for Coal
Forested mountain peaks have been giving way to grassy planes in Appalachian coal country.
By Janet Raloff -
ClimateEggs, Tea and Mr. IPCC
Even jet-lagged, the world's lead climate negotiator took time out to brief a few reporters.
By Janet Raloff -
Materials ScienceMaterial Scientists: Cast Your Vote
You can vote early, if not officially.
By Janet Raloff -
PhysicsAn attractive source for spintronics
Discovery may lead to battery that generates magnetic currents
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PhysicsNobel Prize in physics shared for work that unifies forces of nature
Understanding of broken symmetry has been crucial to the standard model of particle physics.
By Ron Cowen -
PhysicsCharging up fuel injection
A new device uses an electric field to increase cars’ gas mileage.
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ChemistryOops! A Fluorescent Light Breaks
Toxic mercury will be released whenever a fluorescent lamp breaks.
By Janet Raloff