Physics
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Physics
Warm Ice: Frozen water forms at room temperature
Ultrathin films of ice observed at room temperature and ordinary atmospheric pressure should be more widespread than previously thought, according to new experiments indicating that weaker-than-expected electric fields induce such freezing.
- Materials Science
Fine Fabric: New, fast way to make sheets of nanotubes
Scientists have come up with a way to efficiently produce thin, transparent sheets of carbon nanotubes that are several meters long.
- Materials Science
Nanotube carpet mimics gecko feet
Carbon nanotubes can outdo the extraordinary sticking power of a gecko's foot hairs.
- Physics
Materials scientists go flat out
By separating flakes of single-layer crystals from several ordinary materials, physicists have discovered what may be both the world's thinnest materials and a technologically promising new class of substances.
- Physics
Glints from Inner Space: Sensing Earth’s hidden radioactivity
Physicists have observed signatures of radioactivity deep within Earth, enabling measurement of planet-wide thorium and uranium quantities.
- Physics
Why isn’t the sky violet, Daddy?
A new analysis of why the sky looks blue reveals that the reason may be the combined effects of the atmosphere and of our eyes' color-sensing apparatus.
- Physics
In search of the imperfect nanocrystal
Semiconductor nanocrystals can incorporate property-enhancing impurities into their growing structures as long as the crystals have facets onto which such atoms can strongly adhere.
- Physics
Getting Warped
While museum displays such as simulations of warped space-time acquaint visitors with the ideas behind Albert Einstein's scientific discoveries, other galleries of artifacts, letters, and even film footage reveal the multifaceted man that Einstein was.
- Physics
Realistic Time Machine? New design could forgo exotic ingredient
A novel time machine concept may avoid a problem of earlier, less-practical proposals by requiring only normal matter and the vacuum known to exist in space.
- Materials Science
Bright Future
Energy-efficient, semiconductor-based chips called light-emitting diodes will begin to illuminate homes and offices within the next decade, displacing power-hungry incandescent and fluorescent lighting.
- Physics
Dr. Feynman’s Doodles
A new U.S. postage stamp honoring physicist and folk hero Richard P. Feynman sports curious squiggles, invented by Feynman, that were rejected at first but soon became a major tool of physicists everywhere for picturing the behaviors and calculating the properties of matter and energy.
- Materials Science
Lube Tune-Up: Motor oil from recycled plastic could improve automotive-fuel efficiency
Chemists have developed a technique for making high-performance lubricating oils from recycled plastic.
