Physics
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Physics
Tense encounters drive a nanomotor
Exploiting the relative strength of surface tension forces in the world of tiny objects, a novel type of nanomotor creates a powerful thrust each time molten metal droplets merge.
- Physics
Pinstripe Electricity: Novel fuel cell relies on thin, aqueous streams
A promising new type of fuel cell exploits microstreams of water, which behave like flows of gooey honey.
- Materials Science
Clever Coating: New polymer may prolong life of medical implants
Coating medical implants such as glucose sensors and coronary stents with copper-doped polymers could dramatically extend the devices' functioning.
- Physics
Light’s Hidden Holdup: Reflected laser beams loiter a little
Using an ultrashort pulse laser, physicists have measured a minuscule time delay that affects light reflecting off many surfaces.
- Materials Science
Nanostructures mimic Inuit stone sculptures
Chemists have created nanoscale versions Inuit rock sculptures, an advance that could facilitate the development of next-generation sensors and electronic devices.
- Materials Science
Slick Surfaces: Pressure builds to make better motor oils
Motor oil's protection against the wear and tear of steel engine parts takes effect only at high pressures.
- Physics
Primordial Nukes
The rocky remains of nuclear reactors that formed spontaneously in African uranium deposits 2 billion years ago are yielding striking new details about their operation as well as signs that a fundamental aspect of the universe may have once been stronger than it is today.
- Materials Science
Venetian Grinds
Venetian Renaissance artists, renowned for their vibrant colors, mixed powdered glass with their paints in an attempt to expand their palettes and create unique optical effects.
- Physics
Brutal Bubbles: Collapsing orbs rip apart atoms
Spikes of heat and pressure in sonoluminescence caused by the implosions of light-emitting bubbles in liquids can strip atoms of electrons.
- Physics
Particle Physics Phun
An array of games, such as Particle Pinball and Race for Energy, challenge visitors at a Web site hosted by the high-energy physics center known as the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. Aimed at kids, the “Fermilabyrinth” pages introduce players to a zoo of elementary particles while it exercises pattern-recognition skills that scientists use to spot […]
- Physics
Electronic Soup: Molecules in acid broth act as circuit parts
An electronically promising molecule functions well in acid as a tiny amplifier, underscoring the importance of controlling molecules' electrochemical environments to achieve predictable performance.
- Physics
A quantum fluid pipes up
After 40 years of trying, physicists have heard a quantum-mechanical whistle emanating from two reservoirs of oscillating liquid helium separated by a perforated membrane.
