Physics
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Materials Science
Bonelike polymer supports stem cells
A polymer scaffold that mimics the environment in which natural bone grows provides stem cells with the right cues to lay down new bone.
- Materials Science
Buckyballs store 1s and 0s in new memory device
Scientists have created a material that stores bits of data in the soccer ball-shaped carbon molecules known as buckyballs.
- Materials Science
A light wrap?
Materials scientists have created fabrics that can both detect light and conduct electricity.
- Physics
An Electron Runs through It
Now that physicists can observe electrons beneath the surface of microchips, they have uncovered electron-flow patterns that are both surprising and visually startling, as well as new details of electron behavior that may lead to faster electronics and quantum computing.
- Materials Science
Color Collective: Polymer self-assembles into light-emitting film
Stacks of sheets of light-emitting organic molecules that assemble into nanoscale structures could be more efficient and luminescent than existing display materials based on organic substances.
- Physics
Swift Lift: Birds may get a rise out of swirling air
The wings of airborne birds may generate whirlpools of air to produce lift for flying, just as insects do.
- Materials Science
Transparent Transistor: See-through component for flexible displays
Transparent transistors deposited on flexible sheets of plastic could find their way into computer displays embedded in car windshields and other curved surfaces.
- Physics
Letters from the November 27, 2004, issue of Science News
Dark Secrets Astronomers and physicists seem to speak of black holes as though they took matter completely out of the universe (“Information, Please,” SN: 9/25/04, p. 202: Information, Please). An evaporating black hole would not fizz away into nothingness. It would lose energy and reappear in normal space as a very dense object (complete with […]
- Physics
Spinning Earth drags space
Slight deviations of two Earth-circling satellites from their expected orbits appear to confirm a curious prediction from Einstein's relativity theory.
- Physics
CERN at 50
This year, the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) celebrates its 50th anniversary with a variety of special events. CERN’s Web pages commemorating the anniversary include a timeline showing historical milestones in the development of the laboratory, archival photos, and other materials. Go to: http://www.cern.ch/CERN50/
- Materials Science
New lithium battery design charges up
Researchers have developed a new, safer type of electrode for lithium batteries.
- Materials Science
A hard new material with a soft touch
Adding exotic substances called quasicrystals to polymers creates nonabrasive hard materials, which could soon serve as coatings in machine parts.
