Physics
- Materials Science
Super Fibers: Nanotubes make tough threads
New fibers made from carbon nanotubes and a polymer appear tougher than any other known synthetic or natural material.
- Materials Science
Convenient hydrogen storage?
A new porous material of metal and organic molecular parts may prove useful for storing hydrogen fuel.
- Physics
A new twist on ropes
The centuries-old craft of splicing sturdy ropes for ships and ocean rigs gets mathematical scrutiny, turning up new information about wear and tear.
- Materials Science
Caught on Tape: Gecko-inspired adhesive is superstrong
Researchers have emulated a gecko's sticking power to create a superstrong adhesive.
- Physics
Taking a shine to number 100
Scientists for the first time literally shed light on the properties of radioactive fermium.
- Physics
Reflections on Art
By dissecting famous paintings in new ways, scientists are testing the veracity of artist David Hockney's controversial theory that some masters of Renaissance art secretly used optical projection devices.
- Physics
Light Switch: Crystal flaws tune the wavelengths
By tweaking the crystal structure of the semiconductor gallium arsenide, researchers may have found a way to make cheaper components for fiberoptic networks.
- Physics
New particles pose puzzle
The discovery of two new subatomic particles with unexpectedly low masses is making physicists reconsider how fundamental particles called quarks interact.
- Materials Science
Melt-Resistant Metals: Carbon coating keeps atoms in order
Shrink-wrapped in carbon, nanoscale metal chunks melt at extraordinarily high temperatures, suggesting carbon coatings as a route to higher heat resistance for materials and devices.
- Materials Science
Zeolites get an organic makeover
Scientists can now incorporate organic groups into the framework of zeolites, a kind of inorganic crystal.
- Materials Science
Nanofluid Flow: Detergents may benefit from new insight
Fluids containing nanoscale particles spread and readily lift oil droplets off a surface.
- Physics
Crystal Bash: Shocking changes to light’s properties
Prized, light-manipulating microstructures known as photonic crystals may transform light in new and technologically tantalizing ways when jolted by shock waves.
