Physics
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
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- Materials Science
Marine Superglue: Mussels get stickiness from iron in seawater
The secret behind the binding power of mussel glue lies in iron extracted from seawater.
- Physics
A Solid Like No Other: Frigid, solid helium streams like a liquid
Frozen helium prepared in a laboratory has apparently transformed into a superfluid solid, or supersolid—a never-before-seen phase of matter that theorists predicted more than 30 years ago.
- Materials Science
Nanowires grow on viral templates
Researchers are using viruses to assemble semiconducting nanowires—the building blocks of future electronic circuits.
- Physics
Light pulse hovers in atom capsule
A new way to freeze light pulses in midflight preserves the pulses' optical energy and may eventually lead to using stationary light in optical circuits and quantum computers.
- Physics
Sounds of Music
Interested in the relationship between musical instruments and the physics of sound? This Rice University Web site offers illustrated explanations of physics terms such as pitch, frequency, and standing waves. It also demonstrates tuning systems, intervals, octaves, and more. There’s a quiz at the end of each module. Go to: http://cnx.rice.edu/content/m11060/latest/
- Materials Science
News That’s Fit to Print—and Preserve
Analyses of newsprint materials suggest that, despite their frail appearance, newspapers can last more than 200 years in storage—a fact that calls into question the merits of microfilming.
- Physics
Topsy Turvy: In neutrons and protons, quarks take wrong turns
Revved-up particles, namely quarks, spinning inside neutrons in the opposite direction to that of the neutrons themselves, challenge the prevailing model of how quarks behave.
- Materials Science
Crystal Clear: Liquid crystal sensor plays nature’s game
By fixing the components of a cell membrane to a liquid crystal, researchers devised a sensitive and high-speed sensor for detecting chemical and biowarfare agents.
- Materials Science
Crystal Clear: Liquid crystal sensor plays nature’s game
By fixing the components of a cell membrane to a liquid crystal, researchers devised a sensitive and high-speed sensor for detecting chemical and biowarfare agents.
- Materials Science
New materials take the heat
Researchers have devised a way to prevent an innovative solar cell material from degrading under high temperatures and prolonged exposure to light.
- Materials Science
New materials take the heat
Researchers have devised a way to prevent an innovative solar cell material from degrading under high temperatures and prolonged exposure to light.
