Physics
- Physics
Diamonds engage at the nano scale
Manipulating the quantum properties of diamond impurities makes diamond into a kind of microscope that could, for example, reveal the inner working of cells.
- Chemistry
Obama’s brain trust
Featured blog: Sixty-one Nobel laureates sign a letter explaining why they support Barack Obama's run for the presidency.
By Janet Raloff - Physics
Photons caught in the act
Physicists manipulated a microwave pulse and could essentially watch it transition from a quantum state into the realm of classical physics.
- Space
Large Hadron Collider shuts down early for the winter
CERN announces that needed repairs, plus high fuel costs, will delay the first planned collisions until next spring.
By Ron Cowen - Climate
(Political) party animals
Featured blog: When it comes to attitudes about climate change, the chasm between Democrats and Republicans is wide. Political-polling analysts speculate that a McCain win in November might do more than an Obama victory to win over the minds of climate-change skeptics.
By Janet Raloff - Physics
Apollo or Manhattan Project: Which Paradigm Fits Energy Better?
A new petition developed to lobby the presidential candidates argues that increased federal investments in basic energy research are essential.
By Janet Raloff - Physics
A ‘novel’ chemistry to make fuel from sugar
It’s not alchemy, but it might sound like it: a new way to transform sugars from plants into gasoline, diesel or even jet fuel by passing the sugars over exotic materials.
- Climate
Energy: Apollo-like Program Needed
Big action and big bucks are needed to deal with the United States' energy problems, research leaders argued today.
By Janet Raloff - Astronomy
McCain Is Bullish on R&D
Featured blog: John McCain weighs in on science and technology issues with long-awaited written responses to the Science Debate 2008.
By Janet Raloff - Materials Science
A killer paint job
New findings suggest that nanotechnology paints for walls, ceilings and surfaces could one day be used to kill antibiotic-resistant bacteria in hospitals.
- Physics
The proton’s strange new cousin
Physicists have discovered a new particle made of three quarks, including two strange quarks. Its existence further validates the standard model of particle physics.
- Physics
Electrons as math whizzes
A new paper suggests the possibility that the behavior of electrons in quantum systems could verify Riemann’s famous conjecture about prime numbers.