Physics
- Chemistry
BPA found beached and at sea
Food chemists have been showing for years that bisphenol A, an estrogen-mimicking building block of polycarbonate plastics and food-can coatings, can leach into food and drinks. But other materials contain BPA – and leach it – such as certain resins used in nautical paint. And Katsuhiko Saido suspects those paints explain the high concentrations of BPA that he’s just found in beach sand and coastal seawater around the world.
- Physics
You really can freeze hot water faster than cold*
Experiments suggest that impurities in the warmer water may explain the “Mpemba effect” in which warm water freezes faster than cold water.
- Physics
Superchilly chemistry
New theory and experiments help reveal how molecules interact in an ultracold system.
- Physics
How to hide a bump with some logs
Physicists take a step toward true invisibility with a cloak that makes objects invisible from multiple points of view.
- Physics
Next on CSI: Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy
The modification of a powerful chemical analysis technique could make it the gold standard in detecting trace substances.
- Physics
Body heat may draw particles into breathing range
Computer simulations suggest thermal plumes may trap microbes, pollen and dust near a person’s head.
- Materials Science
Physicists observe quantum properties in the world of objects
A demonstration marries the world of the very small with the everyday, opening new realms for quantum computing and other applications.
- Math
Big or small, financial bubbles burst alike
New data from the Frankfurt stock exchange show that fleeting financial bubbles behave according to the same mathematical rules as history-making ones.
- Physics
Supertwisty light proposed
Researchers suggest a never-before-imagined property of electromagnetic fields that could one day yield new types of sensors.
- Physics
For quantum computer, add a dash of disorder
Flawed crystals could help couple light to matter and may compete with more perfectly ordered materials.
- Chemistry
Polymer shifts shape with changing temperature
Common material’s ‘memory’ could be exploited for smart fabrics or other gadgets.
- Physics
Aluminum superatoms may split water
Metal clusters could create hydrogen for fuel, simulations suggest.
