Physics
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Materials Science
Wired Viruses: New electrodes could make better batteries
With the aid of a bacteria-infecting virus, researchers have engineered cobalt oxide-and-gold nanowires that can be used as electrodes for lithium-ion batteries.
- Physics
Revealing Covert Actions
The recent merger of high-speed video technology and centuries-old techniques for seeing ordinarily invisible fluctuations of the air is enabling engineers to visualize and study the previously unseen, large-scale behavior of shock waves in explosions and aerodynamics research.
- Materials Science
Spin City
Researchers are using a technique called electrospinning to create fibrous mats that have potential applications in drug delivery, wound care, and tissue engineering.
- Physics
Tiny wires trigger electric reversal
Ultrathin zinc nanowires exhibit a puzzling conductivity reversal that flies in the face of known wire behavior.
- Physics
Tipsy Superfluids: Glimpsing off-kilter quantum clouds
A new type of superfluid atom cloud that's been thrown off-balance by having more atoms with their quantum spins pointing up than down, or vice versa, seems to defy theoretical expectations.
- Materials Science
Making the Most of It
A recent crop of studies demonstrates how nature finds strength in unlikely places.
- Materials Science
The art of the fold
With DNA origami, researchers can make complex nanostructures.
- Materials Science
Networking with Friends: Nanotech material reconnects severed neurons
A new material made of nanometer-sized protein particles appears to be able to bridge the gap between severed nerves.
- Materials Science
Busy Little Recyclers: Chemical process, microbial metabolism transform trash-bound plastics
A two-step approach that converts a common plastic into a biodegradable polymer may cut the number of packing peanuts and Styrofoam cups that end up in landfills.
- Physics
Easy Answers: Quantum computer gives results without running
Quantum physics enables a computer to arrive at correct answers without actually running, a new experiment shows.
- Physics
Smashing Success: Accelerator gets cool upgrade
A novel scheme for increasing the number of collisions in particle accelerators has boosted the performance of the world's highest-energy collider.
- Materials Science
Mother-of-Pearl on Ice: New ceramics might serve in bones and machines
Ceramics made by freezing water in an unusual way mimic not only the complicated microstructure of mother-of-pearl but also its extraordinary strength and toughness.
