Physics

  1. Materials Science

    Zeolites get an organic makeover

    Scientists can now incorporate organic groups into the framework of zeolites, a kind of inorganic crystal.

    By
  2. Materials Science

    Nanofluid Flow: Detergents may benefit from new insight

    Fluids containing nanoscale particles spread and readily lift oil droplets off a surface.

    By
  3. 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.

    By
  4. Physics

    Seeking the Mother of All Matter

    World's mightiest particle collider may transform less-than-nothing into a primordial something.

    By
  5. Materials Science

    Apollo attire needs care

    Advanced spacesuits protected astronauts far from Earth just 30 years ago, but the materials have already deteriorated.

    By
  6. Physics

    Soap Bubbles in Space

    While aboard the International Space Station, astronaut Don Pettit took some time off to experiment with soap bubbles and films. This NASA Web page presents the surprising and startling results of his soapy ventures in a zero-g environment. Go to: http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2003/25feb_nosoap.htm

    By
  7. Physics

    Not even bismuth-209 lasts forever

    Touted in textbooks as the heaviest stable, naturally occurring isotope, bismuth-209 actually does decay but with an astonishingly long half-life of 19 billion billion years.

    By
  8. Physics

    To pack a strand tight, make it a helix

    The optimal way to pack long strings into small spaces is to coil them into helices—particularly the types of helices found in proteins and perhaps DNA.

    By
  9. Materials Science

    Blunt Answer: Cracking the puzzle of elastic solids’ toughness

    Rubbery materials prove tougher than theory predicts because cracks trying to penetrate those stretchy materials grow blunt at their tips.

    By
  10. Materials Science

    Bone Fix: New material responds to growing tissue

    A new scaffolding material stimulates bone regeneration.

    By
  11. Physics

    Answer blows in wind, swirls in soap

    A swirling soap film gives new clues to how turbulent flows, such as the circulation of Earth's atmosphere, squander their energy.

    By
  12. Materials Science

    The New Cavity Fighters

    Novel products could lead to fewer dates with the drill.

    By