The temperature-controlled alignment of tiny crystals could help harness...
The unique magnetic properties of cobalt phosphide nanowires stand them in good stead as future components of high-performance devices. Unlike bulk materials, these ultrasmall elongated crystals...
View ArticleOceanic crust breakthrough: Solving a magma mystery
Oceanic crust covers two-thirds of the Earth's solid surface, but scientists still don't entirely understand the process by which it is made. Analysis of more than 600 samples of oceanic crust by a...
View ArticleAstrobiology research: Life possible on extrasolar moons
(Phys.org)—In their search for habitable worlds, astronomers have started to consider exomoons, or those likely orbiting planets outside the solar system. In a new study, a pair of researchers has...
View ArticleNanotech research yields bouncing liquid metal marbles (w/ video)
Coating liquid metal droplets in a nanoparticle mix creates an extra strong non-stick conductive material that retains its shape even under high impact, Australian research has found.
View ArticlePhysics duo offer explanation of why tiny bubbles last longer on a surface
(Phys.org)—Physicists in The Netherlands, Detlef Lohse and Joost Weijs of the University of Twente, have offered an explanation of why nano-sized bubbles last considerably longer when sitting on a...
View ArticleWatching fluid flow at nanometer scales: Researchers find that tiny nanowires...
Imagine if you could drink a glass of water just by inserting a solid wire into it and sucking on it as though it were a soda straw. It turns out that if you were tiny enough, that method would work...
View ArticleGeckos keep firm grip in wet natural habitat
(Phys.org) —Geckos' ability to stick to trees and leaves during rainforest downpours has fascinated scientists for decades, leading a group of University of Akron researchers to solve the mystery.
View ArticleThe quantum secret to alcohol reactions in space
Chemists have discovered that an 'impossible' reaction at cold temperatures actually occurs with vigour, which could change our understanding of how alcohols are formed and destroyed in space.
View ArticleNew steps in the quest to break the code of life
The deciphering of the human genome in 2000 was a major milestone in the history of science and a vital step towards the more complete understanding of human life.
View ArticleWhen liquids behave like solids
(Phys.org) —When a rubber ball and a droplet of water are compressed onto a solid surface, they behave very differently. For the ball, the compression process is reversible, so the ball retains its...
View ArticleStain-free, self-cleaning clothing on the horizon
(Phys.org) —Since 2011, the Harvard research team that created Slippery Liquid-Infused Porous Surfaces has demonstrated a spate of sleek applications for the super-slick coating known as SLIPS, which...
View ArticleSpiderman robot spins draglines to cross open space (w/ video)
(Phys.org) —Inspired by spiders' abilities to produce draglines and use them to move across open space, researchers have designed and built a robot that can do the same. Similar to Spiderman shooting a...
View ArticleProperties of water at nanoscale will help to design innovative technologies
Mechanical engineers from both Department of Energy at Politecnico di Torino and Translational Imaging Department at Houston Methodist Research Institute have modeled and provided a novel insight of...
View ArticleMicroswimmers hit the wall (w/ video)
(Phys.org)—New research reveals what happens when swimming cells such as spermatozoa and algae hit a solid wall, and has implications for applications in diagnostics and biofuel production.
View ArticleMetal surface can repel electric charges
(Phys.org)—Metals are known for being good electrical conductors. Due to this property, a stationary electric point charge placed outside a metal will cause the electrons in the metal to redistribute...
View ArticleSweet success: Study finds way to catalyze more sugars from biomass
(Phys.org) —Catalysis may initiate almost all modern industrial manufacturing processes, but catalytic activity on solid surfaces is poorly understood. This is especially true for the cellulase enzymes...
View ArticleChemistry researchers closing in on new atomic force microscope
(Phys.org) —A high-power atomic force microscope that could revolutionize the study of materials at high temperatures and pressures is coming into focus in a Wright State University lab.
View ArticleThe zero gravity coffee cup
High above our planet in the realm of satellites and space stations, the familiar rules of Earth do not apply. The midday sky is as black as night. There is no up and no down. Dropped objects do not...
View ArticleEngineers gain insight into turbulence formation and evolution in fluids
in the patterns that natural gas makes as it swirls through a transcontinental pipeline or in the drag that occurs as a plane soars through the sky. Reducing such turbulence on say, an airplane wing,...
View ArticleRethinking surface tension
(Phys.org) —If you've ever watched a drop of water form into a bead or a water strider scoot across a pond, you are familiar with a property of liquids called surface tension.
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