(PhysOrg.com) -- "With density functional theory, we are able to put different elements in a computer simulation and do calculations based on quantum mechanics to find out about their different properties," Maria Chan tells ...
Nov 23, 2010
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(PhysOrg.com) -- The many ways in which water differs from other molecules is both a scientific curiosity and an important factor in shaping the Earth. Among water's unique properties are that it expands when ...
Sep 02, 2010
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Although most materials change shape in the presence of a magnetic field, the change is usually very small. In a new study, scientists have found that a certain magnet containing manganese experiences a change ...
Jul 30, 2010
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Harvesting mechanical energy from the environment and converting it into electrical energy has recently become a viable method for powering low-energy electronics, such as sensors and actuators. ...
Jul 21, 2010
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(PhysOrg.com) -- We like to think that we’ve got hydrogen, one of the most basic of elements, figured out. However, hydrogen can still surprise, especially once scientists start probing its properties on ...
Feb 25, 2010
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(PhysOrg.com) -- We are used to thinking of water as a substance with relatively few secrets left. Its basic structure has been studied by high school students for decades, and water is considered essential ...
Jan 21, 2010
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Most of us, when we take our first science classes, learn that when things cool down, they shrink. (When they heat up, we learn, they usually expand.) However, water seems to be the exception ...
Jul 17, 2009
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Recent research by scientists in Italy and France shows that that single molecules have the ability to store information via their magnetic state. Their work is a first step toward a new generation ...
Mar 09, 2009
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Currently, diamond is regarded to be the hardest known material in the world. But by considering large compressive pressures under indenters, scientists have calculated that a material called ...
Feb 12, 2009
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists have developed a new smart material that can bend under the influence of an internal heat source. The material could be used as an aerodynamic flap in cars, in order to stabilize ...
Feb 06, 2009
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A research group in Germany has discovered a semiconducting material that can switch its semiconducting properties -- turning from one type of semiconductor to another -- via a simple change in temperature. ...
Jan 30, 2009
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists have found that a polymer material is an excellent catalyst in a process to produce hydrogen fuel using sunlight and water. The material meets the basic requirements for an ideal catalyst -- including ...
Dec 02, 2008
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(PhysOrg.com) -- “People want a faster computer chip,” Philip Kim tells PhysOrg.com. “And it needs to be smaller. But in order to increase the speed of the chip, or to get it smaller, we are approaching a point where ...
Sep 08, 2008
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As technology moves forward, many scientists are looking to nature to find inspiration for the development of advanced materials that can have a variety of practical applications.
Sep 04, 2008
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Scientists from the University of Cambridge in the UK have uncovered the atomic-level interactions that occur when a class of “phase-change” memory materials stores information. Their work, reported in ...
Apr 15, 2008
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