A clearer look at how iron reacts in the environment
(Phys.org)—Using ultrafast X-rays, scientists for the first time have watched how quickly electrons hop their way through rust nanoparticles.
(Phys.org)—Using ultrafast X-rays, scientists for the first time have watched how quickly electrons hop their way through rust nanoparticles.
Condensed Matter
Dec 24, 2012
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0
Light-gathering macromolecules in plant cells transfer energy by taking advantage of molecular vibrations whose physical descriptions have no equivalents in classical physics, according to the first unambiguous theoretical ...
Quantum Physics
Jan 9, 2014
7
8
If you use a vacuum-insulated thermos to help keep your coffee hot, you may know it's a good insulator because heat energy has a hard time moving through empty space. Vibrations of atoms or molecules, which carry thermal ...
Quantum Physics
Dec 11, 2019
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5053
It has often been said that solar cells are like artificial versions of the photosynthetic apparatuses found in plants, such as leaves, since both harvest sunlight. But nature's leaves can do something that most solar cells ...
Inside a lab, scientists marvel at a strange state that forms when they cool down atoms to nearly absolute zero. Outside their window, trees gather sunlight and turn them into new leaves. The two seem unrelated—but a new ...
General Physics
May 3, 2023
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2564
When photosynthetic cells absorb light from the sun, packets of energy called photons leap between a series of light-harvesting proteins until they reach the photosynthetic reaction center. There, cells convert the energy ...
Biochemistry
Jul 3, 2023
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4533
(PhysOrg.com) -- One-terabyte (TB) solid state drives (SSDs) are expected to be released in a couple of years, and they will be about the size of the average postage stamp.
Here's a new chapter in the story of the miniaturisation of machines: researchers in a laboratory in Singapore have shown that a single atom can function as either an engine or a fridge. Such a device could be engineered ...
Quantum Physics
May 4, 2020
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Generally, scientists prefer to avoid the concept of perpetual motion. The idea of a machine that could produce movement that goes on forever, and using that movement to generate an endless stream of energy, ...
(PhysOrg.com) -- In an attempt to mimic the photosynthetic systems found in plants and some bacteria, scientists have taken a step toward developing an artificial light-harvesting system (LHS) that meets one of the crucial ...
In physics, the term [energy] describes the amount of work which may potentially be done by forces within a system. Changes in energy in systems can only be accomplished by adding or subtracting energy from them, as energy is a quantity which is conserved. (Loosely, changes in the energy of systems also coincide with changes in the system's mass).
Energy in a system may be transformed so that it resides in a different state. Energy in many states may be used to do many varieties of physical work. Energy may be used in natural processes or machines, or else to provide some service to society (such as heat, light, or motion). For example, an internal combustion engine converts the potential chemical energy in gasoline and oxygen into heat, which is then transformed into the propulsive energy (kinetic energy that moves a vehicle. A solar cell converts solar radiation into electrical energy that can then be used to light a bulb or power a computer.
The generic name for a device which converts energy from one form to another is transducer.
This text uses material from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA