At the nanoscale, graphite can turn friction upside down

(Phys.org)—If you ease up on a pencil, does it slide more easily? Sure. But maybe not if the tip is sharpened down to nanoscale dimensions. A team of researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) ...

Engineers develop 'electronic nose' prototype

(Phys.org) -- Research by Nosang Myung, a professor at the University of California, Riverside, Bourns College of Engineering, has enabled a Riverside company to develop an "electronic nose" prototype that can detect small ...

Smart gas sensors for better chemical detection

Portable gas sensors can allow you to search for explosives, diagnose medical conditions through a patient's breath, and decide whether it's safe to stay in a mine.

NRL designs robot for shipboard firefighting

(PhysOrg.com) -- In both war and peacetime scenarios, fire in the shipboard environment is serious and frequently results in excessive damage and high repair costs because the fire is not detected or controlled adequately. ...

Twist-and-glow molecules aid rapid gas detection

In an emergency such as a factory fire, ascertaining which gases are present in the air is critical to preventing or minimizing poisoning (Fig. 1). This requires gas sensors that react quickly and provide a visual signal. ...

GPS stations can detect clandestine nuclear tests

At the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) meeting this week, American researchers are unveiling a new tool for detecting illegal nuclear explosions: the Earth's global positioning system (GPS).

The secret behind NIST's new gas detector? Chirp before sniffing

Trace gas detection, the ability to detect a scant quantity of a particular molecule -- a whiff of formaldehyde or a hint of acetone -- in a vast sea of others, underlies many important applications, from medical tests to ...

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