Nature loves crystals. Salt, snowflakes and quartz are three examples of crystals - materials characterized by the lattice-like arrangement of their atoms and molecules.
Energy & Green Tech
Jun 25, 2015
4
1100
Friction is all around us, working against the motion of tires on pavement, the scrawl of a pen across paper, and even the flow of proteins through the bloodstream. Whenever two surfaces come in contact, there is friction, ...
Nanophysics
Jun 4, 2015
1
1673
Fermions are the building blocks of matter, interacting in a multitude of permutations to give rise to the elements of the periodic table. Without fermions, the physical world would not exist.
General Physics
May 13, 2015
1
2428
(Phys.org)—Living systems have ready-made catalysts, known as enzymes, for many types of reactions. What if these enzymes could be snapped together like Lego pieces to make a lattice structure? An ideal procedure for accomplishing ...
Using ultracold atoms as a stand-in for electrons, a Rice University-based team of physicists has simulated superconducting materials and made headway on a problem that's vexed physicists for nearly three decades.
Superconductivity
Feb 23, 2015
2
1542
Quantum computers will someday perform calculations impossible for conventional digital computers. But for that to happen, the core quantum information must be preserved against contamination from the environment. In other ...
Quantum Physics
Dec 22, 2014
0
1
Origami is capable of turning a simple sheet of paper into a pretty paper crane, but the principles behind the paper-folding art can also be applied to making a microfluidic device for a blood test, or for storing a satellite's ...
General Physics
Dec 11, 2014
1
0
For more than 50 years, scientists have debated what turns particular oxide insulators, in which electrons barely move, into metals, in which electrons flow freely. Some scientists sided with Nobel Prize-winning physicist ...
Condensed Matter
Nov 10, 2014
6
0
Every electrical device, from a simple lightbulb to the latest microchips, is enabled by the movement of electrical charge, or current. The nascent field of 'spintronics' taps into a different electronic attribute, an intrinsic ...
General Physics
Oct 21, 2014
0
3
(Phys.org) —Graphene, a material that consists of a lattice of carbon atoms, one atom thick, is widely touted as being the most electrically conductive material ever studied. However, not all graphene is the same. With ...
Nanophysics
Jul 17, 2014
0
1
