News tagged with surface tension

Scientists solve decade-long mystery of nanopillar formations

Scientists at the California Institute of Technology have uncovered the physical mechanism by which arrays of nanoscale pillars can be grown on polymer films with very high precision, in potentially limitless ...

Nanotechnology / Nanophysics

created Oct 22, 2009 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (24) | comments 2

Researchers reveal the internal dance of water

(PhysOrg.com) -- Water is familiar to everyone - it shapes our bodies and our planet. But despite this abundance, the molecular structure of water has remained a mystery, with the substance exhibiting many ...

Physics / Condensed Matter

created Aug 12, 2009 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (21) | comments 2

A well-known effect in breakfast cereal helps physicists understand the universe

Have you ever noticed how the last bits of cereal in the bowl always seem to cling to one another, making it easy to spoon up the remaining stragglers? Physicists have -- and they've given it a name: the "Cheerios ...

Physics / General Physics

created Sep 09, 2010 | popularity 3.6 / 5 (28) | comments 16 | with audio podcast

Fire ants assemble as a 'super-organism' (w/ video)

The ants may go marching one by one, but they end up forming a superstructure of thousands -- and together they can form a raft that stretches the boundaries of the laws of physics, according to new research ...

Physics / General Physics

created Apr 25, 2011 | popularity 4.6 / 5 (16) | comments 20 | with audio podcast

Study investigates craters formed by raindrops (w/ Video)

(PhysOrg.com) -- Hiroaki Katsuragi and a team from Kyushu University in Fukuoka, Japan, have been investigating what happens when water drops of various sizes are allowed to fall from a height of 10 to 480 ...

Physics / General Physics

created Jun 01, 2010 | popularity 5 / 5 (12) | comments 0 | with audio podcast report

Venom tears: Snake bites can turn out to be groovy

Many people worry about the manner of their death. Death by car accident, death by cancer and death by gunshot are some of the more dreaded ways to go. No less awful is the prospect of death by snakebite. ...

Physics / General Physics

created May 13, 2011 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (11) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

World's first magnetic soap produced

Scientists from the University of Bristol have developed a soap, composed of iron rich salts dissolved in water, that responds to a magnetic field when placed in solution. The soap's magnetic properties were ...

Chemistry / Materials Science

created Jan 23, 2012 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (10) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Here's looking at dew: spiders snare water from the air

Fog-catching nets which provide precious water in rain-starved parts of the world may be poised for a high-tech upgrade thanks to the spider.

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

created Feb 03, 2010 | popularity 5 / 5 (9) | comments 2

Engineering researchers simplify process to make world's tiniest wires

(PhysOrg.com) -- Surface tension isn't a very powerful force, but it matters for small things — water bugs, paint, and, it turns out, nanowires.

Nanotechnology / Nanophysics

created Jul 21, 2010 | popularity 5 / 5 (8) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Real crime scene investigation of blood splatter patterns imperfect

In fictional television shows such as Dexter and CSI, patterns in blood splatters at the scene of crime can be counted on to lead investigators to the killer. In real life, they're a useful tool -- but an ...

Physics / General Physics

created Oct 28, 2010 | popularity 4.4 / 5 (9) | comments 0

The Marangoni effect: A fluid phenom (w/ Video)

(PhysOrg.com) -- What do a wine glass on Earth and an International Space Station experiment have in common? Well, observing the wine glass would be one of few ways to see and understand the experiment being ...

Physics / General Physics

created Mar 11, 2011 | popularity 4.6 / 5 (8) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Baby beetles inspire researchers to build 'mini boat' powered by surface tension (Video)

Inspired by the aquatic wriggling of beetle larvae, a University of Pittsburgh research team has designed a propulsion system that strips away paddles, sails, and motors and harnesses the energy within the water's surface. ...

Technology / Engineering

created Jan 21, 2009 | popularity 4.2 / 5 (6) | comments 0

A new twist on surface tension

(PhysOrg.com) -- On a mission to manipulate microscale structures of materials, researchers engineer new methods of controlling surface tension.

Physics / Soft Matter

created Jan 10, 2012 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (5) | comments 6 | with audio podcast

'Watermark ink' device identifies unknown liquids instantly

Materials scientists and applied physicists collaborating at Harvard's School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) have invented a new device that can instantly identify an unknown liquid.

Technology / Engineering

created Aug 04, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (4) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Ironing out the causes of wrinkles

As a sign of aging or in a suit, wrinkles are almost never welcome, but two papers in the current issue of Physical Review Letters offer some perspective on what determines their size and shape in soft materi ...

Physics / General Physics

created Jul 15, 2010 | popularity 3.6 / 5 (5) | comments 0 | with audio podcast