Weblog & Reports: News From the Web
Irish mathematicians explain why Guinness bubbles sink (w/ video)
(Phys.org) -- Why do the bubbles in a glass of stout beer such as Guinness sink while the beer is settling, even though the bubbles are lighter than the surrounding liquid? Thats been a puzzling question ...
Researchers develop disposable paper-based touch pads
(Phys.org) -- Today, electronic touch pads are widely found on laptops, tablets, and other computing devices. Less common uses, but gaining in popularity, are book covers and food labels. These and other low-tech ...
Mechanical motion rectifier leads to better energy harvesting
(Phys.org) -- Mechanical energy is all around us, whether in the form of a vehicle's vibrations, ocean waves, or vibrating train tracks. However, much of this energy is irregular and oscillatory - for example, road bumps ...
Solar thermal process produces cement with no carbon dioxide emissions
(Phys.org) -- While the largest contributor to anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions is the power industry, the second largest is the more often overlooked cement industry, which accounts for 5-6% of all ...
Simulations unravel mysteries of 2009 Jupiter impact
(PhysOrg.com) -- During July of 1994, both amateur and professional astronomers were captivated as comet Shoemaker/Levy 9 broke apart and slammed into the atmosphere of Jupiter. While these types of impacts ...
Researchers revolutionize closed captioning
(PhysOrg.com) -- Ever since closed video captioning was developed in the 1970s, it hasn't changed much. The words spoken by the characters or narrators scroll along at the bottom of the screen, enabling hearing ...
LED's efficiency exceeds 100%
(PhysOrg.com) -- For the first time, researchers have demonstrated that an LED can emit more optical power than the electrical power it consumes. Although scientifically intriguing, the results wont ...
Removing 'black sheep' could make Internet run more efficiently
(PhysOrg.com) -- Whether dealing with Internet traffic or vehicle traffic, congestion can slow everything down. One team of researchers working on improving network transmission efficiency has developed a ...
Time crystals could behave almost like perpetual motion machines
(PhysOrg.com) -- As every young science student knows, moving objects have kinetic energy. But just how much energy does something need to move? In a new study, a pair of physicists has shown that its ...
New record for world's smallest atomic valentine
(PhysOrg.com) -- Shattering their own world record from two years ago, scientists from the University of Birmingham in the UK have created the unofficial worlds smallest atomic valentine. Their tiny heart ...
Repulsive gravity as an alternative to dark energy (Part 2: In the quantum vacuum)
(PhysOrg.com) -- During the past few years, CERN physicist Dragan Hajdukovic has been investigating what he thinks may be a widely overlooked part of the cosmos: the quantum vacuum. He suggests that the quantum vacuum has ...
Repulsive gravity as an alternative to dark energy (Part 1: In voids)
(PhysOrg.com) -- When scientists discovered in 1998 that the Universe is expanding at an accelerating rate, the possibility that dark energy could explain the observation was intriguing. But because there ...
Scientists rediscover self-healing silicone mechanism from the 1950s
(PhysOrg.com) -- Research in self-healing organic polymers has grown recently, but one simple self-healing mechanism from more than 60 years ago has been nearly forgotten until now. Using this mechanism, which ...
Proposed experiment offers new way to generate macroscopic entanglement
(PhysOrg.com) -- In the development of quantum information processing, one of the key requirements is achieving quantum entanglement. But recently, physicists have been investigating other forms of quantum correlations besides ...
Four reasons why the quantum vacuum may explain dark matter
(PhysOrg.com) -- Earlier this year, PhysOrg reported on a new idea that suggested that gravitational charges in the quantum vacuum could provide an alternative to dark matter. The idea rests on the hypothesis that particles ...