https://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. Carbon nanotubes are one technology that many observers believe hasn't quite lived up to the extreme hype that surrounded them when they first appeared on the scene in the late 1990s. At that time, much was made of their extraordinary electrical, thermal, and mechanical properties, with predictions that they would revolutionize materials science, electronics, and daily life. But could we be closer to realizing some of that promise? https://phys.org/news/2026-04-carbon-nanotubes-gap-copper.html Nanomaterials Fri, 24 Apr 2026 13:20:07 EDT news696252968 Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are characterized by high porosity and structural versatility. They have enormous potential, for example, for applications in electronics. However, their low electrical conductivity has so far greatly restricted their adoption. https://phys.org/news/2025-06-metal-frameworks-metallic-pave-paths.html Nanophysics Tue, 24 Jun 2025 15:49:04 EDT news669998942 A team from the Technical University of Berlin, HZB, IMTEK (University of Freiburg) and Siemens Energy has developed a highly efficient alkaline membrane electrolyzer that approaches the performance of established proton-exchange membrane(PEM) electrolyzers. What makes this achievement remarkable is the use of inexpensive nickel compounds for the anode catalyst, replacing costly and rare iridium. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-inexpensive-nickel-compounds-rare-iridium.html Analytical Chemistry Mon, 28 Oct 2024 12:02:03 EDT news649335721 By fusing together a pair of contorted molecular structures, Cornell researchers have created a porous crystal that can uptake lithium-ion electrolytes and transport them smoothly via one-dimensional nanochannels—a design that could lead to safer solid-state lithium-ion batteries. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-fused-molecules-blocks-safer-lithium.html Nanomaterials Thu, 03 Oct 2024 15:31:48 EDT news647188304 Researchers at the University of Twente have developed a theoretical method for designing fluidic networks that has direct applications for scientists and engineers. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-minimal-energy-loss-smart-fluidic.html General Physics Fri, 21 Jul 2023 09:54:03 EDT news609152041 It was a simple idea—maybe even too simple to work. https://phys.org/news/2022-12-basics-yields-printable-transparent-plastic.html Polymers Fri, 02 Dec 2022 09:17:33 EST news589195048 Researchers at Texas A&M University and ExxonMobil are developing a method to reprocess petroleum coke—a byproduct of refining crude oil—into a sustainable, high-value alternative. Using a chemical process called electrochemical exfoliation, they have converted petroleum coke into graphene, a nanomaterial with applications in electronics, medicine and energy storage. https://phys.org/news/2022-06-electric-petroleum-coke-sustainable-graphene.html Nanomaterials Thu, 16 Jun 2022 10:08:28 EDT news574592905 By watering bean plants (Phaseolus vulgaris) with a solution that contains conjugated oligomers, researchers at the Laboratory of Organic Electronics, Linköping University, have shown that the roots of the plant become electrically conducting and can store energy. https://phys.org/news/2021-11-energy-electronic-roots.html Materials Science Mon, 08 Nov 2021 09:10:48 EST news555585037 An international research team has found an eye system in trilobites of the suborder Phacopina from the Devonian (390 million years ago) that is unique in the animal kingdom: each of the about 200 lenses of a hyper-facet eye spans a group of six normal compound-eye-facets, forming a compound eye itself. In addition to the hyper-facetted eyes, the researchers, led by zoologist Dr. Brigitte Schoenemann at the University of Cologne's Institute for Didactics of Biology, identified a structure that they believe to be a local neural network which directly processed the information from this special eye, and an optic nerve that carried information from the eye to the brain. The article, "A 390 million-year-old hyper-compound eye in Devonian phacopid trilobites," has been published in Scientific Reports. https://phys.org/news/2021-09-primordial-hyper-eye.html Evolution Thu, 30 Sep 2021 10:41:39 EDT news552217296 Carbon nanotube fibers made at Rice University are now stronger than Kevlar and are inching up on the conductivity of copper. https://phys.org/news/2020-08-team-case-high-performance-carbon-nanotube.html Nanomaterials Mon, 17 Aug 2020 14:31:05 EDT news516893450 The fields of condensed matter physics and materials science are intimately linked because new physics is often discovered in materials with special arrangements of atoms. Crystals, which have repeating units of atoms in space, can have special patterns which result in exotic physical properties. Particularly exciting are materials which host multiple types of exotic properties because they give scientists the opportunity to study how those properties interact with and influence each other. The combinations can give rise to unexpected phenomena and fuel years of basic and technological research. https://phys.org/news/2020-07-dirac-frustrated-magnetism.html General Physics Fri, 31 Jul 2020 14:00:02 EDT news515415653 Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a heart condition that causes an irregular and abnormally fast heart rate, potentially leading to blood clots, stroke, heart failure and other heart-related complications. While the causes of AF are unknown, it affects around one million people in the UK with cases predicted to rise at a great cost to the NHS. https://phys.org/news/2020-03-quantum-technology-heart-condition.html Quantum Physics Tue, 31 Mar 2020 11:00:01 EDT news504858103 MIT researchers have improved on a transparent, conductive coating material, producing a tenfold gain in its electrical conductivity. When incorporated into a type of high-efficiency solar cell, the material increased the cell's efficiency and stability. https://phys.org/news/2019-11-coating-advanced-solar-cells-screens.html Materials Science Fri, 22 Nov 2019 14:00:02 EST news493620783 Using NASA's prolonged Kepler mission, known as K2, astronomers have identified three new Beta Cephei stars. The newly found trio is an important addition to the still short list of known stars of this type. The finding is detailed in a paper published August 7 on the arXiv pre-print server. https://phys.org/news/2019-08-beta-cephei-stars.html Astronomy Thu, 15 Aug 2019 09:00:01 EDT news485070963 Researchers at Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech) have developed an easy-to-use, tunable biosensor tailored for the terahertz range. Images of mouse organs obtained using the new device verify that the sensor is capable of distinguishing between different tissues. The achievement expands possibilities for terahertz applications in biological analysis and future diagnostics. https://phys.org/news/2019-03-scientists-tunable-bio-imaging-device-terahertz.html Optics & Photonics Tue, 05 Mar 2019 08:05:34 EST news470995508 Rice University scientists have built a better epoxy for electronic applications. https://phys.org/news/2018-11-scientists-combine-graphene-foam-epoxy.html Nanomaterials Wed, 14 Nov 2018 09:55:26 EST news461411712 Will we someday be able to fly without the guilt of causing environmental damage? A handful of firms and regulators hope that the electric revolution in cars will also take to the skies, helping the industry cope with an expected boom in travel and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. https://phys.org/news/2018-04-global-aviation-aims-green.html Energy & Green Tech Sun, 08 Apr 2018 05:33:38 EDT news442384406 A team of researchers with Purdue University has demonstrated the highest reported conductivity for an organic radical polymer to date, moving another step closer to their use in electronics. In their paper published in the journal Science, the group describes the technique they used and offer an opinion on why it produced the results they found. Jodie Lutkenhaus, with Texas A&M University writes a Perspectives piece on the work done by the team in the same journal issue, and discusses further possible research in the area. https://phys.org/news/2018-03-highest-radical-polymer.html Polymers Tue, 27 Mar 2018 09:20:01 EDT news441361137 Airbus, Siemens and Rolls-Royce are teaming up to develop a hybrid passenger plane that would use a single electric turbofan along with three conventional jet engines running on aviation fuel. https://phys.org/news/2017-11-airbus-rolls-royce-siemens-hybrid-plane.html Energy & Green Tech Tue, 28 Nov 2017 06:29:37 EST news431072973 A newly developed printable elastic conductor retains high conductivity even when stretched to as much as five times its original length, says a Japanese team of scientists. The new material, produced in paste-like ink form, can be printed in various patterns on textiles and rubber surfaces as stretchable wiring for wearable devices incorporating sensors, as well as give human skin-like functions to robot exteriors. https://phys.org/news/2017-05-limits-elastic-conductors.html Nanomaterials Mon, 15 May 2017 11:10:02 EDT news414062354 Dutch officials on Monday opened what is being billed as one of the world's largest offshore wind farms, with 150 turbines spinning in action far out in the North Sea. https://phys.org/news/2017-05-dutch-world-largest-offshore-farm.html Energy & Green Tech Mon, 08 May 2017 16:39:13 EDT news413480348 A group of Swedish university students that raised 1.2 million euros ($1.3 million) in crowdfunding for their startup to build electric cars has caught the attention of German industrial heavyweight Siemens. https://phys.org/news/2017-03-swedish-student-startup-electric-cars.html Hi Tech & Innovation Wed, 15 Mar 2017 03:41:12 EDT news408768066 Nokia announced Wednesday it is suing Apple in German and US courts for patent infringement, claiming the US tech giant was using Nokia technology in "many" products without paying for it. https://phys.org/news/2016-12-nokia-sues-apple-patent-infringement.html Business Wed, 21 Dec 2016 17:13:12 EST news401562785 Berlin's mega consumer electronics fair IFA opens its doors to the public Friday, offering a dizzying array of high-tech goods from home robots to surround sound systems to drones. https://phys.org/news/2016-09-oval-tvs-smart-kitchen-hoods.html Consumer & Gadgets Fri, 02 Sep 2016 06:12:12 EDT news392015520 New 3D printing technology unveiled this week sharply increases the size of objects that can be produced, offering new possibilities to remake manufacturing in the auto, aerospace and other major industries. https://phys.org/news/2016-08-auto-aerospace-industries-3d.html Engineering Thu, 25 Aug 2016 02:44:09 EDT news391311839 A new design for gigantic blades longer than two football fields could help bring offshore 50-megawatt (MW) wind turbines to the United States and the world. https://phys.org/news/2016-01-enormous-blades-offshore-energy.html Energy & Green Tech Thu, 28 Jan 2016 09:22:27 EST news373195336 A one-of-a-kind instrument built at CSU lets scientists map cellular composition in three dimensions at the nanoscale, allowing researchers to watch how cells respond to new medications at the most minute level ever observed. https://phys.org/news/2016-01-breakthrough-imaging-tool-cells-composition.html Optics & Photonics Wed, 20 Jan 2016 09:56:52 EST news372506200 High school senior Dominick Rowan of Armonk, New York, is making discoveries about other worlds. Working with University of Texas at Austin astronomer Stefano Meschiari, Rowan has helped to find a Jupiter-like planet and has calculated that this type of planet is relatively rare, occurring in three percent of stars overall. Their research is has been accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal. https://phys.org/news/2015-12-high-school-student-planet-frequency.html Astronomy Thu, 10 Dec 2015 06:26:05 EST news368951158 Imagine the alarm clock ringing on a typical Monday morning, except this time the curtains draw themselves back, the bathroom lights switch on automatically and you smell fresh coffee brewing. https://phys.org/news/2015-09-house-samsung-believes.html Hi Tech & Innovation Thu, 03 Sep 2015 17:58:59 EDT news360521932 While the proliferation of massive open online courses (MOOCs) has expanded learning opportunities for individuals around the world, the digital classroom is also subject to many of the same issues as the traditional one, such as cheating. https://phys.org/news/2015-08-method-moocs.html Computer Sciences Tue, 25 Aug 2015 06:50:02 EDT news359702319