Study shows why common explosive PETN sometimes fails

(Phys.org)—The explosive PETN has been around for a century and is used by everyone from miners to the military, but it took new research by Sandia National Laboratories to begin to discover key mechanisms behind what causes ...

Turning clothes into silent witnesses

Forensic experts at the University of Abertay Dundee and the Scottish Police Services Authority (SPSA) are leading the way in the research of new ground-breaking forensic techniques within the field of fingerprints.

Rare form of silver observed during routine calibration

What started out as an ordinary instrument calibration task using silver turned into research gold for scientists at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Contradicting nearly 40 years of measurement history, the team observed ...

How much magma is hiding beneath our feet?

Molten rock (or magma) has a strong influence on our planet and its inhabitants, causing destructive volcanic eruptions and generating some of the giant mineral deposits. Our understanding of these phenomena is, however, ...

NASA investigates use of 'trailblazing' material for new sensors

Tiny sensors—made of a potentially trailblazing material just one atom thick and heralded as the "next best thing" since the invention of silicon—are now being developed to detect trace elements in Earth's upper atmosphere ...

Plasma electrons can be used to produce metallic films

Computers, mobile phones and all other electronic devices contain thousands of transistors linked together by thin films of metal. Scientists at Linköping University, Sweden, have developed a method that can use the electrons ...

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