When sand-slithering snakes behave like light waves

Desert snakes slithering across the sand at night can encounter obstacles such as plants or twigs that alter the direction of their travel. While studying that motion to learn how limbless animals control their bodies in ...

Innovative technique to curtail illegal copying of digital media

In today's digital world it can be challenging to prevent photos, videos and books from being illegally copied and distributed. A new light-based technique is making it more practical to create secure, invisible watermarks ...

Silver sheds light on superconductor secrets

(Phys.org)—By doping a bismuth-based layered material with silver, Chinese scientists demonstrated that superconductivity is intrinsic to the new material rather than stemming from its impurities.

Nanomaterial from the Middle Ages

To gild sculptures in the late Middle Ages, artists often applied ultra-thin gold foil supported by a silver base layer. For the first time, scientists at the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI have managed to produce nanoscale ...

Diamonds and dust for better cement

(PhysOrg.com) -- It's no surprise that humans the world over use more water, by volume, than any other material. But in second place, at over 17 billion tons consumed each year, comes concrete made with Portland cement. Portland ...

Quicker, more precise way to find metallic glasses

Metallic glasses are being developed for a broad range of applications. The relatively new material is stronger than even the best metals, but with the pliability of plastic.

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