The planets and moons of our solar system are continuously being bombarded by particles hurled away from the sun. On Earth this has hardly any effect, apart from the fascinating northern lights, because the dense atmosphere ...
Space Exploration
Jun 12, 2018
210
29
Any solid surface immersed within a plasma, including those in satellite engines and fusion reactors, is surrounded by a layer of electrical charge that determines the interaction between the surface and the plasma. Understanding ...
Plasma Physics
May 29, 2018
35
321
An international team of scientists has created a tiny chemistry lab for a rover that will drill beneath the Martian surface looking for signs of past or present life. The toaster oven-sized lab, called the Mars Organic Molecule ...
Space Exploration
May 24, 2018
0
21
Some materials can morph into multiple crystal structures with very different properties. For instance, squeezing a soft form of carbon produces diamond, a harder and more brilliant form of carbon. The Kurt Vonnegut novel ...
Condensed Matter
May 2, 2018
0
170
Scientists from the University of Sheffield have solved the structure of a photosynthetic protein to reveal how it converts near-infrared light into an electrical charge.
Biotechnology
Apr 4, 2018
0
229
Every human cell is encased in a five-nanometer-thick lipid membrane that protects it from the surrounding environment. Like a gatekeeper, the membrane determines which ions and molecules can pass through. In so doing, it ...
Biochemistry
Apr 3, 2018
0
415
What makes particles self-assemble into complex biological structures? Often, this phenomenon is due to the competition between forces of attraction and repulsion, produced by electric charges in various sections of the particles. ...
General Physics
Mar 28, 2018
0
13
Current textbooks often refer to the Lorentz-Maxwell force governed by the electric charge. But they rarely refer to the extension of that theory required to explain the magnetic force on a point particle. For elementary ...
General Physics
Jan 29, 2018
10
47
Extremely fine porous structures with tiny holes, resembling a kind of sponge at nano level, can be generated in semiconductors. This opens up new possibilities for the realization of tiny sensors or unusual optical and electronic ...
Materials Science
Jan 23, 2018
0
16
"Trion" may sound like the name of one of the theoretical particles blamed for mucking up operations aboard the Starship Enterprise.
General Physics
Jan 17, 2018
0
114
