Superman can squeeze a lump of coal and turn it into a sparkling diamond—in comic books, anyway. There is some scientific validity to this fictional feat. Coal and diamonds are both composed of carbon. The two materials ...
Materials Science
Jul 2, 2020
0
36
Predicted by Einstein's general theory of relativity, gravitational waves are ripples in space-time generated by certain movements of massive objects. They are important to study because they allow us to detect events in ...
Quantum Physics
Jul 1, 2020
4
228
Whether it's sending the grandparents a few pictures of the kids, streaming a movie or music, or surfing the Internet for hours, the volume of data our society generates is increasing all the time. But this comes at a price, ...
General Physics
Jul 1, 2020
0
10
In a recent experiment, researchers have developed gold nanoparticles in the laboratory in order to reduce the cell death of neurons exposed to overexcitement. The study is the result of an international collaboration coordinated ...
Bio & Medicine
Jun 25, 2020
0
4
Topological insulators (TIs) have an insulating interior and support conducting surface states with additional interfacing properties. The exotic metallic states on their surfaces can provide new routes to generate new phases ...
Trinidadian guppies behave like matadors, focusing a predator's point of attack before dodging away at the last moment, new research shows.
Plants & Animals
Jun 11, 2020
0
105
Combined theoretical and experimental work has resulted in a novel mechanism through which criticality emerges in quasiperiodic structures—a finding that provides unique insight into the physics on the middle ground between ...
Quantum Physics
Jun 2, 2020
2
142
If you even bother to think about friction at all, you might think about rubbing your hands together to warm them up.
Nanophysics
May 21, 2020
0
413
Researchers at the universities of Jyvaskyla (Finland) and Xiamen (China) have discovered a novel way to make functional macroscopic crystalline materials out of nanometer-size 34-atom silver-gold intermetallic clusters. ...
Polymers
May 7, 2020
0
57
High vibrational states of the Magnesium dimer (Mg2) are an important system in studies of fundamental physics, although they have eluded experimental characterization for half a century. Experimental physicists have so far ...
