Ancient diatoms lead to new technology for solar energy

Engineers at Oregon State University have discovered a way to use an ancient life form to create one of the newest technologies for solar energy, in systems that may be surprisingly simple to build compared to existing silicon-based ...

Soft support can make unexpectedly stable glass

Glasses are ubiquitous materials found in building materials, beverage containers, soft electronics, and mobile phone screens. The creation of naturally dense and rigid glass occurs through a process known as aging. It involves ...

Researchers find new water reservoir on moon

Lunar surface water has attracted much attention due to its potential for in-situ resource utilization by future lunar exploration missions and other space missions

Exploring the surface melting of colloidal glass

In 1842, the famous British researcher Michael Faraday made an amazing observation by chance: A thin layer of water forms on the surface of ice, even though it is well below zero degrees. The temperature is below the melting ...

Melting glasses from unmeltable compounds

Glasses are an indispensable part of everyday life. One of the most important reasons for this is that glass objects can be manufactured almost universally and inexpensively in a wide variety of shapes and sizes using their ...

3-D-printed glass enhances optical design flexibility

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) researchers have used multi-material 3-D printing to create tailored gradient refractive index glass optics that could make for better military specialized eyewear and virtual ...

'Whiskey webs' are the new 'coffee ring effect'

Spilled coffee forms a ring as the liquid evaporates, depositing solids along the edge of the puddle. This "coffee ring effect" has fascinated scientists for decades, but now a team says they have uncovered the mechanism ...

Molecular vibrations lead to high performance laser

Lasers. They are used for everything from entertaining our cats to encrypting our communications. Unfortunately, lasers can be energy intensive and many are made using toxic materials like arsenic and gallium. To make lasers ...

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