Energy

Physics

Physics explains why poured water burbles the way it does

The loudness of falling water depends on the height of the pour and the thickness of the stream.

Artificial Intelligence

To ‘green’ AI, scientists are making it less resource-hungry

Energy demands of ChatGPT and similar AI tools can threaten Earth’s climate. So researchers have begun redesigning how to run data centers and build AI.

Physics

Experiment: Where does a bouncing basketball’s energy go?

Let’s explore whether energy loss to heat could explain why a basketball doesn’t bounce back to its original height.

Physics

Heat makes water evaporate. Now it appears light can, too

 In the lab, shining light on water made it evaporate faster. This never-before-seen effect, if real, might be happening naturally all around us.

Physics

Experiment: How well do different materials create static electricity?

Why are some materials more susceptible to static cling than others? Investigate by making your own electroscope.

Tech

Nanobots can now enter brain cells to spy on what they’re doing

Fleets of advanced versions may one day be able to detect disease and then go about surgically treating it — without ever opening the skull.

Tech

Gravity ‘batteries’ might help a weighty renewable-energy problem

To store the energy generated by wind and solar power, researchers are looking at mammoth systems that raise and lower weights.

Tech

New device can harvest clean energy from humid air anywhere

Unlike solar power, this new source of electricity is available day or night.

Tech

High-tech solar ‘leaves’ create green fuels from the sun

Chemists make a liquid alternative to fossil fuels from carbon dioxide, water and the sun. Their trick? They use a new type of artificial leaf.

Physics

Shouting into the wind may seem futile — but it’s really not

Sending a sound upwind, against the flow of air, actually makes the sound louder — only it doesn’t sound that way to the person making the noise.

Materials Science

Analyze This: A new fabric mimics polar bears’ pelts for warmth

With layers that work like polar bears’ skin and fur, a material absorbs light and keeps it from escaping.

Tech

Magnetic fields melt and re-form new shape-shifting devices

Miniature machines made of gallium and magnetic particles can switch from solid to liquid and back.