Energy
- Health & Medicine
Scientists Say: Acoustic
Acoustic is an adjective used to describe something involving sound. It’s also a noun that refers to the branch of physics that studies sound.
- Materials Science
Teen’s invention could help light up bikes at night
A teen researcher from Georgia has developed a light that could replace reflectors on bike wheels. Flexing tires provide all the power it needs.
- Physics
Why your shoelaces untie themselves
High-speed video shows how the combined motions of a shoe’s swinging and landing on the ground provoke shoelaces to come untied.
- Animals
Cool Jobs: A world aglow
Three scientists probe how the natural world makes light, in hopes of using this information to design new and better products.
- Computing
Germs power new paper batteries
New paper-based batteries rely on bacteria to generate electricity. These ‘papertronic’ power systems may be a safer choice for remote sites or dangerous environments.
- Physics
How to chill an object by sending its heat into space
Researchers have designed a device that can cool an object by radiating its energy into outer space. Think of it as a solar panel in reverse.
- Tech
Speedy, springy robot ‘Salto’ catches some serious air
A lightweight robot nicknamed “Salto” can bound from floor to wall and back. Such fast and agile bots may someday aid in search-and-rescue operations.
- Computing
Wind power gets downsized — but in a good way
Two young scientists have developed ways to tap into wind power on a small scale.
- Computing
Star Trek technology becomes more science than fiction
On Star Trek, the characters used devices that seemed wild, futuristic and impossible. But those sci-fi gadgets are inspiring real-world, useful inventions.
- Computing
Self-designed tattoos are fashionable technology
Researchers have created do-it-yourself temporary tattoos. They’re a fashion-forward way to control electronic devices.
- Physics
Famous physics cat now alive, dead and in two boxes at once
Splitting Erwin Schrödinger’s famous — and fictitious — cat between two boxes brings scientists one step closer to building quantum computers from microwaves.
- Chemistry
Nanowires could lead to super-long-lived battery
Scientists have long been looking for ways to make rechargeable batteries that last forever. They now may be close. Their solution: gel-dipped nanowires.
