Matter and Its Interactions
- Chemistry
The newest elements finally have names
Nihonium? Tennessine? These aren’t body parts or medicines. They’re among the names just given to the four newest superheavy elements.
- Archaeology
Neandertals: Ancient Stone Age builders had tech skills
Neandertals built stalagmite circles in a French cave 176,500 years ago. These structures show that these ancient human cousins had social and technical skills.
- Chemistry
Scientists Say: Acidification
When a solution becomes more acidic, it’s acidifying. And that’s not always a good thing.
- Physics
Scientists Say: Absolute zero
Even when we think it’s cold out, most molecules are moving. Only at absolute zero will all of their motions stop.
- 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.
- Brain
A ‘cocktail’ in the brain can trigger sleep
A new study finds that a ‘cocktail’ of chemicals in the brain can directly cause mice to fall asleep or waken.
- Physics
Possibility of strange new particle surprises physicists
Last winter, physicists at the Large Hadron Collider detected hints of a particle beyond their wildest dreams. Soon they may learn if it’s real.
- Chemistry
Dwarf galaxy spawned heavy elements
A study of nine stars in the dwarf galaxy Reticulum II found heavy elements. They had been produced after a violent stellar event sparked a chemical chain reaction.
- Materials Science
How to make window ‘glass’ from wood
Scientists have come up with a way to make wood transparent. The new material could be used in everything from windows to packaging.
- Materials Science
Sunlight + gold = steaming water (no boiling needed)
Nano-gold is the new black, at least when it comes to absorbing heat. When tiny gold particles get together, they become energy super-absorbers — turning them black.
- Earth
Carbon dioxide could explain how geysers spout
A new study overturns 150 years of thinking about Yellowstone’s geysers. Carbon dioxide, not just hot water, may be driving those spectacular eruptions.
- Chemistry
Smash hit: Making ‘diamond’ that’s harder than diamonds
Scientists had suspected extreme meteorite impacts might turn graphite into an unusual type of diamond. Now they’ve seen it happen — in under a nanosecond.
