Matter and Its Interactions
- Animals
Where does Godzilla get his atomic breath?
Some secrets of the kaiju’s atomic breath can be explained with creative applications of physics and biology.
- Chemistry
Experiment: Kimchi chemistry
In this cooking and food science project, we make kimchi from scratch and investigate changes in pH and glucose as it ferments.
- Chemistry
Creation of quantum dots wins 2023 chemistry Nobel
The award honors three scientists who discovered and built quantum dots, which are now used in everything from TVs to medical tools.
- Chemistry
Scientists Say: Rare earth element
Rare earth elements aren’t all that rare — but skyrocketing demand for these metals makes them precious.
- Materials Science
Made from fungi, this vegan leather can self-heal holes or rips
If made under gentle conditions, leather formed from the “roots” of mushrooms can retain the ability to regrow and repair minor damage.
- 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.
- Health & Medicine
Stem cells can help build lab-grown organs that mimic real life
Making such organoids with 3-D printing and other tech can help researchers learn more about many troubling and potentially deadly disorders.
- 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.
- Tech
New thermal ‘cloak’ keeps spaces from getting too hot or too cold
A prototype fabric could help keep cars, buildings and other spaces cooler during heat waves while also reducing greenhouse-gas emissions.
- Chemistry
Scientists Say: Valence electrons
These far-out electrons do the hard work when it comes to chemical reactions.
- Materials Science
This house is partly made of recycled diapers
After being washed, dried, sanitized and shredded, used diapers were mixed with other materials to make a strong concrete.
