Waves and Their Applications in Technologies for Information Transfer
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Materials ScienceHow 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.
By Sid Perkins -
PhysicsScientists Say: Frequency
The distance between one wave peak and another is wavelength. But how fast those peaks are moving along is frequency.
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SpaceHurricane at this galaxy’s center is wicked fast
The gale-force winds around one quasar whip by at almost 200 million kilometers per hour. That’s 625,000 times faster than the strongest hurricanes on Earth.
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Materials ScienceSunlight + 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.
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EarthCool Jobs: Mapping the unknown
Scientists find different ways of exploring places humans will never visit — and drawing maps to help us better understand such mysterious places.
By Ilima Loomis -
ComputingFeeling objects that aren’t there
A new technology uses high-frequency sound waves to create virtual objects you can feel. Its uses include better video games and safer driving.
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PhysicsScientists Say: Wavelength
When something travels as a wave — such as light — scientists can measure it by its wavelength, the distances between the peaks.
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PhysicsScientists Say: Watt
Say Watt? This is a unit used to measure the flow of energy being used.
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BrainWhen smartphones go to school
Students who use smartphones and other mobile technology in class may well be driven to distraction. And that can hurt grades, studies show.
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PhysicsGravity waves detected at last!
Albert Einstein predicted gravitational waves 100 years ago. Now scientists have detected them coming from the collision of two black holes.
By Andrew Grant -
PhysicsExplainer: What are gravitational waves?
Albert Einstein had predicted that large catastrophes, like colliding black holes, should produce tiny ripples in the fabric of space. In 2016, scientists reported finally detecting them
By Christopher Crockett and Andrew Grant -
PhysicsHow to catch a gravity wave
Physicists have just announced finding gravity waves. The phenomenon was predicted a century ago by Einstein’s theory of general relativity. Here’s what it took to detect the waves.