Materials Science
- Environment
‘Biodegradable’ plastic bags often don’t break down
Biodegradable plastic bags are supposed to break down more quickly than ordinary plastics. But that may not happen, a study finds.
- Materials Science
Trees may become the key to ‘greener’ foam products
Scientists have made an environmentally friendly alternative to plastic-based foams to help keep things cool.
- Physics
Dry sand can bubble like the blobs in a lava lamp
Put two types of sand grains together in a chamber and they can flow like fluids. All it takes is a jiggle and some gas.
- Materials Science
Analyze This: Do exotic woods make better guitars?
When comparing the sound of guitars made from rare and costly woods to those made with common, cheaper alternatives, guitarists couldn’t tell much of a difference.
- Chemistry
Shape-shifting chemical is key to new solar battery
Storing solar energy is a challenge. A new, shape-shifting molecule may provide a solution.
- Physics
How to turn a greenhouse into a powerhouse
See-through solar cells could turn greenhouses into solar power plants.
- Materials Science
A self-cleaning glass keeps itself spotless underwater
Microscopic pancake-like structures keep dirt and oil from sticking to the surface of this self-cleaning glass.
- Materials Science
Scientists Say: Zirconium
Zirconium is a metal that knows the meaning of tough. It’s so heat resistant that it’s used for molds to shape melted metals, and so radiation resistant that it coats nuclear reactors.
- Materials Science
This bandage uses electrical zaps to heal wounds faster
Scientists have invented a bandage that helps wounds heal faster by zapping them with electricity. The patient’s own motions power this device.
- Chemistry
This rewritable paper depends on disappearing ink
Scientists have made a new rewritable paper that can hold text and images for at least six months. It also can be reused more than 100 times.
- Materials Science
Some plastics learn to repair themselves
A new material can fix its own scratches and small cracks. One day, it also may make self-healing paints and plastics possible.
- Tech
Super-water-repellent surfaces can generate energy
Scientists knew they could get power by running salt water over an electrically charged surface. But making that surface super-water-repellent boosts that energy production, new data show.
