Physics

  1. Animals

    Scientists Say: Echolocation

    This word describes a method that some animals use to sense their environments by making sounds and listening for their echoes.

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  2. Tech

    Here’s one way to harvest water right out of the air

    Need water but you have no access to rain, lakes or groundwater? Materials known as metal-organic frameworks could be used to slurp that water from the air, new data show.

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  3. Health & Medicine

    Six foot social-distancing will not always be enough for COVID-19

    To avoid COVID-19, keeping a 6-foot social distance is a good rule of thumb. But for plenty of instances, that might not be nearly far enough.

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  4. Chemistry

    Batteries should not burst into flames

    Because lithium-ion batteries power modern life, they need to store a lot of energy. Now scientists are focusing on making them safer.

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  5. Math

    Lack of diversity in his field has troubled this mathematician

    As a kid, Edray Goins didn’t like math. But he fell in love with the subject in college and is now training the next generation of minority mathematicians.

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  6. Physics

    Scientists Say: Photon

    This word describes light as a particle. A photon is the tiniest possible bit of electromagnetic radiation.

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  7. Health & Medicine

    New ultrasound treatment kills off cancer cells

    Low-frequency ultrasound destroys cancer cells while leaving most healthy cells intact.

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  8. Materials Science

    Silk can be molded into strong medical implants

    Freeze-dried and powdered silk has a long shelf life. It also is cheap to ship and can be molded into sturdy medical implants.

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  9. Physics

    Try This: Walking on water with science

    Water striders walk on water. How do they do it? They spread out. This experiment will show you how it works.

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  10. Physics

    Soap bubbles’ ‘pop’ reveals the physics of the bursts

    A bubble’s pop is a quiet, high-pitched noise. This can reveal the forces that occur during the bubble’s demise.

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  11. Chemistry

    Converting trash to valuable graphene in a flash

    Flash heating of carbon-rich wastes creates graphene, which has many commercial uses.

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  12. Physics

    Explainer: Understanding waves and wavelengths

    A wave is a disturbance that moves energy from one place to another. Only energy — not matter — is transferred as a wave moves.

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