Physics
- Tech
Lasers help put the cork on spilled oil
Treating cork with lasers made the material able to quickly sponge up oil while repelling water, scientists in China and Israel found.
- Materials Science
Scientists Say: Goldene
Making this metallic, two-dimensional (2-D) material is difficult — but super-thin sheets of gold could have uses in electronics and chemistry.
- Science & Society
Scientists Say: Thought experiment
Thinking through imaginary, sometimes absurd, scenarios can catalyze new ways of thinking.
- Tech
Laser-based tech can identify illegal elephant ivory
Most elephant ivory is illegal to sell. Ivory from extinct mammoths isn’t. They look similar, but lasers can tell the difference to help catch poachers.
- Materials Science
Scientists Say: Superconductor
At cold enough temperatures, these materials can conduct electricity with no resistance.
- Physics
Forget moon walking, lunar visitors. Try horizontal running
Researchers took over the Wall of Death, an amusement park attraction, to test out how astronauts might keep their strength up on the moon.
- Physics
Experiment: Measure the speed of light with a laser
Grab a laser pointer and some Jell-O, because today we’re measuring the speed of light.
- Chemistry
Scientists Say: Excitation
Excited electrons are to thank for dazzling fireworks displays, plants harnessing energy, the semiconductors behind modern tech and more.
- Tech
Holey basketballs! 3-D printing could be a game-changer
Wilson’s 3-D printed “airless” basketball is nearly silent and will never deflate, but will it prove a slam dunk for players and fans?
- Materials Science
New lab trick makes diamonds without extreme pressure
The lab-grown diamonds form in a liquid of gallium, iron, nickel and silicon.
- Chemistry
Experiment: How to make the boldest, brightest tie-dye!
Clothes are made from a variety of fibers, from natural to synthetic ones. Let’s explore how different fibers react with dyes.
- Plants
Flowers may electrically detect bees buzzing nearby
The discovery may reveal how plants time nectar production and share information with neighboring blooms.
