Turning heat to electricity... efficiently
Nov 18, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (57) |
4
(PhysOrg.com) -- In everything from computer processor chips to car engines to electric powerplants, the need to get rid of excess heat creates a major source of inefficiency. But new research points the way ...
Extinct goat was cold-blooded
Nov 18, 2009 |
4.9 / 5 (33) |
10
(PhysOrg.com) -- An extinct goat that lived on a barren Mediterranean island survived for millions of years by reducing in size and by becoming cold-blooded, which has never before been discovered in mammals.
Accidental discovery produces durable new blue pigment for multiple applications
Nov 16, 2009 |
4.5 / 5 (30) |
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An accidental discovery in a laboratory at Oregon State University has apparently solved a quest that over thousands of years has absorbed the energies of ancient Egyptians, the Han dynasty in China, Mayan ...
Mystery of the Solar Tsunami -- Solved (w/ Video)
Nov 19, 2009 |
4.9 / 5 (24) |
8
(PhysOrg.com) -- Sometimes you really can believe your eyes. That's what NASA's Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) is telling researchers about a controversial phenomenon on the sun known as ...
New study confirms exotic electric properties of graphene
Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials
Nov 17, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (23) |
1
(PhysOrg.com) -- First, it was the soccer-ball-shaped molecules dubbed buckyballs. Then it was the cylindrically shaped nanotubes. Now, the hottest new material in physics and nanotechnology is graphene: ...
Nanoparticles used in common household items caused genetic damage in mice
Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine
Nov 16, 2009 |
4.7 / 5 (22) |
11
Titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles, found in everything from cosmetics to sunscreen to paint to vitamins, caused systemic genetic damage in mice, according to a comprehensive study conducted by researchers at UCLA's Jonsson ...
CERN atom-smasher restarts after 14-month hiatus: official
Nov 20, 2009 |
4.6 / 5 (22) |
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The world's biggest atom-smasher, shut down after its inauguration in September 2008 amid technical faults, restarted on Friday, a spokesman for the European Organisation for Nuclear Research said.
Scientists demonstrate 'universal' programmable quantum processor
Nov 15, 2009 |
4.6 / 5 (21) |
11
Physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology have demonstrated the first "universal" programmable quantum information processor able to run any program allowed by quantum mechanics -- th ...
Scientists pinpoint origin of dissolved arsenic in Bangladesh drinking water
Nov 15, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (20) |
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Researchers in MIT's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering believe they have pinpointed a pathway by which arsenic may be contaminating the drinking water in Bangladesh, a phenomenon that has puzzled ...
Computer Based on Insights From The Brain Moves Closer to Reality
Technology / Computer Sciences
Nov 18, 2009 |
4.6 / 5 (20) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Today at SC 09, the supercomputing conference, IBM announced significant progress toward creating a computer system that simulates and emulates the brain's abilities for sensation, perception, ...
Proton's party pals may alter its internal structure
Nov 18, 2009 |
4.6 / 5 (20) |
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A recent experiment at the DOE's Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility has found that a proton's nearest neighbors in the nucleus of the atom may modify the proton's internal structure.
Mysteriously warm times in Antarctica
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Nov 18, 2009 |
4.2 / 5 (21) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A new study of Antarctica's past climate reveals that temperatures during the warm periods between ice ages (interglacials) may have been higher than previously thought. The latest analysis ...
Advanced nuclear fuel sets global performance record
Nov 17, 2009 |
4.5 / 5 (19) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Idaho National Laboratory scientists have set a new world record with next-generation particle fuel for use in high temperature gas reactors (HTGRs).
Oceans' uptake of manmade carbon may be slowing
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Nov 18, 2009 |
3.8 / 5 (22) |
9
The oceans play a key role in regulating climate, absorbing more than a quarter of the carbon dioxide that humans put into the air. Now, the first year-by-year accounting of this mechanism during the industrial ...
Building a more versatile laser
Nov 16, 2009 |
4.4 / 5 (18) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- One of the drawbacks associated with using semiconductor lasers is that many of them can only produce a beam of a single wavelength, and can only send that beam in one direction at a time. ...
