Environment
Legos could last a disturbingly long time in the ocean
By looking at toys washed up on beaches, scientists have estimated how long it takes hard plastics to break down in the oceans. And it’s a long time.
Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions
More Stories in Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions
-
Materials ScienceSilk 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.
-
ChemistryConverting trash to valuable graphene in a flash
Flash heating of carbon-rich wastes creates graphene, which has many commercial uses.
-
PhysicsHow to temporarily ‘fossilize’ a soap bubble
Here’s how to freeze a soap bubble in midair. Warning: The environment needs to be frosty, and even then it can take a certain amount of trial and error.
-
Materials ScienceNew twist can hush — even cloak — some sounds
Swiss engineers developed clear, spiral structures to make a new sound-dampening system. Those twists block some vibrations and lets others through.
-
Materials ScienceHere’s how to hide some objects from heat-sensing cameras
A special coating that conceals temperature information from heat-detecting cameras might someday be used as a privacy shield.
-
Materials ScienceSelf-powered surface may evaluate table-tennis play
Scientists at the Georgia Institute of Technology built a 'smart' surface on which to play table tennis. It can track the location, speed and direction of the ball.
-
PlanetsGlass beads help scientists puzzle out how baby planets grow
Researchers have mimicked the first stages of planet formation in the lab. All they needed were glass beads and a catapult.