MS-PS4-2
Develop and use a model to describe that waves are reflected, absorbed, or transmitted through various materials.
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Tech
This sun-powered system delivers energy as it pulls water from the air
The device not only produces electricity but also harvests water for drinking or crops. It could be especially useful in remote and dry parts of the world.
By Laura Allen -
Materials Science
This new fabric can ‘hear’ sounds or broadcast them
With special fibers that convert tiny vibrations to voltages, a new fabric senses sound. Someday, such fabrics could monitor the body or aid hearing.
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Oceans
Night lights make even the seas bright
Light from coastal cities and offshore development may shine deep enough to disrupt tiny critters living dozens of meters (yards) below the surface.
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Materials Science
New cloth cools you when you’re hot, warms you when you’re cold
Scientists 3-D printed the new fabric, which has even more tricks up its sleeve — such as conducting electricity and resisting radio waves.
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Earth
The Alps’ Matterhorn shows how much even big mountains sway
Such mountain sway data can help planners map high-risk zones for peaks, bridges or any large structures.
By Peg Lopata -
Earth
Volcanic avalanches may be more destructive than previously thought
Pressures within these pyroclastic flows may be as much as three times as high as observations had suggested.
By Nikk Ogasa -
Animals
Living mysteries: Why teeny-weeny tardigrades are tough as nails
Tardigrades often live in cool, damp moss. Their cushy life has somehow prepared them to survive the lethal radiation of outer space.
By Douglas Fox -
Materials Science
Let’s learn about glass
Unlike the atoms in other solids, the atoms in glass don’t exist in an orderly crystal structure. They’re more jumbled up, like the atoms inside liquids.
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Tech
This crumb-sized camera uses artificial intelligence to get big results
Researchers have developed a camera the size of a coarse grain of salt that takes amazingly clear photos.
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Space
Explainer: Telescopes see light — and sometimes ancient history
Different kinds of telescopes on Earth and in space help us to see all wavelengths of light. Some can even peer billions of years back in time.
By Trisha Muro -
Space
The long-awaited James Webb Space Telescope has a big to-do list
The James Webb Space Telescope has been in the works for so long that new fields of science have emerged for it to study.
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Chemistry
Snail slime + gold could boost the power of sunscreens and more
These two strange ingredients could make skin-care products that are better for both our skin and the environment.