Physics
- Tech
This hydropower harnesses energy one water drop at a time
A single drop of water sliding across a surface can light up 15 LEDs. This charging by friction is due to what’s known as the triboelectric effect.
- Earth
Pollution from new technologies threatens astronomy
Pollution from new technologies will make it harder to observe the night sky, astronomers say.
- Materials Science
Cool Jobs: Drilling into the secrets of teeth
A bioengineer, a biologist and an archaeologist all study teeth to explore new materials, to grow better tissues and to learn more about prehistoric humans.
- Animals
Analyze This: Electric eels’ zaps are more powerful than a TASER
Shocking! A biologist reached his hand into a fish tank and let an electric eel zap him. It let him measure precisely how strong a current it could unleash to defend itself.
- Physics
Probing the power of the winds
Young researchers have been exploring the energy in wind to see how best they might tame it, harness it and understand its role in shaping the natural world.
- Physics
Explainer: Winds and where they come from
Temperature and pressure are critical factors affecting why the wind blows where it does. Understanding the nature of wind can teach us a lot about weather.
- Physics
Major gravity experiment recreated aboard a satellite
A spacecraft was used to “drop” two objects and test their rate of fall. The new, super-precise findings confirm objects will fall at the same rate (in the absence of air resistance) — and that when it comes defining the effects of gravity, Einstein got it right.
- Earth
Water waves can have literally seismic impacts
Certain types of seismic waves are generated by waves on large lakes. These ground waves could be used to map fault zones or to monitor ice cover in polar lakes.
- Earth
Explainer: Seismic waves come in different ‘flavors’
Earthquakes generate several different types of seismic waves, some more damaging than others
- Earth
Hot on the trail of Antarctic meteorites
For intrepid scientists, spotting meteorites against Antarctica’s dazzling whiteness is easy. Then what?
- Health & Medicine
New treatment could calm temperature-sensitive teeth
Dentists aren’t happy with today’s treatments for sensitive teeth. Sand-like nanoparticles carrying green tea extract could bring longer pain relief.
- Tech
Want a tougher space suit? Just add liquid
Using a special liquid, engineers are designing new treatments for spacesuits so that they can better resist puncturing from tiny meteorites and other hazards.
