Nano-scale Optical Antennas Could Have a Big Impact
A lab at Harvard is developing materials with potentially revolutionary optical characteristics.
Materials
Fertilizer You Can’t Make Bombs Out Of
A cheap way to alter ammonium nitrate fertilizer renders it unusable in IEDs.
Additive Manufacturing
GE, the world’s largest manufacturer, is on the verge of using 3-D printing to make jet parts.
Pearls and the Puzzle of How They Form Perfect Spheres
Physicists have finally solved the problem of how pearls form almost-perfect spheres: they rotate as they grow.
Nanoparticle Disguised as a Blood Cell Fights Bacterial Infection
Biomimetic nanoparticles could be an effective treatment against antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
First Demonstration of the Storage and Release of Light in a Metamaterial
Nobody has been able to trap electromagnetic waves inside a metamaterial and then release them again. Until now.
Brazil Nut Effect Measured in Lunar and Martian Gravity Conditions
Brazil nuts would rise to the top of a container of mixed nuts on Mars and the Moon, but more slowly than on Earth, say physicists
Your Next Smartphone Screen May Be Made of Sapphire
Manufactured sapphire is incredibly strong and scratch resistant. Now falling costs and technology improvements could make it competitive with glass.
A Nanofabrication Technique Doubles Hard Drive Capacity
Laboratory advance shows that nano-imprinting could help the hard drive industry meet its long-term goals for data storage capacity.
Astrobiologists Find Ancient Fossils in Fireball Fragments
Algae-like structures inside a Sri Lankan meteorite are clear evidence of panspermia, the idea that life exists throughout the universe, say astrobiologists.
