Nature of Water
Twist-based refrigeration: Twisting and coiling 'twistocaloric' yarns to keep cool
Researchers have discovered a new technology for refrigeration that is based on twisting and untwisting fibers. They demonstrated twist-based refrigeration using materials as diverse as natural rubber, ordinary fishing line and nickel titanium wire.
Read morePhysics researchers explore unknown energy regions
Physicists are using photon-proton collisions to capture particles in an unexplored energy region, yielding new insights into the matter that binds parts of the nucleus together.
Read moreExplained: The lifetime of an evaporating liquid drop
The lifespan of a liquid droplet which is transforming into vapour can now be predicted thanks to a new theory. The new understanding can now be exploited in a myriad of natural and industrial settings where the lifetime of liquid drops governs a process' behavior and efficiency.
Read moreNanostructures help to reduce the adhesion of bacteria
Scientists has shown how bacteria adhere to rough surfaces at the microscopic level. The team has discovered that precise analysis of the topographical composition of nanostructured surfaces provides a direct means of deriving the adhesive forces that bind bacteria to the surface. This discovery has opened up promising new avenues of research, including ways of combating the bacteria that are so hazardous in clinical environments.
Read moreVolleyball: The secret to sneaky float serves
A team of researchers performed wind tunnel experiments to determine the role of asymmetry caused by the orientation of a volleyball on its aerodynamic characteristics. They found that switching from the standard panel arrangement to a hexagonal or dimpled pattern may improve the consistency of flight, with many potential applications in aviation.
Read moreFolding a drop of water solves a longstanding challenge in portable diagnostic devices
If you've ever stopped to watch rain falling on a windowpane, you've seen what happens when two drops of water touch and merge into one. But you probably never imagined that the physics at work in this phenomenon was the key to unlocking a solution for the development of miniaturized personal biological analysis devices.
Read moreStabilizing multilayer flows may improve transportation of heavy oils
During the past 20 years, the oil industry has begun to transition away from light oils toward heavier oils. But transporting heavy oils cost-effectively is a challenge because heavy oils are viscous — essentially a thick, sticky and semifluid mess. One way to outmaneuver this problem is a viscoplastic lubrication technique. It can complement existing methods to stabilize interfaces within multilayer flows.
Read moreLimitations of method for determining protein structure
A new study by chemists shows that X-ray crystallography, the standard method for determining the structure of proteins, can provide inaccurate information about membrane proteins, which in turn could lead to poor and inefficient drug design.
Read moreAccidental discovery of strong and unbreakable molecular switch
An organic material that can repeatedly change shape without breaking would have many useful applications, such as artificial muscles, pumps or as a switch. Physicists accidentally discovered a material with that property.
Read more