Cracks in the desert floor appear random to the untrained eye, even beautifully so, but the mathematics governing patterns of dried clay turn out to be predictable — and useful in designing advanced materials.
Read moreResearchers show that polystyrene, one of the world's most ubiquitous plastics, may degrade in decades or centuries when exposed to sunlight, rather than thousands of years as previously thought.
Read moreIn a first-of-its-kind study, researchers have shown that nanoparticles may have a bigger impact on the environment than previously thought.
Read moreUsing a new composite nanoparticle catalyst, researchers have shown they can make degradation-resistant PBO, a polymer used to make body armor and other high-performance fabrics.
Read moreIf 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 moreScientists have combined graphene and single-walled carbon nanotubes into a transparent hybrid material with conductivity higher than either component exhibits separately.
Read moreA team of researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology has developed a new process that could help gain new insights into high-entropy alloys and help characterize their properties.
Read moreResearchers have used the method of single-particle spectroscopy to study electroluminescence in light-emitting devices. They discovered that efficient charge funneling between individual perovskite nanocrystals and the phenomenon of emission blinking are responsible for the low efficiencies of perovskite light-emitting devices.
Read moreChemists have succeeded in synthesizing two complex natural products from the group of dithiodiketopiperazines (DTPs). For this, they employed a new strategy based on ''C-H bond activation,'' resulting in a short and high yielding route. The researchers describe their new concept for the total synthesis of Epicoccin G and Rostratin A.
Read moreDuring 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 more