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+32 +4
Crushed wood is stronger than steel
Compressing wood and removing some of its polymers can increase its strength by more than a factor of ten.
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+31 +8
The Truth About Those 'Alien Alloys' in The New York Times' UFO Story
Is the government really stockpiling materials in a Nevada building that scientists cannot identify? What to make of a Las Vegas building full of unidentified alloys? The New York Times published a stunning story Saturday (Dec. 16) revealing that the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) had, between 2007 and 2012, funded a $22 million program for investigating UFOs. The story included three revelations that were tailored to blow readers' minds:
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+13 +4
Engineers create plants that glow
Imagine that instead of switching on a lamp when it gets dark, you could read by the light of a glowing plant on your desk. MIT engineers have taken a critical first step toward making that vision a reality. By embedding specialized nanoparticles into the leaves of a watercress plant, they induced the plants to give off dim light for nearly four hours. They believe that, with further optimization, such plants will one day be bright enough to illuminate a workspace.
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+22 +6
Firework cross sections are almost as beautiful as the final product.
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+22 +9
This new invisible ink can be switched on and off on demand.
Researchers have developed a lead-based invisible ink that, unlike its predecessors, is colorless under ultraviolet (UV) light until a salt is added to make it glow. What’s more, the ink can be switched off on demand using another chemical trigger: Add methanol, and it vanishes within 10 minutes.
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+29 +2
A Rare Element From The Edge of The Periodic Table Is Breaking Quantum Mechanics
There's a lot we don't know about the actinides. On the periodic table, this series of heavy, radioactive elements hangs at the bottom, and includes a host of mysterious substances that don't naturally occur on Earth.
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+19 +4
Ultra-Light Aluminum: USU Chemist Reports Material Design Breakthrough
If you drop an aluminum spoon in a sink full of water, the spoon will sink to the bottom. That’s because aluminum, in its conventional form, is denser than water says Utah State University chemist Alexander Boldyrev. But if you restructure the common household metal at the molecular level, as Boldyrev and colleagues did using computational modeling, you could produce an ultra-light crystalline form of aluminum that’s lighter than water.
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+23 +6
The dye whisperer: Meet the chemist giving biologists worldwide new colors
They’re brighter, more stable, a little less clunky, and, for now, a steal.
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+21 +4
Oil and water may mix under extreme pressure
They say that oil and water do not mix … but now scientists have discovered that – under certain circumstances – it may be possible. A new study suggests that some oily molecules – which normally repel water – can be forced to dissolve in water when the two substances are squeezed together under extreme pressure. Researchers at Edinburgh applied high pressure to tiny containers filled with water and methane, creating conditions similar to the intense pressure found on the ocean floor or inside the planets Uranus and Neptune.
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+23 +6
Chemists Say You Should Add A Little Water To Your Whiskey. Here's Why
It's a common refrain from whiskey enthusiasts: Adding a few drops of water to a glass opens up the flavors of the drink. Chemists in Sweden provide a molecular explanation for why this works.
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+19 +6
Politically charged: do you know where your batteries come from?
We need to think about the raw materials of batteries -- where they come from and their environmental cost.
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+30 +7
The Myth of Drug Expiration Dates
Hospitals and pharmacies are required to toss expired drugs, no matter how expensive or vital. Meanwhile the FDA has long known that many remain safe and potent for years longer.
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+15 +5
First new blue discovered in 200 years is set to become beautiful new crayon.
It’s difficult to come by new colors these days, as the earth’s naturally-occurring colors have been thoroughly researched and new ones created in scientific settings are dwindling in occurrence. The last shade of blue to be discovered and named was Cobalt Blue back in 1802. Since cobalt has been found to be toxic when inhaled or ingested, its use in science has been limited and almost non-existent, though it is still used as a coloring agent for fashion items. The final name for the color will be released by the end of 2017.
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+11 +4
Air Force cadet creates bulletproof breakthrough
Air Force cadet Hayley Weir had an idea that turned out to be a game changer. It was just the concept of going out there and stopping a bullet with something that we had made in a chemistry lab.
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+18 +3
Scientists make plastic from sugar and carbon dioxide | University of Bath
Some biodegradable plastics could in the future be made using sugar and carbon dioxide, replacing unsustainable plastics made from crude oil, following research by scientists from the Centre for Sustainable Chemical Technologies (CSCT) at the University of Bath.
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+12 +1
The Mummy struggles with the chemistry but gets the physics right with a crash
The latest reboot of The Mummy is all you should expect from a Hollywood blockbuster on an ancient Egyptian curse. But what about the science?
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+11 +1
UH Researchers Report New, More Efficient Catalyst for Water Splitting
University of Houston physicists have discovered a catalyst that can split water into hydrogen and oxygen, composed of easily available, low-cost materials and operating far more efficiently than previous catalysts. That would solve one of the primary hurdles remaining in using water to produce hydrogen, one of the most promising sources of clean energy.
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+14 +3
A self-repairing surface that stays clean and dry
THE repulsive powers of lotus leaves are the stuff of legend. Water sprayed onto them forms instantly into silvery beads (see picture) and rolls right off again—carrying any dirt on the leaf’s surface with it. The physics behind this impressive and beautiful phenomenon is well understood. Lotus leaves repel water because they are covered with minuscule waxy nodules that stop water molecules bonding with a leaf’s surface tissues, meaning those molecules bond with each other instead. That arrangement has been replicated in several man-made materials.
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Interactive+1 +1
Interactive Periodic Table - periodicstats.com
A modern interactive periodic table. Filter elements through criteria such as the melting point or density. Contains in depth information for every element.
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+3 +1
Here’s how underground chemist Tim Scully planned to save the world with LSD
He managed to get acid behind the Iron Curtain. By Angela Chen.
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