Senator John McCain's exuberant proposal that the U.S. government fund a massive X-prize style research push for a efficient automobile-scale electric battery points up several problems with the way…

Data from Google Trends is being used in Pensacola, FL to settle a legal question in an obscenity trial; the argument raised by the defense is that if Google's data shows that the term (for instance…

This material originates from volcanoes but in synthesized form it takes up around a third of the average packet of washing powder and it also helps refine 99 per cent of the world's petrol (*) -…

Glass has always been a chemical and physical puzzle. Unlike most solids, glass is actually more like a slow-moving liquid - a 'jammed' state of matter that moves very slowly. Like cars in traffic,…

While the results may not rival the artistry of glassblowers in Europe and Latin America, researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and Cornell University have found…

How do grains flow out of an emptying silo? And what about sugar poured out by a pastry chef? Researchers at Centre de Physique Moléculaire Optique et Hertzienne (CPMOH) of CNRS/ Université Bordeaux…

The familiar pencil-lead form of carbon, graphite, consists of layers of carbon atoms tightly bonded in the plane but only loosely bonded between planes; because the layers move easily over one…

It’s stronger than steel and nylon, and more extensible than Kevlar. What is this super-tough material? Spider silk; and learning how to spin it is one of the materials industries’ Holy Grails.…

Titanium is the lightweight metal of choice for many applications and a non-melt consolidation process being developed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory may make it cheap enough to bulletproof your…

A type of plastic that exhibits metallic and semi-conductor-like properties will be described in an inaugural doctoral lecture at the University of Leicester on Wednesday June 4th(*). In his lecture…