Diamonds Get a Little Squishy at the Nanoscale. Here’s Why
Familiar materials will act differently at the smallest scales. Notably, diamonds—typically hard and brittle—grow strangely soft at the…
After 100 Years, Engineers Finally Discover Why Rubber Is So Tough
Plenty of familiar phenomena and materials are actually scientific mysteries. Reinforced rubber has long been on that list:…
Liquids Crack With an Audible Snap, Study Finds
At the most fundamental levels, science often challenges common sense. And a new finding might be the most…
High-temperature superconducting dome mapped in nickelate thin films
Physicists hunting for new superconductors often look for a very specific shape hidden in their data—a dome. In…
Scientists Claim They’ve Finally Made the Elusive ‘Hexagonal’ Diamond
In 1962, researchers hypothesized that diamond’s known form—a mostly cubic crystal—wasn’t the coveted mineral at its greatest hardness.…
Quantum fluctuations from vacuums used to modify materials
Fluctuating fields in hexagonal Boron Nitride affect the superfluid density in a superconductor in close proximity Credit Ella…
Scientists Discover Time Crystals You Can Hold—and They Levitate
Last year, physicists created a time crystal—atomic arrangements repeating motion patterns—visible to the naked eye. But the latest…
Scientists create Bose-Einstein condensate leading to a new fifth state of matter
In a Columbia University laboratory in New York, physicist Sebastian Will and his team have reached one of…
Proposed Magnetic Cloak Could Make Sensitive Tech Practically Invisible
Hospitals, power grids, aerospace systems, and scientific laboratories all host extremely sensitive technologies that allow the facilities to…
High-Tech ‘Bubble Wrap’ Lets You Hold Fire Without Getting Burned
Buildings can leak a lot of heat. Scientists think the remedy might come in the form of fireproof,…
Newly Discovered ‘Hybrid’ Phase of Matter Blurs the Line Between Solid and Liquid
High school science misses a lot of the science researchers actually work with. For example, you learn that…
Scientists Solve Quantum Mystery That Could Generate Electricity from Light
Scientists have long searched for the holy grail of clean electronics: a single, organic material that could both…