ScienceDaily: Matter & Energy News

Top-precision optical atomic clock starts ticking Posted: 26 Feb 2015 03:35 PM PST A state-of-the-art optical atomic clock is now 'ticking away.' As the first of its kind in Poland and one of just a handful of clocks of this caliber in the world, the new clock will keep track of the passage of time with extraordinary precision.

'Ecosystem services' help assess ocean energy development Posted: 26 Feb 2015 11:49 AM PST Environmental scientists suggest that the way to fill vast gaps in knowledge about the ecological and socioeconomic impacts of ocean energy development is to consider how the benefits provided by ocean ecosystems change before and after the placement of ocean energy infrastructure.

Caging of molecules allows investigation of equilibrium thermodynamics Posted: 26 Feb 2015 11:49 AM PST High performance materials for gas storage, thermal insulators or nanomachines need a thorough understanding of the behavior of the material down to the molecular level. Thermodynamics, which have been developed two hundred years ago to increase the efficiency of steam engines, typically observes and averages over a large number of molecules. Now a team of scientists has developed a methodology, to investigate the equilibrium thermodynamics of single molecules.

World's challenges demand science changes -- and fast, experts say Posted: 26 Feb 2015 11:49 AM PST The world has little use -- and precious little time -- for detached experts. A group of scientists -- each of them experts -- makes a compelling case that the growing global challenges has rendered sharply segregated expertise obsolete. Disciplinary approaches to crises like air pollution, climate change, food insecurity, and energy and water shortages, are not only ineffective, but also making many of these crises worse.

Building blocks of the future defy logic: New logic-defying mathematical model Posted: 26 Feb 2015 09:24 AM PST Wake up in the morning and stretch; your midsection narrows. Pull on a rubber band and it becomes thinner. One might assume that materials will always stretch and thin. Wrong. Thanks to their peculiar internal geometry, auxetic materials grow wider when stretched. After confounding scientists for decades, researchers are now developing mathematical models to explain the unusual behavior of these logic-defying materials, unlocking applications from better skin grafts to new smart materials.

New research predicts when, how materials will act Posted: 26 Feb 2015 09:23 AM PST A material might melt or snap in half. And for engineers, knowing when and why that might happen is crucial information. Now, a researcher has laid out an overarching theory that explains why certain materials act the way they do.

New x-ray microscope for nanoscale imaging Posted: 26 Feb 2015 09:23 AM PST A new microscope at the Hard X-ray Nanoprobe will ultimately deliver nanoscale resolution imaging for everything from proteins to fuel cell catalysts.

Combating bacteria via silver-dammar coating Posted: 26 Feb 2015 09:21 AM PST Natural resins obtained from plants to be used as a coating element to enhance durability and anti-rust properties. Coating systems are formulated using a mixture of dammar, silver and nanoclay in varied compositions.

Superatomic Nickel core and unusual molecular reactivity Posted: 26 Feb 2015 09:21 AM PST Scientists have revealed a unique molecular fragment Ni2O2, consisting of two nickel atoms and two oxygen atoms, that have shown plausible superatomic properties. Supeatoms are important structural elements in nanoscale organization and they possess unique physical and chemical properties.

Lithium from the coal in China Posted: 26 Feb 2015 07:16 AM PST Coal from China could become a major source of the metal lithium, according to a review of the geochemistry. Lithium is an essential component of rechargeable batteries used almost ubiquitously in mobile gadgets such as phones, laptops, tablet computers and in many electric vehicles.

Optical features embedded in marine shells may help develop responsive, transparent displays Posted: 26 Feb 2015 05:49 AM PST The blue-rayed limpet is a tiny mollusk that lives in kelp beds along the coasts of Norway, Iceland, the United Kingdom, Portugal, and the Canary Islands. These diminutive organisms -- as small as a fingernail -- might escape notice entirely, if not for a very conspicuous feature: bright blue dotted lines that run in parallel along the length of their translucent shells. Depending on the angle at which light hits, a limpet's shell can flash brilliantly even in murky water.