Archive for May, 2008

Superconductivity has perplexed, astounded and inspired scientists ever since it was discovered in 1911. Now, in the latest of a century of surprises, researchers at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory at Florida State University have discovered unusual properties in a novel superconducting material that point to an entirely new kind of superconductor.

Like a team of forensic detectives in a television show that could be called “CSI: Milky Way,” a University of Chicago astrophysicist and his associates are piecing together how a mysterious infrared ring got left around a dead star that displays a magnetic field trillions of times more intense than Earth’s.

Carbon nanotubes, described as the reigning celebrity of the advanced materials world, are all the rage. Recently researchers at Rice University and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute used them to make the “blackest black” — the darkest known material, reflecting only 0.045 percent of all light shined on it.

9 months and 422 million miles later the Phoenix lander has touched down braking from 30,000 MPH to a mere 5 MPH. The landing was what can only be described as "perfect". Perched at a 1 degree angle no one would argue that the lander sits almost completely flat and poised to do the work ...

Materials researchers across the globe have fervently been working to find the ideal hydrogen storage material, one that will safely and efficiently provide the needed range and running time for fuel cell vehicles. But a separate issue — hydrogen “embrittlement” — is an equally challenging technical hurdle that has gone largely unnoticed by the general ...