Applied Physics

Stanford researchers envision a crystal that can form a monolayer three atoms thick. Their computer simulations show that this crystal, molybdenum ditelluride, can act like a switch: its crystal…

When it comes to urine, it's all relative. We can't prove Sir Isaac Newton was thinking about how animals urinate when he was developing his laws of gravity but he can't prove he wasn't either. What…

In previous articles I’ve demonstrated how to use littleBits and erector set parts to build a magnetic stirrer and a sample rotator. Since I was able to drive Erector set machines with the littleBits…

Wrinkles, creases and folds are everywhere in nature, from our skin to the buckled crust of the Earth. They're useful structures for engineers. Wrinkles in thin films, for example, can help make…

Have you ever wondered how hand warmers and cold packs worked? The kind that can be stored at room temperature and then used when needed depend on exothermic and endothermic chemical reactions. An…

It doesn't happen often but there are times when its unclear if a football crosses the goal line for a touchdown. If a quarterback attempts a sneak, for example, and the line pushes forward, he may…

The Advanced Wonder Excitement Surprise Original Mechatronic Excellence lab is usually devoted to robot design but recently they took a break to go old school.  How old school? The 13th century…

By ‘caging’ and cooling water molecules in carbon spheres to study the change in orientation of the magnetic nuclei at the center of each hydrogen atom, researchers have been able to transform the…

STFC’s Vulcan laser facility has recreated scaled supernova explosions to investigate one of the most energetic events in the Universe. Supernova explosions, triggered when the fuel within a star…

Earlier this year, a team of students from Eindhoven went to Finland and built the world’s biggest ice dome, with a diameter of 30 meters.  Credit: Pykrete Dome team. Song: Youngblood Hawke -…