Today in Science Blog Posts
Metal-Foam Material Prompts New Shape-Shifting Technology
Engineers at Cornell University designed a hybrid material that can shift in shape, bringing new developments to the fields of soft robotics and aeronautics in the process. Get the full story.
Mildred Dresselhaus, a Driving Force for Women in STEM
Learn about the life and work of American scientist Mildred Dresselhaus, a driving figure in getting more women involved in science and engineering.
Explaining the Pepper’s Ghost Illusion with Ray Optics
Pepper’s Ghost, the famous optical illusion used in theater and “hologram” concert performances, can be explained using ray optics. Learn more and see our homemade Pepper’s Ghost projector.
Happy Birthday, Clinton Davisson
Clinton Davisson is best known for his discovery of electron diffraction through the Davisson–Germer experiment. Learn more about the life and work of this American physicist >>
Studying Salt Damage to the World’s Crumbling Buildings
We sometimes hear of tourists getting into trouble for carving their initials into the walls of the Coliseum in Rome and other famous structures. However, the more serious damage to this architecture is caused by something else entirely — salt. Transported by wind and water droplets, and even found in some building materials, salt is a powerful mineral that can cause a building’s façade to crumble and break. Researchers studied this effect to better predict salt’s behavior and prevent damage.
Happy Birthday, Erwin Schrödinger
We discuss the life and work of the legendary physicist behind Schrödinger’s cat, the Schrödinger equation, and more: Erwin Schrödinger.
Using an Origami Battery to Power a Biosensor
Researchers from the University of Binghamton developed a paper-based battery using an origami folding technique to transform 2D sheets of paper into a 3D battery structure.
Happy Birthday, Nicolas Léonard Sadi Carnot
Known as the “father of thermodynamics”, Nicolas Léonard Sadi Carnot developed a theoretical thermodynamic cycle and laid the groundwork for the second law of thermodynamics.