Scientists Say: Piezoelectric
Piezoelectric (adjective, “Pee-AY-zo-ee-LECK-trick,” or “PEE-zo-ee-LECK-trick”) This word refers to a material that produces an electric charge when it’s bent or squeezed. The electricity — a flow of...
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Getting cozy with a science experiment
This article is one of a series of Experiments meant to teach students about how science is done, from generating a hypothesis and designing an experiment to analyzing the results with statistics. You...
View ArticleScientists Say: Haptic
Haptic (adjective, “HAP-tik”) This word is used to describe things related to the sense of touch. The skin is full of receptors that send different types of haptic information — such as texture or...
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Genes point to how some bacteria can gobble up electricity
Bacteria can have superpowers. Some flourish in almost any environment. Others can transform toxic materials into harmless sludge. A bacterium called Shewanella oneidensis can do both. But this...
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Robots made of cells blur the line between creature and machine
All his life, Doug Blackiston has been fascinated by metamorphosis — the way that one object changes into another. “As a kid, I loved those toys that start as one thing and transform into something...
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New cloth cools you when you’re hot, warms you when you’re cold
Imagine if the same jacket that warms you up on chilly days would also cool you down on hot ones. Fabrics with “phase-change” properties can do that. And a research team from China now shows that 3-D...
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This sun-powered system delivers energy as it pulls water from the air
Clean water and energy. People need both. Sadly, millions of people around the world have no reliable access to either. But a new system can provide these resources — and should work anywhere, even in...
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Cellulose may keep ice cream from turning gritty in your freezer
You can never have too much ice cream. But ice cream can become too icy. This happens when the ice crystals in that treat get too big, turning it gritty. Researchers now offer a way to prevent that....
View ArticleOrb-weaving spiders use their webs like external eardrums
In the story Charlotte’s Web, a spider wrote messages in her web. It now appears some spiders also listen with that silk. One might now think of those webs as ears — replaceable ears. Most animals...
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Teens’ new tech would send alerts to reduce preventable deaths
ATLANTA, Ga. — It’s an all too common story: A young child wanders off during a party and falls into a backyard pool. No one notices she’s missing — until it’s too late. When Grayson Barron learned of...
View ArticleScientists Say: LED
LED (noun, “EL-EE-DEE”) LED stands for “light-emitting diode.” (A diode is a device that lets electric current flow only one way.) This is a very energy-efficient type of lighting. An LED contains two...
View ArticleScientists Say: Fission
Fission (noun, “FIH-zhun”) Fission is a physical reaction where the nucleus of an atom breaks apart. In the process, it unleashes a bunch of energy. This is the physics behind atomic bombs. It also...
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Underwater cameras get a new power source — sound!
Imagine an underwater camera that could take photos anywhere in the sea. Until now, use of underwater cameras has been limited. Some must be hooked up to power cables. Others rely on batteries, which...
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Green energy is cheaper than fossil fuels, a new study finds
On September 15, there was a giant ka-BOOM! And with that, Portland General Electric dynamited Oregon’s last coal-fired power plant into rubble. The company also opened a new power plant on September...
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The world is aiming for ‘net zero’ emissions of greenhouse gases
This is the first in a series of stories that will identify new technologies and actions that can slow climate change, reduce its impacts or help communities cope with a rapidly changing world....
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Explainer: Kinetic and potential energy
When we talk with friends about energy, sometimes we’re talking about how tired or invigorated we feel. Other times we’re referring to how much charge is left in the battery on our phones. But in...
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Analyze This: A new fabric mimics polar bears’ pelts for warmth
A new fabric traps heat by mimicking polar bears’ pelts. Polar bears have black skin covered by fur that looks white. But that fur isn’t like normal hair, says Trisha Andrew. “It has a very unique...
View ArticleShouting into the wind may seem futile — but it’s really not
To describe something as pointless, people may liken it to shouting into the wind. This idiom implies that making noise against the flow of air is very hard. But shouting into the wind isn’t that...
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High-tech solar ‘leaves’ create green fuels from the sun
This is another in our series of stories identifying new technologies and actions that can slow climate change, reduce its impacts or help communities cope with a rapidly changing world. Green plants...
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New device can harvest clean energy from humid air anywhere
This is another in our series of stories identifying new technologies and actions that can slow climate change, reduce its impacts or help communities cope with a rapidly changing world. Imagine a...
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