Edison’s lost battery idea gets a high-tech comeback for the renewable energy age
At the start of the 20th century, electric cars were more common on American roads than gasoline vehicles.
In 1900, many drivers relied on lead-acid...
Why liquid metal could be the key to affordable green hydrogen
Scientists have developed a new way to produce clean hydrogen using sunlight and liquid metal, offering a promising path toward greener energy made directly...
Life’s ingredients may have formed in frozen space, not warm water, asteroid study suggests
Scientists studying material from the asteroid Bennu have uncovered new clues about how some of life’s most basic ingredients may have formed long before...
Scientists discover a completely new type of magnetism in atom-thin materials
Scientists at University of Stuttgart have discovered a completely new type of magnetism in materials that are only a few atoms thick.
Working with international...
Batteries made from “rust” could be cleaner, cheaper, and surprisingly powerful
Lithium-ion batteries power everything from smartphones to electric cars, but they rely on materials that raise environmental and ethical concerns.
Metals like nickel and cobalt...
MIT engineers turn recycled plastic bottles into strong 3D-printed home frames
The plastic bottle you toss into the recycling bin today might one day help hold up the floor of a house.
Engineers at MIT are...
How microbes on rock surfaces control groundwater chemistry
Far below the Earth’s surface, deep inside cracks and pores in solid rock, vast communities of microorganisms are quietly at work.
These microscopic organisms are...
Safer plastics ahead: Scientists make polyurethane without toxic chemicals
Polyurethane is one of the most widely used plastics in the world.
It appears in everything from furniture foam and insulation to coatings, adhesives, and...
This nickel catalyst could change how drugs and materials are made
Chemists at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have developed a new class of nickel catalysts that could significantly change how important chemicals are made.
The...
Sponge-like gold shows powerful new light and electron effects
Gold is best known for its shine and value, but in modern science it is also an important high-tech material.
New research shows that by...