Physics
Heat makes water evaporate. Now it appears light can, too
In the lab, shining light on water made it evaporate faster. This never-before-seen effect, if real, might be happening naturally all around us.
MS-PS4-2
Develop and use a model to describe that waves are reflected, absorbed, or transmitted through various materials.
More Stories in MS-PS4-2
- Tech
Talking through a tube can trick AI into mistaking one voice for another
Researchers crafted tubes that can trick AI into mistaking one person’s voice for another’s. Bad guys could use such tricks to hack into accounts.
- Physics
Scientists Say: Radio Waves
Lightning, stars, supermassive black holes and more give off radio waves.
- Oceans
How would a mermaid sound underwater?
Human ears don’t work well in the water. A mermaid would need marine creature features to talk to and understand her aquatic friends.
- Plants
A single particle of light can kick off photosynthesis
In a new experiment with bacteria, a lone photon sparked the process of turning light to chemical energy.
- Physics
Shouting into the wind may seem futile — but it’s really not
Sending a sound upwind, against the flow of air, actually makes the sound louder — only it doesn’t sound that way to the person making the noise.
- Materials Science
Analyze This: A new fabric mimics polar bears’ pelts for warmth
With layers that work like polar bears’ skin and fur, a material absorbs light and keeps it from escaping.
- Planets
In a first, telescopes have caught a star eating a planet
A burst of light and a cloud of dust are signs that a distant star swallowed a giant planet.
- Physics
Explainer: Reflection, refraction and the power of lenses
The inner workings of microscopes, telescopes, eyeglasses and other lens-based devices rely on two important laws of optics.
- Tech
Nanocrystal ‘painted’ films may someday help relieve summer heat
The rainbow palette and cooling powers of new plant-based films comes from their microscopic surface patterns of tiny crystals.
