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Wednesday, November 23, 2011

ScienceDaily: Strange Science News

ScienceDaily: Strange Science News


Nanowrinkles, nanofolds yield strange hidden channels

Posted: 22 Nov 2011 08:09 PM PST

Wrinkles and folds, common in nature, do something unusual at the nanoscale. Researchers have discovered that wrinkles on super-thin films have hidden long waves. The team also found that folds in the film produce nanochannels, like thousands of tiny subsurface pipes. The research could lead to advances in medicine, electronics and energy.

Blocked holes can enhance rather than stop light going through

Posted: 22 Nov 2011 10:33 AM PST

Conventional wisdom would say that blocking a hole would prevent light from going through it, but engineers have discovered the opposite to be true. A research team has found that placing a metal cap over a small hole in a metal film does not stop the light at all, but rather enhances its transmission.

Robojelly gets an upgrade: Underwater robot learns to swim more like the real thing

Posted: 22 Nov 2011 08:32 AM PST

Engineers have developed a robot that mimics the graceful motions of jellyfish so precisely that it has been named Robojelly. Developed for the U.S. Office of Naval Research in 2009, this vehicle was designed to conduct ocean underwater surveillance, enabling it potentially to detect chemical spills, monitor the presence of ships and submarines, and observe the migration of schools of fish.

Abnormal levels of caffeine in water indicate human contamination

Posted: 22 Nov 2011 08:20 AM PST

Researchers have discovered that traces of caffeine are a useful indicator of the contamination of our water by sewers.

Butterfly wings inspire design of water-repellent surface

Posted: 21 Nov 2011 08:48 AM PST

Researchers mimic the many-layered nanostructure of blue mountain swallowtail wings to make a silicon wafer that traps both air and light.

Mechanism of wine swirling explained

Posted: 21 Nov 2011 07:41 AM PST

Wine drinkers know that swirling a good vintage around in a glass aerates the wine and releases its bouquet. Just how the process -- known as "orbital shaking" -- works, however, has been something of a mystery.

Ingredients involved in 'splashing' revealed

Posted: 21 Nov 2011 07:41 AM PST

"Splashing" plays a central role in the transport of pollutants and the spread of diseases, but while the sight of a droplet striking and splashing off of a solid surface is a common experience, the actual physical ingredients and mechanisms involved in splashing aren't all that well understood. A team of researchers has discovered that there is indeed more involved in splashing than previously believed.

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