ScienceDaily: Matter & Energy News

Magnetic fields around black holes decay quickly, researchers report. This finding backs up the so-called 'no-hair conjecture' predicted by Einstein's general relativity.

How do you control ice formation on a plane, even when it's in flight? Engineers are developing an approach using ice itself. They created a de-icing method that exploits how frost grows on pillar structures to suspend ice as it forms into a layer that's easier to remove.

In nature, the interaction of molecules at the boundary of different liquids can give rise to new structures. These self-assembling molecules make cell formation possible and are instrumental to the development of all life on Earth. They can also be engineered to perform specific functions -- and now, a team of researchers has leveraged this opportunity to develop a material that could remove persistent pollutants from water.

Anyone who has ever failed to throw a beer mat into a hat should take note: physicists have discovered why this task is so difficult. However, their study also suggests how to significantly increase accuracy and range.

A new type of wireless charger can charge multiple devices simultaneously, researchers report. The device transfers energy with 90 percent efficiency within 20-centimeter charging range.

Hydrogen peroxide reacts with copper to produce hydroxyl radicals with strong antibacterial properties. However, this requires high copper concentrations because two copper atoms have to come close together, which occurs by chance. Now, scientists have engineered a long polymer with copper-containing side units that create regions with locally high copper density, boosting the antibacterial activity of hydrogen peroxide and paving the way to a new drug design concept.

When a compound of manganese and sulfide (MnS2) is compressed in a diamond anvil, it transitions from an insulator into a metallic state and back into an insulator. This is accompanied by unprecedented decreases in resistance and volume across an extremely narrow range of pressure changes at room temperatue, say researchers.

Researchers have demonstrated a low-cost technique for retrieving nanowires from electronic devices that have reached the end of their utility and then using those nanowires in new devices. The work is a step toward more sustainable electronics.

Inexpensive and convenient devices such as silicone wristbands can be used to yield quantitative air quality data, which is particularly appealing for periods of susceptibility such as pregnancy.

Scientists have developed tests sensitive enough to detect and measure microscopic particles of coal ash in soil, even at concentrations so low and sizes so small that other tests would likely miss them. The four new tests complement tests previously developed at Duke to detect coal ash contamination in water and larger particles of coal ash in soil.