Big Idea Bring Back the "Cold Fusion" Dream

In 1989 Stanley Pons and Martin Fleischmann made a sensational claim that would have changed the world—had it been true. They said they had achieved nuclear fusion at room temperature using a simple tabletop device, thus creating a revolutionary clean energy source they called “cold fusion.”

Polystyrene atoms could surpass the real deal

SOMETIMES a copy can surpass the original. Imitation atoms made of microscopic polystyrene spheres have bonded with each other using the same three-dimensional geometries found in real molecules. These surrogate atoms could one day be used to build novel materials such as semiconductors that carry light rather than electricity.

How many water molecules does it take to make ice?

Three different-sized clusters with very different structures

How many water molecules does it take to make the smallest possible ice crystal? Around 275: that is the conclusion of researchers in Germany and the Czech Republic, who have developed the first-ever technique for probing large clusters of water molecules. Their findings could help to shed light on the formation of ice high in the atmosphere.

No magic show: Real-world levitation to inspire better pharmaceuticals

It’s not a magic trick and it’s not sleight of hand – scientists really are using levitation to improve the drug development process, eventually yielding more effective pharmaceuticals with fewer side effects.
Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory have discovered a way to use sound waves to levitate individual droplets of solutions containing different pharmaceuticals. While the connection between levitation and drug development may not be immediately apparent, a special relationship emerges at the molecular level.

First images of chemical bond differences captured

Different chemical bonds in hexabenzocoronene revealed for the first time (Image: Leo Gross/IBM)

Sharing more leads to tighter bonds – even in the world of molecules. The most detailed images yet made of the chemical bonds in a molecule vividly show what large-scale models had long assumed: the more electrons two atoms share, the shorter the bond. Bonds that are more electron-dense also appear brighter in the new images.

World Record Set for Highest Surface Area Material

 Northwestern University researchers have broken a world record by creating two new synthetic materials with the greatest amount of surface areas reported to date.
Named NU-109 and NU-110, the materials belong to a class of crystalline nanostructure known as metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) that are promising vessels for natural gas storage for vehicles, catalysts, and other sustainable materials chemistry.