Simulations show it’s possible to distinguish host galaxy from quasars, although still challenging due to the galaxy’s small size on the sky. The papers are published in The Astrophysical Journal and the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society and show that NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, scheduled for launch late next year, will reveal…

A team of researchers created shock-absorbing material that protects like a metal, but is lighter, stronger, reusable. The new foam-like material could be a game-changer for helmets, body armor, and automobile and aerospace parts. «We are excited about our findings on the extreme energy absorption capability of the new material,» said senior author Sung Hoon…

A new study challenges the conventional approach to designing soft robotics and a class of materials called metamaterials by utilizing the power of computer algorithms. Researchers can now build multimaterial structures without dependence on human intuition or trial-and-error to produce highly efficient actuators and energy absorbers that mimic designs found in nature. The study, led…

Morphogenesis is nature’s way of building diverse structures and functions out of a fixed set of components. While nature is rich with examples of morphogenesis — cell differentiation, embryonic development and cytoskeleton formation, for example — research into the phenomenon in synthetic materials is scant. Researchers are taking a step forward using electron tomography, fluid…

Researchers recently announced a major theoretical and experimental breakthrough that allows scientists to predict, with an unprecedented precision, when a soft material will crack and fail. The findings have immediate implications for the engineering and manufacture of a wide range of polymers. They also provide insights into how natural soft materials — such as the…

Large concrete structures need to be regularly tested for defects that may compromise their stability. While acoustic tests performed by certified inspectors are usually the inspection method of choice, these tests take longer to perform as the structure’s size increases. In a new study, scientists developed a new method to identify defects using shock waves…

Engineers are working to develop a new, economically viable and safe source of low carbon electricity through nuclear fusion. The Surrey research team will be using their expertise to upgrade stress measurement techniques that can allow scientists to map the residual pressure within a volume of steel, rather than in single points. The Surrey team’s…

An adjustable platform made from atomically thin materials may help researchers figure out how to create a robust quantum condensate that can flow without dissipation. Many applications, from dissipationless power transmission to quantum computation, have been developed based on superconducting materials showing these quantum condensate states. But, known superconducting materials need to be kept cold…

NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope is ‘seeing double.’ Peering back 10 billion years into the universe’s past, Hubble astronomers found a pair of quasars that are so close to each other they look like a single object in ground-based telescopic photos, but not in Hubble’s crisp view. The researchers believe the quasars are very close to…

Scientists have revealed new insights into the behavior of black holes with research that demonstrates how a phenomenon called backreaction can be simulated. The team from the University of Nottingham have used their simulation of a black hole, involving a specially designed water tank, for this latest research published in Physical Review Letters. This study…