Science

Scientists have long tried to create new allotropes (forms) of carbon because of their versatility and usefulness for the industry. But only limited success was achieved so far. That is set to change now. In a major breakthrough, researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder, US, have successfully synthesised the long-hypothesised “next-generation wonder material” graphyne.

Auroras are natural light displays, forming dynamic patterns of brilliant lights in the Earth’s sky because of disturbances in the magnetosphere caused by the solar wind — jet of charged particles coming from the Sun. The magnetosphere is an area of space controlled by a planet’s magnetic field. Except Mercury, almost all planets in the

Photonic materials are the ones that emit, detect or manipulate light. These materials play a crucial role in various sectors such as telecommunications, data processing and storage, and solar cells. Because of their vast usage, there is a continuous need to make them efficient. Researchers, at the University of Central Florida (UCF), are developing new

Billionaire Elon Musk took to Twitter late on Thursday to denounce as “utterly untrue” claims in a news report that he had sexually harassed a flight attendant on a private jet in 2016. Business Insider reported earlier on Thursday that Musk’s SpaceX paid $250,000 (roughly Rs. 2 crore) in 2018 to settle a sexual harassment

NASA’s Cold Atom Lab aboard International Space Station (ISS) has come up with a discovery that can give a new direction to quantum research. In this lab, researchers have experimented with gas to form an exotic material. Gas, when cooled to nearly absolute zero (minus 459 degrees Fahrenheit, or minus 273 degrees Celsius) formed small,

NASA astronauts and officials on Wednesday said Boeing’s Starliner space capsule is ready for its uncrewed launch this week to the International Space Station, a long-delayed test mission meant to demonstrate the aerospace giant can safely fly humans in space. Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner capsule, a gumdrop-shaped astronaut pod, has experienced multiple setbacks in recent years.

Unidentified flying objects or UFOs have always been a subject of mystery and intrigue for the scientific community. Yet, studying these objects has often been dismissed as a non-serious discipline or pseudoscience. However, things changed this week. For the first time in 50 years, the US Congress held an open hearing on unidentified aerial phenomena

There are millions of stars visible in a clear night sky. From Earth, they appear like tiny dots sparkling for no explained reason. But there’s one star at the centre of our existence, which burns itself to support life. It’s the Sun, around which several planets, including the Earth, revolves. Now, imagine a star that

As we gradually move towards the Internet of Things (IoT), the volume of data is set to skyrocket. With it, the demand for lightweight, high-performance, mobile data processing devices will also increase. To develop such devices, we would first need organic integrated circuits with organic transistors. However, the integration density of these circuits has been

Everyone needs a good night’s sleep, more so in the rapidly changing world where lifestyle changes are taking a toll on physical and mental health. It is well documented how an adequate amount of sleep can help us feel better and perform our daily chores efficiently. It makes us feel full of energy. But why does

Supernovas are one of the most mysterious as well as luminous explosions of a star in space. In fact, they are the biggest explosions that humans have ever seen. They take place so far away that it requires powerful telescopes to spot them. A supernova typically occurs during the last evolutionary stages of a massive

In its over 30 years of service, NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has captured some intriguing images of the cosmos, helping astronomers in understanding the mysterious events taking place up there. One of these images is of the spiral galaxy named NGC 3147. This majestic galaxy is located about 130 million light-years away in the constellation

The energy industry is continuously evolving, sometimes throwing out astonishing results. As the current sources of energy are depleted, mankind has been pushed into the top gear to find new and reliable sources to sustain life as we know it today. One of the most promising developments has been a renewed effort to harness solar

The biggest question that scientists are grappling with in relation to Mars is this: Did the Red Planet ever host life? While the quest for finding life on Mars is underway, and with more vigour than ever before, it is unlikely any conclusive result will be found soon. NASA aims to bring back Martian samples

Space is a mysterious place and many people around the world are working to uncover it layer by layer. Still, quite a few puzzling events up there remain unexplained. Scientists now believe there may be invisible walls in space. However, these walls are not anything like the walls of a room. Instead, they are more

This weekend, the Moon will plunge into total darkness, creating a celestial spectacle not seen in a while. On Sunday night into Monday morning, there will be a total lunar eclipse — the first of 2022. The total eclipse will be visible from parts of South and North America, Antarctica, Europe, Africa, and the east