Hydrogen's potential as a promising future energy source is increasingly recognized. However, safely transporting large quantities of hydrogen gas remains a notable challenge. Researchers from University of Tsukuba have addressed this issue by developing a durable, poison-resistant non-noble metal anode that can potentially replace the expensive metal electrodes currently used in organic hydride electrolytic synthesis. This method allows the handling of hydrogen as a liquid energy carrier.

Using a transmission electron microscope, researchers at the University of Tsukuba have directly observed the breaking of carbon nanotube fibers is induced by molecular slippage, involving repeated transitions between static and kinetic friction. Furthermore, they have discovered that this slippage can be considerably suppressed by doping nitrogen into individual carbon nanotube molecules, followed by bundling them into fibers. Specifically, when these nitrogen-doped nanotubes are irradiated with an electron beam, the resulting fibers exhibit enhanced strength.

In a breakthrough study published this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers have shown that, contrary to most projections, coral reefs are not inevitably doomed, but have the potential to persist and adapt over time, if carbon emissions are curbed and local stressors are addressed.

The unique properties of baseball’s famed “magic” mud, which MLB equipment managers applied to every ball in the World Series, have never been scientifically quantified — until now. In a new paper in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Engineering and Applied Science (Penn Engineering) and School of Arts & Sciences (SAS) reveal what makes the magic mud so special.

The American Physical Society has recognized the Graphite Reactor, located at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, as an APS historic site. APS President Young-Kee Kim presented a plaque commemorating the recognition on Monday, Nov. 4, the 81st anniversary of the reactor’s first achieving criticality in 1943.