Photo credit: MIT | Sampson Wilcox
MIT researchers have captured the first images of “free-range atoms,” a major breakthrough in physics. Why does it matter? They discovered how to take clear pictures of individual atoms roaming freely, or the super small building blocks of everything.
Water droplets are being used in neat ways for chemical reactions, especially in microfluidics and droplet chemistry. They work like microreactors, as droplets can sit in a liquid they don’t blend with or be guided on surfaces with techniques like electrowetting. In the videos you’ll see, a scientist adds small bits of chemicals to a water droplet, letting them blend together inside.
Get ready to say goodbye to splashback with these new urinal designs. A team of researchers from the University of Waterloo created a new urinal shape based on fluid dynamics—how liquids move and touch surfaces. The main feature is a curved, stretched-out basin that looks kind of like a long, shallow scoop or a slim trough.
Scientists aboard the Schmidt Ocean Institute’s research vessel Falkor (too) captured the first confirmed video of a live colossal squid (Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni) in its deep-sea environment. This marks a historic moment, as 2025 is the 100-year anniversary of the species’ discovery.