Shining a light — literally — on diabetes
Device from MIT lab could help diabetic patients monitor their blood glucose levels without finger pricks.
Stringing together a picture of superconductors
MIT physicists use an offshoot of string theory to describe the strange behavior of superconducting materials.
Explained: the Doppler effect
The same phenomenon behind changes in the pitch of a moving ambulance’s siren is helping astronomers locate and study distant planets.
Silicon can be made to melt in reverse
Material that shows melting while cooling might someday lead to applications in solar cells and other devices
Explained: Bandgap
Understanding how electrons get excited is crucial to creating solar cells and light-emitting diodes
Explained: Phonons
When trying to control the way heat moves through solids, it is often useful to think of it as a flow of particles.
Explained: Quark-gluon plasma
By colliding particles, physicists hope to recreate the earliest moments of our universe, on a much smaller scale.
Explained: The Carnot Limit
Long before the nature of heat was understood, the fundamental limit of efficiency of heat-based engines was determined
Mysterious quantum forces unraveled
MIT researchers find a way to calculate the effects of Casimir forces, offering a way to keep micromachines’ parts from sticking together.
New project aims for fusion ignition
MIT-led Ignitor reactor could be the world’s first to reach major milestone, perhaps paving the way for eventual power production.
New phenomenon found in internal waves
MIT team shows that waves inside oceans, air and stars are filtered and reflected by layers.
Explained: Thermoelectricity
Turning temperature differences directly into electricity could be an efficient way of harnessing heat that is wasted in cars and power plants.
Toward more efficient wireless power delivery
Latest research shows that efficiency improves when multiple devices are charged at once.