James R. Riordon
Science News
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Past articles by James:
A controversial superconductor may be a game changer — if the claim is true
It’s big, if true: transmitting electricity with no resistance at room temperature and moderate pressure. But controversy dogs the team making the claim. → Read More
Physicists stored data in quantum holograms made of twisted light
Light that travels in corkscrew-like paths provides a way to make holograms that store large amounts of data in ultrasecure packages. → Read More
Muon scanning hints at mysteries within an ancient Chinese wall
Density fluctuations within the ancient rampart encircling the city of Xi’an could be defects or yet-to-be-discovered archaeological finds. → Read More
Lots of Tatooine-like planets around binary stars may be habitable
A new simulation suggests that planets orbiting a pair of stars may be plentiful, and many of those worlds could be suitable for life. → Read More
Want a 'Shrinky Dinks' approach to nano-sized devices? Try hydrogels
Patterning hydrogels with a laser and then shrinking them down with chemicals offers a way to make nanoscopic structures out of many materials. → Read More
Methylated gases could be an unambiguous indicator of alien life
On Earth, methylated gases are produced by organisms cleaning up their environment — and by little else. The same might be true on some exoplanets. → Read More
Here’s how to make a fiber-optic cable out of air using a laser
A hollowed-out laser beam heats a tube of air that surrounds cooler air, providing a way to guide light much the way fiber optics do. → Read More
Tiny bubbles that make icicles hazy are filled with water, not air
Like tree rings, layers of itty-bitty water pockets also preserve a record of an icicle’s growth. → Read More
Jumping beans' random strategy always leads to shade — eventually
Jumping beans use randomness to maximize their chances of getting out of the sun’s heat, a new study finds. → Read More
We could get messages back from spacecraft sent through a wormhole
A simulation of a probe sent to the other side of a wormhole shows it could send speedy messages back before the hole closes and the probe is lost. → Read More
Humans haven’t set foot on the moon in 50 years. That may soon change
In 1972, the era of crewed missions to the moon came to an end. Fifty years later, a new one has begun. → Read More
In a breakthrough experiment, nuclear fusion finally makes more energy than it uses
The sun creates energy through nuclear fusion. Now scientists have too, in a controlled lab experiment, raising hopes for developing clean energy. → Read More
A new supercomputer simulation animates the evolution of the universe
The detailed simulation shows the cosmos changing from a dark, featureless gas to a web of stars and galaxies radiating light. → Read More
Physicists explain how to execute a nearly splashless dive
A pocket of air lets elite divers pull off the rip entry, breaking through the water without sending it flying. → Read More
How physics can improve the urinal
Urinals built with curves like those in nautilus shells eliminate the splash-back common with conventional commodes. → Read More
Why dandelion seeds are so good at spreading widely
Individual seeds on a dandelion flower are programmed to let go for a specific wind direction, allowing them to spread widely as the wind shifts. → Read More
Zapping tiny metal drops with sound creates wires for soft electronics
Wearable medical devices and stretchable displays could benefit from a way to use high-frequency sound to create liquid metal wires. → Read More
Crowdsourced cell phone data could keep bridges safe and strong
Accelerometers and GPS sensors in smartphones could provide frequent, real-time data on bridge vibrations, and alert engineers to changes in integrity → Read More
Wind turbines could help capture carbon dioxide while providing power
Turbulent wakes from wind turbines can concentrate CO2 from cities and factories, making it easier to remove the greenhouse gas from the atmosphere. → Read More
Particles from space provide a new look inside cyclones
Cosmic rays that smash into the atmosphere make muons that are sensitive to changing air pressure inside storms. → Read More