A routine lab experiment by a college student has turned into one of the strangest physics stories of the year, hinting that ...

"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." The Laws of Thermodynamics explain interactions among components in a system, including emulsification of ...

A container of oil and water separated by a thin skin of magnetized particles has intrigued a team of chemical engineers by taking on an unexpected 'Grecian urn' shape upon agitation. "I thought 'what ...

Ammonia (NH 3) is an important molecule with many applications. The end product of the famed Haber–Bosch process, it is commonly synthesized to capture nitrogen for fertilizers, and is used for ...

Anthony Reich, a graduate student at the University of Massachusetts, accidentally obtained a liquid of oil, water, and magnetized nickel particles that constantly restores shape. It is noted that ...

Five different phases of a colloid-polymer mixture can co-exist at the same time, in defiance of the 150-year-old Gibbs phase rule, which states that only three simultaneous phases are possible. The ...

Properties of certain liquids defy the laws of thermodynamics. Credit: Anthony Raykh / UMass Amherst A team of researchers from the University of Massachusetts Amherst has identified an unusual ...

Regular readers of Nobel Intent know that one of my favorite topics to cover (and study) is computer simulation of real world phenomena, specifically statistical thermodynamic and molecular phenomena.