Water vapor is used to manage heat in high-end smartphones

Underwater data centers may provide an alternative to energy-intensive air cooling

By submerging electronic hardware into a non-conductive fluid, such as an oil with strong thermal transfer properties, significant thermal energy can be quickly drawn away from a chip and brought to the surface as warm materials rise. Thermal energy can then be removed from the fluid with a heat exchanger before it is recirculated.

Heat pumps use an easily boilable chemical to regulate temperature

In air conditioners, warm air is pulled from a home to turn a refrigerant into a gas, which is then compressed, raising its temperature. The gas naturally releases this energy to the comparatively cooler environment when exposed, then expands and is reused in the system. Heaters run in reverse, with the refrigerant picking up energy from the comparatively warmer environment.

Synthetic diamonds may be used to cool microchips

The strong carbon bonds in diamonds efficiently carry vibrations, allowing them to conduct heat several times faster than copper, a metal commonly used in heat sinks. AI and high-performance computing have pushed researchers to investigate alternative materials for cooling solutions.

Fast charging can lead to battery degradation if the device does not stay cool

Modern phones use software to monitor charging habits and can activate adaptive charging to delay charging rates and prevent overheating. When charging, devices should not be confined (e.g., stored in your pocket) or placed in direct sunlight, as this can trigger heat warnings and sudden shutdowns.

The boiling temperature of water decreases with increasing elevation because the molecules need less energy to overcome the lower atmospheric pressure associated with thinner air.

13 unconventional ways to stay cool during heat waves

While air conditioning is the default solution for many in a heat wave, it can get expensive while requiring the consumption of fossil fuel energy. So, how else can you stay cool during a heat wave? This list compiles some practical, at times quirky, suggestions, including an ice-pack-filled aubergine hat.

The boiling temperature of water decreases with increasing elevation because the molecules need less energy to overcome the lower atmospheric pressure associated with thinner air.

How freeze-drying leaves food with less than 4% of its original water content

In specialized equipment, foods are brought down to temperatures below freezing before a vacuum pump removes the air from the container, lowering the pressure around the food and the boiling temperature of water. Heaters beneath the food slowly raise its temperature above the now-reduced boiling point, causing the water to go from a frozen to a gaseous state.

The industrial methods for recovering helium, including filters and cryogenic separation

Membranes with microscopic pores of varying sizes can be used to selectively filter out components of natural gas, including helium, which can then be concentrated. Because helium requires the lowest temperature of all elements to condense into a liquid, extracted natural gas can also be cooled until only helium remains as a gas.

Most advanced touch screens rely on electrical charge in your skin

Capacitive touch screens store electrical charges in an electrostatic grid of tiny wires. When we touch the screen a tiny electrical charge is transferred from the screen to the finger to complete a circuit (since skin has positive and negative charges). This connection creates a voltage drop on that point of the screen. Cloth, however, doesn't conduct electricity, which is why humans can't wear thick gloves and operate their smartphones.

The virtual reality era has finally arrived

The smartphone era has driven a large share of the consumer electronics market for almost 20 years now. But what comes next? Dominant computing platforms come and go over time, and there’s reason to believe that mixed reality devices like headsets and glasses might be the form factor that eventually replaces smartphones. This article presents a snapshot of where we are right now in the VR era, and what the future holds.

A smartphone contains over a dozen rare earth elements

One of the most important elements is indium, which makes up an electrically-conductive mesh beneath the display that provides touchscreen functionality. Alloys containing REEs are used in the magnets needed for the microphone and speaker.

Microwave ovens heat food by agitating certain molecules with non-ionizing light

Molecules with resonant frequencies within the microwave range vibrate, producing heat between adjacent matter, just as hands warm when rubbed together. The mesh in front of an oven's door confines the microwaves to the container, while the rotating plate allows different parts of food to travel through regions of maximum vibration.

Microchip fabricators create light by heating tin droplets to over 220,000 Kelvin

Every second, lasers strike 50,000 droplets moving at 250 kilometers (155 miles) per hour, vaporizing the tin in supernova-like miniature explosions that produce ultraviolet light. Knowing this light will spread via diffraction as it passes through a filter during manufacturing, designers reverse-engineer the filter design based on the required final microchip pattern.

The history of many kitchen appliances involves unexpected discoveries and applications, including wartime radar turned hamster defroster and replacing an 'ice king' with heat-stealing boxes.

Solid-state batteries substitute the fluid electrolyte layer with a solid

The non-flammable solid greatly reduces the risk of fire and explosion, as well as the release of toxic gases via leaks in the existing sulfide-based systems. These batteries use garnet-type solid electrolytes, which provide high ionic conductivity and chemical stability but require temperatures above 1,000 degrees Celsius (1,800 degrees Fahrenheit) for fabrication.

Samsung makes much more than smartphones

Samsung is best known for its highly popular smartphones and related consumer electronics. But the business, first created in 1938, is a conglomerate invested in container shipping, tank building, and even real estate construction like the Burj Khalifa. Its annual $200B in revenue comprises 20% of South Korea's gross domestic product. Watch this video for more on this diverse, enormous company.

Cloud chambers use alcohol vapor to create trails behind passing cosmic rays

As cosmic rays travel through the air, they collide with molecules to form charged fragments called ions. Vapors in the chamber condense around these ions, creating streaks of tiny droplets that mark the paths where cosmic rays or their secondary particles traveled.

Transpiration drives water movement through a plant’s vascular system

Water evaporates from the leaves, creating tension that pulls more water upward from the roots through the xylem—the equivalent of plant blood vessels. This process is supported by water molecules sticking to each other (cohesion) and xylem walls (adhesion).

Climate models use complex equations and supercomputers to predict future climate

The equations apply the laws of thermodynamics, fluid motion, and radiative transfer to a 3D grid along Earth's surface. After solving them for each cell in the grid over a time interval, the results carry over to neighboring cells, and the process repeats into the future.

A Death Valley shrub optimizes its cells' organelles to photosynthesize in extreme heat

Examining the cellular structure of the plant under heat, scientists observed the formation of novel, cup-shaped chloroplasts and mitochondrial relocation, which shifted the plant's optimal photosynthesis temperature to 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit) as it tripled in mass over 10 days. Engineering these mechanisms in crops may help optimize them for hotter environments.

Physicists detect the sound of heat in superfluids, theorized since 1938

Referred to as "second sound," the flow of heat in a superfluid resembles a sound wave bouncing back and forth. The heat-mapping techniques used to make the detection may improve the study of neutron stars and superconductors.

Solar panel manufacturing begins with silicon extracted from sand

The silicon is purified and shaped into wafers less than 0.2 millimeters thick, coated and connected through a criss-cross pattern of narrow and wider metal, followed by multiple rounds of lamination before bonding to a weatherproof panel.

An animated visualization of the distillation of crude oil into petroleum products

When crude oil is boiled, its constituent hydrocarbons turn into steam and rise through a distillation tower, where temperature decreases with height. Because different chemical vapors cool back into liquids at distinct temperatures, hydrocarbons naturally sort themselves by boiling point and can then be processed separately into distinct outputs.

'Breather holes' in airplane windows help manage cabin pressure

Airplane windows have three layers of acrylic: the super durable outside layer, the inner pane which acts like a "scratch" surface, and the middle pane with the tiny hole. This bleed hole allows pressurized cabin air to be borne by the strong outer pane while preventing the inner pane from breaking.

Research shows Venus would be hotter if some of its CO₂ were swapped out

The planet's atmosphere—whose density is 92 times that of Earth's—is 96.5% carbon dioxide. Since these molecules all capture the same subset of infrared radiation emitted from Venus's surface, radiation outside this range escapes, demonstrating the increased impact that diverse greenhouse gas composition has on planetary warming.

IBM developed a benchmark to measure the usable performance of a quantum computer

Dubbed "quantum volume," the benchmark tests how well a quantum computer runs complex tasks. It stops when the computer can no longer correctly select the most likely answers, called "heavy outputs," more than two-thirds of the time.

Sony set the standard for cylinder-shaped batteries when it repurposed manufacturing equipment used to make rolls of magnetic recording tape.

The name 'Silicon Valley' arose from the founding of Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory in Fairchild Semiconductor in 1956-57, founded near Stanford University in Palo Alto

Massive 3D printers have been used to build homes by stacking layers of 'concrete toothpaste,' a fire-resistant material that effectively insulates against outside noise.

To reduce wrinkles in clothing, research recommends gentle wash cycles with more water and tumble drying with smaller loads and longer times.

The use of fungi to detoxify land and water—a process known as mycoremediation—has been used to clean up natural resources affected by the 2025 California wildfires.

In 2019, a laptop loaded with six of the worst malware in history and described as 'an exhibit of historical weaponry' sold for $1.3M.

Pure water does not conduct electricity because this flow of energy requires the movement of charged particles, and water is a neutral molecule.

Radioactive elements can introduce software errors because the ionizing radiation they produce can detach electrons from atoms, and computer code relies on the distribution of electrons.

Memecoins are a type of cryptocurrency—a form of digital currency with a wide variety of uses—created around popular 'memes,' or viral internet jokes.

Venture capital is a form of funding provided to early-stage companies with high growth potential, typically in exchange for an equity (or ownership) stake

Electrical grids worldwide must double their power delivery capacity by 2050 to meet surging demand from AI and electric vehicles.

After 25 people used virtual reality headsets to practice flying with virtual wings—flapping their arms—their visual cortex responded to the wings almost as if they were real arms, treating them as body parts.

Learn how your body is, scientifically, like a firework with its own slow, controlled burn.

Some researchers have labeled nomophobia, the fear of being without your phone, as 'the phobia of the 21st century.'

Planeterrellas create artificial auroras that mimic the atmospheric displays of light by setting up an electric field between two metal balls in a jar filled with a small amount of air.

According to the physics of black holes, our 4D reality may be a hologram—a projection of information coded on a 2D surface on the edge of the universe.

As of 2025, the most cited papers in science include a review of graphene, methods to improve image recognition, streamlining electron density calculations, and optimizing protein studies.

Budweiser stores yeast derived from the original 1800s strain in a secret bunker, which only the Head of Yeast Management can access—not even the CEO

NBA superstar Victor Wembanyama spent the 2025 summer training with monks in central China to enhance his body and mind.

The word 'jazz' evolved from 'jasm,' 19th-century American slang for 'energy'

Fast-casual restaurant Chili's is experiencing a resurgence, with its parent company recently reporting a nearly 32% increase in sales, thanks to passionate Gen Z fans on TikTok.

Gerrymandering works through two techniques: cracking opposing voters across districts to dilute their power, and packing them into a few to waste their votes in lopsided majorities.

Hotels in Cannes, the glamorous city on the French Riviera, hire hawks to ward off seagulls during the city's famous film festival.