Thermodynamics

Time crystals sound like something a video game character would be trying to collect, but this bizarre phase of matter is very real – and now one of them has been created in Google’s quantum processor, Sycamore.

Nanothermometers, while not a brand new idea, are still at the cutting edge of science. We've seen impressive results to date, but accuracy and resolution can always improve, and this is what researchers from the University of Technology Sydney in Australia believe they've achieved.

Metals that conduct electricity also produce heat, right? Well, no, not all of them, according to recent research led by Berkeley Lab. They've found one type of metal that keeps its cool as electrical current moves through it, and may lead to a range of new and super-efficient electrical devices.

Swiss researchers have created a system that stores heat captured during summer for use in winter, with the added benefit that the captured energy can be physically transported anywhere it may be needed.

A revolutionary new type of smart window could cut window-cleaning costs in tall buildings while reducing heating bills and boosting worker productivity. Partially inspired by the reflective properties of moth eyes, this smart window is said to be self-cleaning, energy-saving, and anti-glare.

Hotter things always release heat to their colder environments, correct? Researchers show that particles on a nanoscale actually fluctuate more than we expect on a macro scale and develop new procedures to test what exactly is happening on the level of our increasingly miniature technology.

A Japanese dentist by the name of Hideki Watanabe has invented a self-stirring saucepan called the Kuru-Kuru Nabe (Round-Round Pot).

A new experimental solar steam generation power plant that opened last week in southern Spain is aiming to improve on the efficiency of existing concentrated solar power systems.

Remember that zany Irish companySteorn, who claimed to have built a working perpetual motion machine that could produce clean, free energy out of a few magnets and some plastic discs? Well, they're back again.

California based company, HydroLectricPower, claims its HH2 system can turn just about any fossil fuel (petrol, diesel or compressed natural gas) powered vehicle into an eco-friendly hybrid with the installation of a book-sized device.