Science and inventions.

Prince Rupert's Drop: Solid at the head, fragile at the tail

Why does Prince Rupert’s drop resist shocks, then fragment when its tail breaks? Discover the tensions hidden in the glass.

Why does coffee leave a circle instead of a uniform spot?

The shape of the particles can change the result of drying.

This drop advances on its own steam cushion

The Leidenfrost effect even allows a rise on certain surfaces.

On a plate of Chladni, the sand draws what does not move

The vibration makes geometric figures appear without a pencil.

Sound is enough to hang a drop... and move it

At ETH Zurich, researchers handled liquids without containers.

Superfluid helium can come out of a container along its walls

An almost invisible film can pass over the edge.

This black coating almost makes the facets of a diamond disappear

The nanotubes studied at MIT return extremely little light.

The aerogel looks like a smoke... yet it is a solid

Some JPL aerogels contain up to 99.8% vacuum.

In a quartz watch, a stone really gives the rhythm

The deformation of the crystal and the electricity respond.

Why do we see through the door of a microwave?

The metal grid does not behave the same for all waves.

This transparent plastic reveals its tensions in color

Polarized light makes otherwise discrete constraints appear.

A CD does not hide a rainbow painted under its plastic

Its tiny reliefs redistribute the colors of light.

Theremin is played without the hands touching it

The body of the musician changes the properties of an electrical circuit.

A packet of chewing gum inaugurated this gesture become banal

The first purchase of the UPC scanner took place in Troy in 1974.

This electronic page can remain visible without power

The electronic ink retains the image thanks to the position of its pigments.

A damaged QR code can still deliver its message

Error correction adds information that can be used to repair data.

How does the light stay in a glass wire?

Fiber optics combine two lenses with different properties.

Water can expand while it is still being cooled.

Near 4 °C, fresh water reaches a maximum density.

Starch resists shock... then an oscillation causes it to yield

At Cornell, researchers changed the reaction of a suspension.

On the Mbius ribbon, the other side is never separated

A half turn is enough to upset the geometry of a loop.

Even when you do nothing, your brain keeps a big energy bill

Its relatively low weight hides an activity that does not stop with your visible efforts.

You make a liquid every day that you notice especially when it is missing

Saliva accompanies almost all ordinary gestures of the mouth.

Your bones seem motionless... but their construction never closes

The skeleton combines strength and renewal rather than definitive rigidity.

Why doesn’t your stomach digest like your meal?

A protection is played in a thin layer, just in contact with the cells.

The surface of your skin changes without waiting for a spectacular moult

A visible part of your body is renewed by an almost invisible movement.

This heart continues to beat during the journey to its receiver

A machine can hold an organ in very different conditions from a simple cold transport.

Your nose recognizes more smells than it has types of receptors

The secret is more like combinations than a single label for each fragrance.

You looked at the same dress... and you didn't see the same colors

A viral photograph has provided researchers with a real question of perception.

Can an absent hand still hurt?

The word “ghost” does not mean that pain is invented.

This quantum bit delivers only one answer... after having exploited several possibilities

The overlay is more subtle than a computer that would display all the answers at once.

This microscope reveals surfaces through a current that crosses a tiny vacuum

The tunnel effect has left the equations to become an instrument of observation.

Even in a vacuum, these tiny pieces can still attract

At a very small distance, the absence of air does not mean the absence of any interaction.

Your body emits a light that your eyes cannot see

A very sensitive camera reveals a tiny emission related to the activity of the living.

Do we really have ten times more bacteria than human cells?

A long-repeated figure was re-examined by returning to the estimates that supported it.

Why can a few seconds of fear seem much longer?

An experience distinguishes the speed of perception from the memory of an event.

How can you donate part of your liver and maintain a functioning liver?

A capacity for tissue growth makes a particular form of graft possible.

The iron in your body is not a tiny nail hidden in your blood.

A few grams of a chemical element play essential roles without forming a piece of metal.

Logic and history of mathematics

A letter shook a math book just before it was published

In June 1902, Bertrand Russell reported to Gottlob Frege a contradiction in his system.

Metrology

Can ice, water and steam coexist in equilibrium?

The triple dot gives a less spectacular response in appearance, but very precise.

Can you hear a metal “scream” when it deforms?

The expression seems poetic, but it designates a very real sound phenomenon.

Japan Microbiological research

This bacterium uses plastic as a resource: where is the trap?

A real discovery, but much more precise than the promise of a clean ocean on its own.

Neptune and Uranus Earth experiences

Researchers Made Tiny Diamonds From Bottle Plastic

In 2022, an experiment at SLAC observed the formation of nanodiamonds in PET.

Natural radioactivity

Did you know that a banana is naturally a little radioactive?

The word worries. Quantity and origin tell a more ordinary story.

United States NIST and JILA

Does a clock go faster if it is lifted?

Thirty-three centimetres is enough to reveal an Einstein effect.

Harvard, United States

Can light travel faster than a car?

In a carefully prepared medium, a light pulse can be significantly slowed down.

Research in materials

This metal has been deformed... a little heat reminds it of its shape

The “memory” of certain alloys belongs to their structure, not to a hidden brain.

A real insect in a computer: is this the origin of the word “bug”?

A 1947 incident gives a literal illustration of a word already in use.

Why did it take eight years to see that drop?

An experiment launched in 1927 puts our patience to the test.

Did you know that nature created nuclear reactors before us?

In Oklo, Gabon, geology has created the conditions for a natural nuclear reaction.

A contaminated experiment... what if the accident hid a discovery?

A contaminated crop becomes interesting because of what no longer grows.

Nijmegen Netherlands

This frog floated wirelessly... inside a magnet

An intense magnetic field made it possible to levitate a live frog.

NIST United States

He saw an “impossible” symmetry... and refused to erase it.

The discovery of quasicrystals broadened the notion of order in solids.

Manchester United Kingdom

Adhesive tape helped insulate a single atom thick material

Graphite layers were separated to graphene.

Guadeloupe mangroves

This white thread in a mangrove was a single bacteria

Thiomargarita magnifica forms cells visible to the naked eye.

Sntis Switzerland

At the Sntintis, a laser really guided the lightning

A Swiss campaign showed that a laser could guide a landfill for several tens of meters.

MITUnis United States

They filmed the light in slow motion... repeating the experience

Repeated measurements reconstructed the path of a light pulse.

Privernum, Italy search MIT

These small white grains help a concrete to close its cracks

Tests of concrete inspired by the Romans showed a repair of cracks.

CERN Switzerland

They dropped atoms of antimatter... to know in what direction they fall.

ALPHA-g observed the effect of gravity on antihydrogen.

Physics and biology laboratories

These tweezers catch a cell... with light

A focused laser beam can trap and manipulate microscopic objects.

HarvardUnis United States

They recorded a galloping horse... in the DNA of bacteria

A sequence of images was encoded and then reconstructed from living bacteria.