All articles by Philip Ball – Page 16
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Opinion
The power of salinity
Philip Ball looks at a new device that creates energy from salinity differences between fresh and sea water
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Opinion
A nose for nanoparticles
Zinc nanoparticles appear to have the ability to make odorants smell stronger and could a give a valuable insight into how olfaction works, says Philip Ball
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News
Researchers form first liquid protein
Chemists in the UK have figured out how to convert pure proteins into a liquid state, without any solvent
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Opinion
Polyhedra of the past
Today polyhedra speak to chemists of fullerenes and other cage molecules. But they once had a very different meaning, says Philip Ball
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Opinion
Golden garments
Simple nanoscience is bringing the legendary Golden Fleece to life in the form of merino wool dyed with gold. Philip Ball links myth to modern science
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Opinion
The upsides to amyloid proteins
Unwinding protein fibrils could give a glimpse of how peptides survived on early Earth
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Opinion
Making use of molecular motions
Thermal motions on the molecular scale are not just useless noise, discovers Philip Ball
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Opinion
The science of scents is not simple
The flowery language of fragrance chemistry doesn't distract Philip Ball from the sharp scent of olfactory understanding
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FeatureFeynman's fancy
Richard Feynman's famous talk on atom-by-atom assembly is often credited with kick-starting nanotechnology. Fifty years on, Philip Ball investigates how influential it really was
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Opinion
The utility of oxidation states
Oxidation state is a convenient fiction, but the concept is far from meaningless, writes Philip Ball
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Feature
Literary reactions
Chemistry makes occasional appearances in fiction but rarely takes centre stage. Philip Ball unearths chemistry's fictional roles
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Opinion
Casimir concord
Philip Ball uncovers a pleasing symmetry surrounding the mysterious Casimir force
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Opinion
Notions of nanobots
Ubiquitous images of nanobots are 20,000 leagues from reality, warns Phil Ball
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Opinion
Is the time ripe for a new second?
Philip Ball asks if you can spare him 429 228 004 229 952 oscillations of your time
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Opinion
Fitting science into fiction
You don't need to understand the science bits, says Philip Ball, just what they represent