Technology Electron-spotting could explain warm superconductors How can some materials become superconductors, allowing electricity to flow through them with zero resistance? The answer to this mystery may lie in a phenomenon best known from LCD televisions. Admittedly, not all superconduction is a mystery: it is well established why some materials can become superconductors at temperatures close to absolute zero. But in … 51¶¯Âþ
Jim Al-Khalili: Islam's House of Wisdom will rise again Reminding us of Islam's rich scientific heritage Quantum physicist Jim Al-Khalili grew up in Iraq and has become an expert on the golden age of Islamic science. He explains to Sanjida O'Connell how science in the Muslim world will flourish once more Few westerners know about the golden age of Arabic science. How did it … Opinion
Life Five emotions you never knew you had Jumping for joy Editorial: Uh-oh, more emotions to worry about CAN you name the six basic emotions? Take a straw poll of your friends and we guarantee that you will find no consensus. Yet psychologists are unequivocal: joy, sadness, anger, fear, surprise and disgust. These are the Big Six, quite literally, the in-your-face emotions – … Features
Enigma Number 1578 About turn Joe placed six lettered counters on a 3-by-2 grid as shown, reading ENIGMA anticlockwise, and then he removed the E. Penny then slid the counters around, successively moving them up, down or across into a gap, so that after Joe replaced the E in its original position, the letters read ENIGMA clockwise. What … Regulars
Zero zero, the jumbo jet graveyard Zero zero, the jumbo jet graveyard MORE on the occupants of the mysterious "zero zero" map location at 0° north by 0° west, which lies in the Atlantic to the south of Ghana (31 October 2009) . John Relph tells us that he was an airline ground mechanic in the 1970s when 747 jumbo jets … Regulars