Physics

The jewels nabbed in the Louvre heist may still be at large, but scientists have just closed the case on another gemstone mystery: what gives rare ammolite gems their rainbow shimmer.

Ammolite comes from the fossilized shells of extinct squidlike critters called ammonites. Scientists knew the secret to the fossils’ flamboyant appearance lay somewhere in their layers of nacre, or mother-of-pearl. But not all ammonite fossils boast brilliant colors — nor do pearly nautilus or pale abalone shells with similar nacre layers. More

Senior physics writer Emily Conover has a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Chicago. She is a two-time winner of the D.C. Science Writers’ Association Newsbrief award and a winner of the Acoustical Society of America’s Science Communication Award. More

Senior physics writer Emily Conover has a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Chicago. She is a two-time winner of the D.C. Science Writers’ Association Newsbrief award and a winner of the Acoustical Society of America’s Science Communication Award. More

Salt, ice and some oomph — these three simple ingredients are all that’s needed to make waste-free electricity, researchers report September 15 in Nature Materials. Straining a single cone-shaped piece of ice that’s slightly smaller than a black peppercorn and  25 percent salt by weight can output about 1 millivolt, while an array of 2,000 cones could produce 2 volts, or enough electrical potential to power a small red LED.

The findings powerfully demonstrate the flexoelectric effect, a phenomenon where electricity is generated through the irregular deformation of a solid material. While the flexoelectricity produced by most materials is too weak for practical electrical systems, salted ice could someday provide a renewable source of  energy. More

Shimmering like spun gold, sea silk fabric is so lustrous that some believe it inspired the Greek legends of Jason’s quest for the Golden Fleece. For centuries, artisans in the Mediterranean have passed down the art of spinning the silk, which comes from the beardlike tufts of the giant clam Pinna nobilis. But the clam’s endangered species status has made it hard to keep the tradition alive.

Now, scientists have re-created the legendary fabric using discarded parts of Atrina pectinata, a related clam species farmed extensively in South Korea for food. They’ve also identified the precise molecular structure and formation behind sea silk’s everlasting golden hue, the researchers report July 29 in Advanced Materials. More

Senior physics writer Emily Conover has a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Chicago. She is a two-time winner of the D.C. Science Writers’ Association Newsbrief award and a winner of the Acoustical Society of America’s Science Communication Award. More

Meghan Rosen is a senior writer who reports on the life sciences for Science News. She earned a Ph.D. in biochemistry and molecular biology with an emphasis in biotechnology from the University of California, Davis, and later graduated from the science communication program at UC Santa Cruz. More

Senior physics writer Emily Conover has a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Chicago. She is a two-time winner of the D.C. Science Writers’ Association Newsbrief award and a winner of the Acoustical Society of America’s Science Communication Award. More