A research collaboration between Queen Mary University of London, the University of Cambridge and the Institute for High Pressure Physics in Troitsk has discovered the fastest possible speed of sound. The result- about 36 km per second — is around twice as fast as the speed of sound in diamond, the hardest known material in the world.

Waves, such as sound or light waves, are disturbances that move energy from one place to another. Sound waves can travel through different mediums, such as air or water, and move at different speeds depending on what they’re travelling through...

Researchers from the RIKEN Cluster for Pioneering Research have made observations of a new magnetar, called Swift J1818.0-1607, which challenges current knowledge about two types of extreme stars, known as magnetars and pulsars. The research, just published in The Astrophysical Journal, was done using the Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER), an X-ray instrument aboard the International Space Station. Magnetars are a subtype of pulsars, which are neutron stars — degenerate stars that failed to become black holes but instead became extremely dense bodies composed mostly of neutrons.

Magnetars as well as some young rotation-powered pulsars — another type of pulsar — emit powerful X-ray beams, but the mechanism i...

In a groundbreaking new study, researchers at the University of Minnesota, in collaboration with the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Soldier Center, have 3D printed unique fluid channels at the micron scale that could automate production of diagnostics, sensors, and assays used for a variety of medical tests and other applications.

The team is the first to 3D print these structures on a curved surface, providing the initial step for someday printing them directly on the skin for real-time sensin...

NASA’s extensive fleet of spacecraft allows scientists to study the Sun extremely close-up — one of the agency’s spacecraft is even on its way to fly through the Sun’s outer atmosphere. But sometimes taking a step back can provide new insight.

In a new study, scientists looked at sunspots ...