Tag Archives: friction

Flagging loose bolts

By Sid Perkins / May 16, 2013
Mei Kam (left), Mei Di Zhu (center) and Jia Ying Zhong (right) designed a “smart washer” that provides an alert when the nut holding the washer on a bolt comes loose. Credit: Patrick Thornton, SSP

“Smart alert washer” automatically flags when a nut is coming loose, warning of potential danger

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Helium: Not so super after all

By Stephen Ornes / November 2, 2012
As a gas, helium glows yellow-pink when an electric current is added. Scientists recently reported that they’d made a mistake in a 2004 study that found the element was a supersolid. Turns out helium as a solid isn’t so super. Caption: Pslawinski

An exciting discovery in physics turns out to be merely a case of mistaken identity

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Car-crazy kid wins Broadcom competition

By Laura Sanders / October 3, 2012
Raymond Gilmartin just won top honors – and a $25,000 educational award – at the Broadcom MASTERS competition for middle-school scientists and engineers. Credit: Broadcom MASTERS, IML Photography

First place at middle-school MASTERS event goes to an eighth grader who studied automotive spoilers

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