All articles by Philip Ball – Page 12
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Opinion
DNA waves don't wash
Philip Ball asks why a spectacular claim seems to have been overlooked. Sometimes science doesn’t work the way it’s supposed to
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Research
Solvent traffic responsible for electron gridlock
Ultrafast spectroscopy reveals electrons must obey rules of the road when pulling out into oncoming water
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Opinion
A self-assembled periodic table
Philip Ball unpacks the instructions for a new periodic table
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Research
Protons wander freely in icy gas giant cores
Under intense pressures like those found on Uranus or Neptune ice may behave in very different ways, even giving rise to magnetic fields
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Opinion
The name's (quadruple) bond?
Philip Ball discusses the contentious issue of C2 bonding. Dare we draw four lines?
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Opinion
Quantum leaps of faith
The path to quantum mechanics becomes smoother if you take a different route, says Philip Ball
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Feature
What does DNA do?
The more we learn about DNA, the less we seem to know, as Philip Ball discovers
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Research
Water structure controversy laid to rest?
A solution to puzzling claims that water arranges itself in rings and chains, rather than the anticipated tetrahedral arrangement, may have been found
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Opinion
A (chemical) potential theory of life's origin
Philip Ball says we should look beyond the molecules that make us to find the spark of life
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Research
Why don't nanobubbles go pop?
New study claims that nanobubbles' stability is down to supersaturation of the liquid surrounding the bubble with gas
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Research
Controversial theory of smell given a boost
Molecular vibrations may be responsible for our ability to distinguish between different odours, new experiments show
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Opinion
The founding myths of chemistry
Chemists should learn from the past, says Philip Ball, but they may need a history lesson first
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Opinion
Make or break: the laws of motion
Molecular machinery involves a delicate interplay of forces, but biology has found the balance, says Philip Ball
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Feature
Up in the air
Lithium–air batteries hold the promise of great enough power density to fuel cars – but has their progress stalled in recent years? Philip Ball finds out