All articles by Philip Ball – Page 13
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Research
Bright idea to probe bond order
An IBM team has used atomic force microscopy to reveal the lengths and orders of C–C bonds in buckyballs and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
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Opinion
The automatic chemist
Philip Ball considers the creation of a collective chemical brain, and what it might dream up
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Research
Getting under water's skin
Researchers think they might have an answer to why water's surface tension isn't as great as it ought to be
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Feature
Big troubles over tiny bubbles
Conventional wisdom suggests that nanosized bubbles should barely exist at all, so their stability for hours or days has surprised many. Philip Ball takes a close look at these minute miracles
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Research
Polymer replacement for the hydration shell
New work on liquid proteins casts doubt on the on the essentiality of the hydration sphere for protein function
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Opinion
Nullius in verba
Philip Ball asks how much of the published literature you should believe. Not much, by some accounts
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Feature
Turing patterns
Code-cracker Alan Turing’s impact on chemistry is still being realised today, a century after his birth. Philip Ball investigates
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Opinion
Breaking the surface?
Philip Ball is perplexed by the EPSRC’s decision to cut surface science funding
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Opinion
Skin deep science
Philip Ball takes a critical look at the science behind an anti-ageing cream and discovers there's some truth in its sugar-coated claims
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Opinion
A packed dancefloor
To understand the chemical choreography of the cell, we must acknowledge the bustling biomolecular ballroom in which it takes place, says Philip Ball
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Opinion
Sightly scientific environments
Philip Ball admires the artistry of contemporary science buildings and a few old masters too
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Opinion
Good news for graphene
Political party conferences are not noted for taking much interest in science, says Philip Ball
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Opinion
Salt, science, salad and art
Were you aware of Salt Awareness week? Me neither, admits Philip Ball
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Opinion
Art in science
In the art world, chemistry continues to be a rich stimulus to the imagination, says Philip Ball