Mechanics of knots

Pluto up close

Goodbye (Mr) Chips

Super beetroot

Keep it snappy?

Wear your OLEDs

Fold it like Samsung

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Try the Pew Research science knowledge test. Of the original 3278 people tested the average score was 8 out of 12 correct.

Researchers at Aalto University and VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland have succeeded in developing a method which helps to improve the relative uncertainty in measuring the luminous efficacy of LEDs.

In Brief

Massachusetts Institute of Technology has retained the top spot in the QS World University Rankings with Harvard University coming second. However Stanford is top of the Reuters Top 100 World’s Most Innovative Universities Rankings.

Cool it

An interesting but simple piece of work at Stanford University is aimed at improving the efficiency of solar cells. The hotter they get, the less efficient they become at converting photons into electricity. The Stanford solution is to shunt away the heat. The concept is based on a thin, patterned silica material laid on top of a traditional solar cell. The material is transparent to the visible sunlight but absorbs and emits thermal radiation.