Reference Terms
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Energy
In general, the word energy refers to a concept that can be paraphrased as "the potential for causing changes", and therefore one can say that energy is the cause of any change. The most common definition of energy is the work that a certain force (gravitational, electromagnetic, etc) can do. Due to a variety of forces, energy has many different forms (gravitational, electric, heat, etc.) that can be grouped into two major categories: kinetic energy and potential energy. According to this definition, energy has the same units as work; a force applied through a distance. The SI unit of energy, the joule, equals one newton applied through one meter, for example. Energy has no direction in space, and is therefore considered a scalar quantity.
Energy is a conserved quantity, meaning that it cannot be created or destroyed, but only converted from one form into another. Thus, the total energy of the universe always remains constant. One form of energy can be readily transformed into another; for instance, a battery converts chemical energy into electrical energy.
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Matter & Energy News
December 1, 2025
Dec. 1, 2025 Engineers have unlocked a new class of supercapacitor material that could rival traditional batteries in energy while charging dramatically faster. By redesigning carbon structures into highly curved, accessible graphene networks, the team achieved ...
Nov. 29, 2025 Quantum communication is edging closer to reality thanks to a breakthrough in teleporting information between photons from different quantum dots—one of the biggest challenges in building a quantum internet. By creating nearly identical ...
Nov. 28, 2025 Researchers have directly observed Floquet effects in graphene for the first time, settling a long-running scientific debate. Their ultrafast light-based technique demonstrates that graphene’s ...
Nov. 27, 2025 Researchers have discovered a low-energy way to recycle Teflon® by using mechanical motion and sodium metal. The process turns the notoriously durable plastic into sodium fluoride that can be reused directly in chemical manufacturing. This creates ...
Nov. 24, 2025 Europe is investing in a coordinated effort to develop high-power optical vortex technologies and train new specialists in the field. The HiPOVor network unites academia and industry to advance applications ranging from material processing to ...
Nov. 21, 2025 Scientists have directly measured the minuscule electron sharing that makes precious-metal catalysts so effective. Their new technique, IET, reveals how molecules bind and react on metal surfaces with unprecedented clarity. The insights promise ...
Nov. 21, 2025 Researchers have discovered a way to store information using a rare class of materials called ferroaxials, which rely on swirling electric dipoles instead of magnetism or charge. These vortex-like states are naturally stable and resistant to outside ...
Nov. 20, 2025 New research shows that light’s magnetic field is far more influential than scientists once believed. The team found that this magnetic component significantly affects how light rotates as it passes through certain materials. Their work challenges ...
Nov. 20, 2025 Operating a new device named the Fusion Z-pinch Experiment 3, or FuZE-3, Zap Energy has now achieved plasmas with electron pressures as high as 830 megapascals (MPa), or 1.6 gigapascals (GPa) total, comparable to the pressures found deep below ...
Nov. 20, 2025 A nationwide analysis has uncovered how sprawling fossil fuel infrastructure sits surprisingly close to millions of American homes. The research shows that 46.6 million people live within about a mile of wells, refineries, pipelines, storage sites, ...
Nov. 20, 2025 MIT engineers have created an ultrasonic device that rapidly frees water from materials designed to absorb moisture from the air. Instead of waiting hours for heat to evaporate the trapped water, the system uses high-frequency vibrations to release ...
Nov. 19, 2025 Researchers created scalable quantum circuits capable of simulating fundamental nuclear physics on more than 100 qubits. These circuits efficiently prepare complex initial states that classical computers cannot handle. The achievement demonstrates a ...
Latest Headlines
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Nov. 29, 2025 The discovery of strange, ultra-red objects—especially the extreme case known as The Cliff—has pushed astronomers to propose an entirely new type of cosmic structure: black hole stars. These ...
Nov. 29, 2025 Nearly a century after astronomers first proposed dark matter to explain the strange motions of galaxies, scientists may finally be catching a glimpse of it. A University of Tokyo researcher ...
Nov. 29, 2025 ETH Zurich scientists have found the holy grail of brewing: the long-sought formula behind stable beer foam. Their research explains why different beers rely on different physical mechanisms to keep ...
Nov. 28, 2025 Using intense X-rays, researchers captured a buckyball as it expanded, split and shed electrons under strong laser fields. Detailed scattering measurements showed how the molecule behaves at low, ...
Nov. 26, 2025 Using a smart computational search, scientists discovered a catalyst ingredient that finally makes tough alkyl ketones behave the way chemists want. The reaction now runs cleanly and reliably, ...
Nov. 26, 2025 Researchers developed a powerful new manganese complex that could revolutionize light-driven chemical reactions. It absorbs light extremely efficiently, has a uniquely long excited-state lifetime, ...
Nov. 24, 2025 Using a precisely aligned pair of laser beams, scientists can now hold a single aerosol particle in place and monitor how it charges up. The particle’s glow signals each step in its changing ...
Nov. 22, 2025 Water trapped inside tiny molecular cavities behaves in a surprisingly energetic way, pushing outward like people crammed in an elevator. When a new molecule enters these narrow spaces, the confined ...
Nov. 22, 2025 Researchers discovered that copper oxide catalysts form metallic copper mid-reaction, triggering a dramatic boost in ammonia output. The insight offers a roadmap for designing cleaner, more efficient ...
Nov. 22, 2025 New measurements of radio galaxies reveal that the solar system is racing through the universe at over three times the speed predicted by standard cosmology. Using highly sensitive data from multiple ...