A recent theory challenges conventional understanding of crystallization. It shows that the dominant element in a solution—the solvent, not the solute—is the material that crystallizes. This finding, ...

Scientific American is part of Springer Nature, which owns or has commercial relations with thousands of scientific publications (many of them can be found at www ...

Sometimes engineers invent something before they fully comprehend why it works. To understand the "why," they must often create new tools and techniques in a virtuous cycle that improves the original ...

The US Department of Agriculture estimates that sugar beets account for over half of domestic sugar production. Sugar beets, produced all over the northern Great Plains, must be treated to extract and ...