Rusting iron can be its own worst enemy: Simulations show iron catalyzes corrosion in ‘inert’ carbon dioxide
Iron that rusts in water theoretically shouldn’t corrode in contact with an “inert” supercritical fluid of carbon dioxide. But it does. The reason has eluded materials scientists to now, but a team at Rice University has a theory that could contribute to new strategies to protect iron from the environment. Materials theorist Boris Yakobson and […]
Hydrogen-burning white dwarfs enjoy slow aging
The prevalent view of white dwarfs as inert, slowly cooling stars has been challenged by observations from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. An international group of astronomers have discovered the first evidence that white dwarfs can slow down their rate of ageing by burning hydrogen on their surface. “We have found the first observational evidence […]