A photovoltaic cell (PV cell), or solar cell, converts the energy of light into electricity and is the basis for solar power. In order to increase the efficiency of PV cells, the authors in this study used common household items as photon transmissions mediums and measured their effects on the temperature and voltage output of the PV cells.

Surface tension and viscosity are both measures of how "sticky" a liquid is, but are they related? The authors here investigate the surface tension and viscosity of mixtures of water with different concentrations of agar agar, flour, or detergent. Surprisingly, they find that the least viscous mixtures had the strongest surface tensions, indicating that the two properties are not linked.

There are complex interactions between water and outside forces such as magnetic fields. This study aims to examine the effects of magnetic forces on the flow rate of water. The alteration of flow rate by magnets could have exciting applications in many fields.

Sound waves can be amazingly powerful, especially when they work together. Here the authors create an “acoustic lens” that focuses sound waves on a single location. This makes the sound waves very powerful, capable of causing damage at a precise point. In the future, acoustic lenses like this could potentially be used to treat cancer by killing small tumors without surgery.

Optical reporters like tetrazolium dyes, exemplified by 5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT), are effective tools for quantifying cellular responses under experimental conditions. These dyes assess cell viability by producing brightly-colored formazan dyes when reduced inside active cells. However, certain small molecules, including reducing agents like ascorbic acid, cysteine, and glutathione (GSH), can interfere with MTT assays, potentially compromising accuracy.

Microscopic beauty is hiding in common kitchen ingredients - even vanillin flavoring can be turned into mesmerizing artwork by crystallizing the vanillin and examining it under a polarizing microscope. Wang and Pang explore this hidden beauty by determining the optimal conditions to grow crystalline vanillin films and by creating computer simulations of chemical interactions between vanillin molecules.

The authors looked at how molarity impacts the degree to which ionic compounds dissociate in solution. They found that lower molarities led to decreased conductivity of solutions in a manner that did not follow the theoretical predictions.

The authors test the usefulness of zinc oxide microparticles relative to zinc oxide nanoparticles as antibacterial agents.

Thymoquinone is a compound of great therapeutic potential and scientific interest. However, its clinical administration and synthetic modifications are greatly limited by its instability in the presence of light. This study employed quantitative 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to identify the effect of solvation on the degradation of thymoquinone under ultraviolet light (UV). It found that the rate of degradation is highly solvent dependent occurs maximally in chloroform.

In this study, the authors investigate the effects of acetone on the color of copper chloride (CuCl₂) solution, which has important implications for detecting copper in the environment.