Everything we can see and touch, and quite a lot that we can’t as well, is made of tiny particles called atoms. Some substances, like particles of this iron, contain only one kind of atom. Iron is an ...

Scientists have found the first case of an ionic crystal consisting of just one chemical element -- boron. This is the densest and hardest known phase of this element. The new phase turned out to be a ...

Select an option below to continue reading this premium story. Already a Honolulu Star-Advertiser subscriber? Log in now to continue reading. The special relationship that silicon shares with oxygen ...

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 ...