Gold nanoparticles have unusual optical, electronic, and chemical properties.

Engineers say it might be possible to use tiny metal particles—similar in size to fine flour or icing sugar—to power external-combustion engines in vehicles on Earth and in space.

Astronomers have detected very fast bursts of radio waves coming from deep in outer space and they don’t know the source.

Why some “middle age” neutron stars have relatively strong magnetic fields has puzzled scientists, but new computer simulations offer a clue.