Everything is getting faster. Experiments that once ran for days can now be conducted in hours, minutes, or even mere seconds thanks to advances in instrument technology—higher power this, more sensitive that, more precise something else. The computers that operate these instruments are also getting faster and smarter. While Moore’s law may be slowing down, computer technology is exploding with new possibilities.
However, this does not apply to everything. Some experiments last many decades before they reach their conclusion. Here are some examples:
Researchers in Australia wanted to demonstrate that pitch is not solid (even though you can shatter it with a hammer) but instead a very (very) slow-moving liquid at room temperature. In 1927, they heated some of the tar derivative and poured it into a funnel, then waited three years for it to cool and settle. Then they waited some more. Eight years later, the first drop fell. Nearly a hundred years later, the tenth drop has yet to fall. Researchers in Dublin started a parallel version of the experiment in 1944 and finally captured video of a drop falling seventy years later.
By comparison, these two experiments are relatively young. At Clarendon Laboratory in Oxford, a battery has been ringing two bells since 1840. The battery propels a hanging metal ball back and forth between two small bells, causing them to ring, although the sound is barely audible. Researchers believe the bells have rung over ten billion times. No one knows why the battery—composed of alternating discs of silver, zinc, sulfur, and other materials—has worked so long because it would be necessary to open the device to find out, which might ruin the experiment.
The Beverly Clock in a foyer in New Zealand has not been wound since 1864. An airtight box inside the clock expands and contracts in responses to changes in air pressure and temperature. A 6° variation is enough to raise a one-pound weight an inch, powering the clock when it descends. It has stopped operating a few times over the years but has always started back up on its own.
In 1879, William James Beal filled twenty bottles with moist sand and seeds from 23 kinds of common plants (50 seeds of each type). The uncorked bottles were “planted” upside down on the campus in a location that has remained a secret. At five-year intervals—at first—and now at twenty-year intervals, a bottle is opened and the seeds are planted. The most recent test was conducted in 2021 (delayed a year by the pandemic), when twenty seeds grew, all from the same species. Although most of the seeds in the original lineup have lost their viability, the experiment will continue until 2100.
There’s something to be said for the patience required to participate in an experiment that might last beyond your lifetime!
GCC New Product Showcase: Best New Analytical Instrument
October 14-15, 2025, Galveston, Texas
Applied Rigaku Technologies, Booth 102
We are excited to be participating in the Gulf Coast Conference this October as part of the New Product Showcase. Looking forward to connecting with industry professionals and sharing the latest innovations in elemental analysis for petroleum testing!
The new Rigaku NEX QC II Series advances benchtop EDXRF elemental analysis with new detector technology, optimized X-ray optics, updated electronics, and redesigned touchscreen software. Compact and self-contained, with no external PC required, it simplifies routine petroleum testing from the lab to the plant floor. Applications include sulfur in fuels, metals in crude and residual oils, and lubricant additives, with support for key ASTM and International test methods.
Fast, non-destructive elemental testing made simple
The NEX QC II Series simplifies routine quality control and elemental testing. These compact benchtop EDXRF analyzers deliver fast results for solids, liquids, powders, and thin films—ideal for everyday quality control in labs, plants, and production environments. Designed for ease of use, the NEX QC II and NEX QC II+ feature intuitive operation with an embedded computer and built-in printer, so your team can get results quickly with no specialized technical background required. The first-generation NEX QC+ QuantEZ remains available for users who require expanded method development, advanced calibration strategies, and optional compliance features, including 21 CFR Part 11 support.
Learn how energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) can be used to measure silicone coat weight on paper, clay-coated paper, and other substrates.
In this video, Scott Fess, Product Manager EDXRF at Rigaku, answers common questions about silicone coat weight measurement using the NEX QC II Series. Topics include sample preparation, calibration and standards, measuring silicone on paper and clay-coated paper, and how better coat weight control can help reduce material costs and support profitability.
August 6, 2026: Researchers developed a platinum-cobalt fuel-cell catalyst supported by hollow nanocarbon spheres with radial nanochannels. The support lets the catalyst be heated to 1000°C, creating a highly ordered intermetallic structure while keeping nanoparticles small and well dispersed. In testing, the material retained 85% of its performance after 150,000 voltage cycles. The advance addresses the usual tradeoff between catalyst activity and durability for low-temperature fuel cells used in power generation and transportation at commercial scale.
August 9, 2026: Researchers engineered anultrathin interface to improve MoS₂ transistors. By placing an epitaxial aluminum layer on monolayer molybdenum disulfide and oxidizing it into a 0.42-nanometer aluminum oxide buffer, then adding hafnium oxide, they improved dielectric growth and reduced electron scattering. The resulting devices showed strong gate control, low leakage, minimal hysteresis, and good carrier transport, pointing toward scalable two-dimensional electronics beyond conventional silicon for future wafer-scale manufacturing paths.
September 14, 2026: Atlas Building Composites is turning single-use plastic waste into durable building materials. The company shreds plastic, melts it with fiberglass, and 3D-prints structural parts such as trusses, decks, foundations, walls, floors, roofs, and bridges. Its waterless recycling process is designed for local production and lower cost, and MIT research says the printed trusses can support heavy loads while meeting building standards, and Atlas has already supplied bridge trusses for a Massachusetts wetland project.
September 16, 2026: Researchers built a nanoscale mechanical computing device that uses a soft polymer layer to mimic how neurons accumulate and release information. By applying voltage, metal electrodes compress the viscoelastic material, which changes current and stores history, allowing the device to combine memory and computing in one compact unit. The platform could support low-power edge devices, wearable monitors, smart prosthetics, and other adaptive systems that need efficient, brain-inspired processing at the nanoscale with minimal circuitry.
Featured Application Notes
Sulfur Analysis in Petroleum Products
X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometry has been used for quantitative analysis of sulfur in petroleum products, owing to simple sample preparation. In XRF analysis of oil, samples are simply poured into liquid cells and any complicated treatments such as chemical decomposition or dilution are not required. In addition, concentration of total sulfur is obtained in XRF analysis. This application note demonstrates quantitative analysis of sulfur in petroleum products.
Lubricating oils are used in on-road and off-road engines, as well as in mechanical machinery, and are formulated for specific applications. Various additives are blended into base oil to enhance lube oil performance and provide the desired lubrication properties for each situation. Controlling additive elements when blending new, fresh lube oils is vital to ensure optimum lubricity while minimizing production waste and product rejection.
X-ray Powder Diffraction and Crystal Structure Prediction for Polymorph Screening and Structure Solution in Pharmaceutical Development
By Simon Bates, R. Alex Mayo, Zhuocen Yang, Baimei Shi and Akihiro Himeda
Crystal structure prediction (CSP) is increasingly relevant to pharmaceutical solid-form development because it provides a computational view of the crystal-energy landscape and helps assess whether experimentally observed polymorphs are likely to represent the most stable or otherwise accessible crystal forms. When used together with powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), integrated CSP workflows also offers a practical route to structure solution from powder data in cases where suitable single crystals are not available. In this article, a CSP-assisted PXRD workflow is outlined using cimetidine as a demonstration sample.
The Opioid Matrix is a podcast for anyone looking for the latest information in the illegal drug supply chain—beginning to end. Each episode will feature a discussion with industry experts about the current opioid crisis, including drug trafficking, drug manufacturing, drug identification, drug addiction, as well as the role of government, law enforcement, new health and social programs, and more.
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