Soap Bubble Structures by Kym Cox. Bubbles optimise space and minimise their surface area for a given volume of air. This phenomenon makes them a useful tool in many areas of research, in particular, materials science and “packing” – how things fit together. Bubble walls drain under gravity, thin at the top, thick at the bottom, which interferes with travelling lightwaves to create bands of colour. Black spots show the wall is too thin for interference colours, indicating the bubble is about to burst. (Photo by Kym Cox/2019 Science Photographer of the Year/RPS)

Electric cars sit charging in a parking garage at the University of California, Irvine January 26, 2015. “The Irvine Smart Grid Demonstration”, a $79 million project funded half by federal stimulus money and half by Edison and partners like UC Irvine, was launched in 2010. The $12 billion utility's research team Southern California Edison is testing everything from charging electronic vehicles via cell phone to devices that smooth out the power created by rooftop solar panels. Those are some of the roughly 60 projects in the works at Edison's Advanced Technology division. It has a small $19 million annual budget, but its influence far exceeds that. (Photo by Lucy Nicholson/Reuters)

Eryn, owned by Tom Chudleigh in Canada. New global research has revealed that ‘shed-scapism’ is sweeping the world with more people than ever ditching their tools and transforming their sheds into zen dens. The research comes as the Cuprinol Shed of the Year competition joins forces with aspirational shed fan site, Cabin p*rn, to launch the first ever global category. We have a stunning suite of imagery of 9 sheds from across the world - from Norway to Slovenia, British Colombia to Colorado who have all submitted their sheds in the hopes of being crowned the first ever Global Shed of the Year. (Photo by Cuprinol/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

This photo released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on June 7, 2012 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un (C) surrounded by members of the Korean Children's Union (KCU) organizations during a joint national meeting to celebrate the 66th anniversary of the KCU organizations at Kim Il-Sung Stadium in Pyongyang on June 6, 2012. (Photo by AFP Photo/KCNA via KNS)

(L-R) Chris Diamantopoulos, AnnaLynne McCord, Matt Jones and Jane Seymour visit the Build Series at Build Studio on January 23, 2018 in New York City, United States. (Photo by Brad Barket/Getty Images)

A competitor wearing a onesie with Brussels sprouts battles gale force winds during the Dutch Headwind Cycling Championships on the storm barrier Oosterscheldekering near Neeltje Jans, south-western Netherlands, Sunday, February 9, 2020. (Photo by Peter Dejong/AP Photo)

A woman toes a tube carrying a man during the Ice and snow carnival at Taoranting park in Beijing, China, January 25, 2016. (Photo by Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters)

White House Communications Director and presidential advisor Hope Hicks arrives at the U.S. Capitol Visitors Center February 27, 2018 in Washington, DC. Hicks is scheduled to testify behind closed doors to the House Intelligence Committee in its ongoing investigation into Russia's interference in the 2016 election. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)