Creating invisibility with superconducting materials
Invisibility devices may soon no longer be the stuff of science fiction. A new study published in the De Gruyter journal Nanophotonics by lead authors Huanyang Chen at Xiamen University, China, and Qiaoliang Bao, suggests the use of the material Moly.....»»
Tweaking isotopes sheds light on promising approach to engineer semiconductors
Research led by scientists at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory has demonstrated that small changes in the isotopic content of thin semiconductor materials can influence their optical and electronic properties, possibly opening.....»»
Good vibrations: Low-energy lasers induce atomic excitation in semiconductor materials
Semiconductors are a cornerstone of next-generation technology, so a new method to excite atoms in semiconductor materials is likely to excite a broad range of researchers and industries as well......»»
Researchers find unexpected roadblock to conductivity in Mott insulators
In the realm of condensed matter physics, few phenomena captivate physicists' curiosity as much as Mott insulators. According to traditional theory, this odd class of materials should be capable of conducting electricity, yet they behave mostly as in.....»»
Feathers, cognition and global consumerism in colonial Amazonia
Amazonia is the home of the largest variety of birds in the world. In such a unique environment, craft cultures have flourished by translating the beauty and creativity of environmental materials like feathers into stunning pieces of art......»»
Sourdough under the microscope reveals microbes cultivated over generations
Sourdough is the oldest kind of leavened bread in recorded history, and people have been eating it for thousands of years. The components of creating a sourdough starter are very simple—flour and water. Mixing them produces a live culture where yea.....»»
Scientists develop strong yet reusable adhesive from smart materials
Scientists from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) have developed a smart, reusable adhesive more than 10 times stronger than a gecko's feet adhesion, pointing the way for development of reusable superglue and grippers capabl.....»»
Researchers improve the plasticity of ceramic materials at room temperature
Researchers in Purdue University's College of Engineering have developed and validated a patent-pending method that could expand the industrial applications of ceramics by making them more plastically deformable at room temperature......»»
AI is creating a new generation of cyberattacks
Most businesses see offensive AI fast becoming a standard tool for cybercriminals, with 93% of security leaders expecting to face daily AI-driven attacks, according to Netacea. Offensive AI in cyberattacks The research, “Cyber security in the age o.....»»
Enhancing memory technology: Multiferroic nanodots for low-power magnetic storage
Traditional memory devices are volatile and the current non-volatile ones rely on either ferromagnetic or ferroelectric materials for data storage. In ferromagnetic devices, data is written or stored by aligning magnetic moments, while in ferroelectr.....»»
Thiol-ene click reaction offers a novel approach to fabricate elastic ferroelectrics
A research group led by Prof. Li Runwei and Hu Benlin at the Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering (NIMTE) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has developed a facile and efficient approach to fabricate elastic relaxor ferroelectrics.....»»
Towards novel promising perovskite-type ferroelectric materials: High-pressure synthesis of rubidium niobate
Capacitors are crucial components in electronic devices such as smartphones and computers. They are made of dielectric materials that polarize on the application of the voltage. Currently, barium titanate (BaTiO3) is the most widely used material for.....»»
IRIS beamline at BESSY II gets a new nanospectroscopy end station
The IRIS infrared beamline at the BESSY II storage ring now offers a fourth option for characterizing materials, cells and even molecules on different length scales. The team has extended the IRIS beamline with an end station for nanospectroscopy and.....»»
Freeze casting—a guide to creating hierarchically structured materials
Freeze casting is an elegant, cost-effective manufacturing technique to produce highly porous materials with custom-designed hierarchical architectures, well-defined pore orientation, and multifunctional surface structures. Freeze-cast materials are.....»»
Congo demands that Apple prove iPhone doesn"t use conflict materials
The Democratic Republic of Congo has told Apple it believes the iPhone maker's supply chain is using materials linked to militia groups.Apple has been asked to verify that it doesn't use "conflict minerals" in the iPhoneApple and at least most Big Te.....»»
A shade closer to more efficient organic photovoltaics
Transparent solar cells will transform the look of infrastructure by enabling many more surfaces to become solar panels. Now, materials called non-fullerene acceptors that can intrinsically generate charges when exposed to sunlight could make semitra.....»»
Crinkled coatings could prevent medical implants from failing
Medical implants could fail less often when coated with a microscopically crinkled, ceramic material designed by researchers at the University of Michigan. The coating is described in a paper published in ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces......»»
Transporting hazardous materials across the country isn"t easy—that"s why there"s a host of regulations in place
Ever wonder what those colorful signs with symbols and numbers on the backs of trucks mean? They're just one visible part of a web of regulations that aim to keep workers and the environment safe while shipping hazardous waste......»»
How creating less-gassy cows could help fight climate change
A Curtin University study has revealed breeding less-flatulent cows and restoring agricultural land could significantly reduce rising methane emission levels, which play a considerable role in climate change......»»
Light-activated materials perform well in treatment of textile effluent
Photoelectrochemical processes have been considered sustainable alternatives for the remediation of water contaminated by domestic or industrial effluents. Simply put, the strategy consists of using solar energy to degrade organic pollutants......»»
The big quantum chill: Scientists modify common lab refrigerator to cool faster with less energy
By modifying a refrigerator commonly used in both research and industry, researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have drastically reduced the time and energy required to cool materials to within a few degrees above ab.....»»