Latest science news in Physics & Chemistry
Quantum effect triggers unusual material expansion
New research may bring a whole new class of chemical elements into a materials science balancing act for designing alloys for aviation and other applications.
Navy docks USS Theodore Roosevelt in Guam to test 5,000 sailors for COVID-19
The Navy has ordered the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt to pull into Guam and have its 5,000-strong crew of sailors tested for the novel coronavirus, according to acting Navy...
Upgrading biomass with selective surface-modified catalysts
Scientists have designed a catalyst composed of very low concentrations of platinum (single atoms and clusters smaller than billionths of a meter) on the surface of titanium dioxide. They demonstrated...
Flux-induced topological superconductivity in full-shell nanowires
Hybrid semiconductor-superconductor nanowires have emerged as a promising platform for realizing topological superconductivity (TSC). Here, we present a route to TSC using magnetic flux applied to a full superconducting shell...
Ultrahigh-field 67Zn NMR reveals short-range disorder in zeolitic imidazolate framework glasses
The structure of melt-quenched zeolitic imidazole framework (ZIF) glasses can provide insights into their glass-formation mechanism. We directly detected short-range disorder in ZIF glasses using ultrahigh-field zinc-67 solid-state nuclear magnetic...
Observation of dynamical fermionization
The wave function of a Tonks-Girardeau (T-G) gas of strongly interacting bosons in one dimension maps onto the absolute value of the wave function of a noninteracting Fermi gas. Although...
Frequency-comb spectroscopy on pure quantum states of a single molecular ion
Spectroscopy is a powerful tool for studying molecules and is commonly performed on large thermal molecular ensembles that are perturbed by motional shifts and interactions with the environment and one...
Type-II Ising pairing in few-layer stanene
Spin-orbit coupling has proven indispensable in the realization of topological materials and, more recently, Ising pairing in two-dimensional superconductors. This pairing mechanism relies on inversion symmetry–breaking and sustains anomalously large...
Artificial intelligence identifies optimal material formula
Nanostructured layers boast countless potential properties -- but how can the most suitable one be identified without any long-term experiments? A team has ventured a shortcut: using a machine learning...
Eliminating catalyst defects boosts activity and extends lifetime
Nearly perfect, long-lasting crystalline catalyst turns CO2 into valuable products
Quantum phenomenon governs organic solar cells
Researchers at Linköping University have discovered a quantum phenomenon that influences the formation of free charges in organic solar cells. "If we can properly understand what's going on, we can...
Scientists electrify aluminum to speed up important process
Scientists have found a way in the laboratory to shorten the time it takes to create a key chemical used to synthesize a variety of medications, fertilizers and other important...
Artificial intelligence identifies optimal material formula
Nanostructured layers boast countless potential properties—but how can the most suitable one be identified without any long-term experiments? A team from the Materials Discovery Department at Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB) has...
Bricks can act as 'cameras' for characterizing past presence of radioactive materials
Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed a new technique for determining the historical location and distribution of radioactive materials, such as weapons grade plutonium. The technique may allow...
As virus spreads, this Bay Area college wants students to return and clean their dorm rooms
St. Mary's College in Moraga is requiring students to return and clean out their dorm rooms by April 14. Fearful of coronavirus, some parents are livid.
Ankle exoskeleton aids running
Running is great exercise but not everyone feels great doing it. In hopes of boosting physical activity – and possibly creating a new mode of transportation – engineers at Stanford...
Researchers develop acoustic cylindrical shell to measure liquid properties
Researchers from the Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology (SIAT) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences developed a compact liquid sensor based on a liquid-filled glass cylindrical shell. Intrinsic circumferential modes...
Simplified modal method explores deeper into broad and high-efficiency gratings
Owing to the excellent dispersion ability, diffraction gratings are playing an important role in widespread fields ranging from spectrometers to chirped pulse amplifiers. However, decades of extensive study on various...
Experiments shed light on best way to deliver nanoparticles to cancer
Researchers in the cancer nanomedicine community debate whether use of tiny structures, called nanoparticles, can best deliver drug therapy to tumors passively — allowing the nanoparticles to diffuse into tumors...
New fabrication approach paves way to low cost mid-infrared lasers useful for sensing
For the first time, researchers have fabricated high-performance mid-infrared laser diodes directly on microelectronics-compatible silicon substrates. The new lasers could enable the widespread development of low-cost sensors for real-time, accurate...
A wearable, freestanding electrochemical sensing system
In a new study published on Science Advances, Yichao Zhao and a research team in integrated bioelectronics and materials and engineering in the U.S. engineered a disposable, free-standing electrochemical sensing...
Pittsburgh Steelers sign 3 players from XFL
The Pittsburgh Steelers have signed three players from the XFL, including the league's sack leader Cavon Walker.
Engineers find ankle exoskeleton aids running
Researchers find that a motorized device that attaches around the ankle and foot can drastically reduce the energy cost of running.
New carbon dot-based method for increasing the efficiency of solar cells and LEDs
An international group of scientists, including some from ITMO University, has proposed a method that allows for significantly increasing the efficiency of solar cells and light-emitting diodes. The scientists managed...
A new approach to achieving stable, high-repetition-rate laser pulses
High-repetition-rate pulsed lasers serve a wide range of applications, from optical communications to microwave photonics and beyond. Generating trains of ultrashort optical pulses commonly involves locking phases of longitudinal laser...
Neural networks facilitate optimization in the search for new materials
When searching through theoretical lists of possible new materials for particular applications, such as batteries or other energy-related devices, there are often millions of potential materials that could be considered, and multiple criteria...
Study: New imaging technology tops ECG for irregular heartbeat diagnosis
Electromechanical wave imaging is less invasive for detecting irregular heartbeats, and may also be used to better guide surgical treatment of arrhythmias.
Meet the first undergraduate users of MIT.nano
Last semester, MIT undergraduates completed the first-ever term of coursework to be done utilizing the facilities of MIT.nano, the Institute’s new 216,000 square-foot center for nanoscale research. The course — 3.155/6.152 (Micro/Nano Processing...