Latest science news in Physics & Chemistry
Researchers develop faster method for 3D printing
Researchers have developed a new method to precisely print tiny, soft three-dimensional objects in a matter of seconds for a range of fields, including aerospace, medicine and biology.
Biorefinery turns birch wood into renewable chemicals
Lignin breakdown produces phenol and propylene, offering a low-carbon alternative to fossil-fuel-based processes
Experimental characterization of fragile topology in an acoustic metamaterial
Symmetries crucially underlie the classification of topological phases of matter. Most materials, both natural as well as architectured, possess crystalline symmetries. Recent theoretical works unveiled that these crystalline symmetries can...
Helical quantum Hall phase in graphene on SrTiO3
The ground state of charge-neutral graphene under perpendicular magnetic field was predicted to be a quantum Hall topological insulator with a ferromagnetic order and spin-filtered, helical edge channels. In most...
Dry reforming of methane by stable Ni-Mo nanocatalysts on single-crystalline MgO
Large-scale carbon fixation requires high-volume chemicals production from carbon dioxide. Dry reforming of methane could provide an economically feasible route if coke- and sintering-resistant catalysts were developed. Here, we report...
Ionoelastomer junctions between polymer networks of fixed anions and cations
Soft ionic conductors have enabled stretchable and transparent devices, but liquids in such devices tend to leak and evaporate. In this study, we demonstrate diodes and transistors using liquid-free ionoelastomers,...
Pascal conductance series in ballistic one-dimensional LaAlO3/SrTiO3 channels
One-dimensional electronic systems can support exotic collective phases because of the enhanced role of electron correlations. We describe the experimental observation of a series of quantized conductance steps within strongly...
New air-pressure sensor could improve everyday devices
A team of mechanical engineers investigating a revolutionary kind of micro-switch has found another application for its ongoing research.
Fragile topology: Two new studies explain the strange electron flow in future materials
Electrons race along the surface of certain unusual crystalline materials, except that sometimes they don't. Two new studies from Princeton researchers and their collaborators explain the source of the surprising...
Raytheon nabs $35.9M for work on Navy's over-the-horizon missile system
Raytheon has been awarded a $35.9 million contract modification for manufacture of over-the-horizon missile systems, meant for the Naval Strike Missile the company is working on with Kongsberg for the...
Graphene forms under microscope's eye
Scientists record the formation of foamy laser-induced graphene made with a small laser mounted to a scanning electron microscope. The reduced size of the conductive material may make it more...
Crystal with a Twist: Researchers Grow Spiraling New Material
Scientists have created new inorganic crystals made of stacks of atomically thin sheets.
Organic photovoltaic cell with 17% efficiency and superior processability for large-area coating
Organic photovoltaic (OPV) cells have attracted considerable research interest because of advantages of lightweight, flexibility and low-cost solution processing. With the development of organic photoactive materials, especially the new-emerging non-fullerene...
The fastest way to heat certain materials may be to cool them first
To heat a slice of pizza, you probably wouldn’t consider first chilling it in the fridge. But a theoretical study suggests that cooling, as a first step before heating, may be the...
Affordable bath mats for an instant bathroom upgrade
Next bathroom purchase: a velveteen tufted sofa. (Yann Maignan via Unsplash/)If you are moving or want an easy upgrade for your bathroom, go for a new bath mat, which can add color...
First drive in the new $103,200 Jaguar F-Type
The new 2021 Jaguar F-Type R coupe in "Sorrento yellow." (Jaguar /)The philosophical distance between the Portuguese cities of workaday Porto and cosmopolitan Lisbon can feel greater than the physical distance. Perhaps that...
Harnessing the sun to bring fresh water to remote or disaster-struck communities
Researchers at the University of Bath have developed a revolutionary desalination process that has the potential to be operated in mobile, solar-powered units. The process is low cost, low energy...
Making the internet more energy efficient through systemic optimization
Researchers at Chalmers recently completed a 5-year research project looking at how to make fibre optic communications systems more energy efficient. Among their proposals are smart, error-correcting data chip circuits,...
Movement of a liquid droplet generates over 5 volts of electricity
Energy harvesting, a technology to transform small quantities of naturally occurring energy (e.g. light, heat and vibration) into electricity, is gaining attention as a method to power internet of things...
Inquiry-based labs give physics students experimental edge
New research shows that traditional physics labs, which strive to reinforce the concepts students learn in lecture courses, can actually have a negative impact on students. At the same time,...
Temporally shaping the electric field of an attosecond pulse
Chemical reactions are determined at their most fundamental level by their respective electronic structure and dynamics. Steered by a stimulus such as light irradiation, electrons rearrange themselves in liquids or...
Proper-fitting fire-retardant workwear for women
After bulky, ill-fitting coveralls caused her to have some near-misses in her job as a heavy equipment operator, Jess Black decided to take matters into her own hands and create...
Hybrid microscope could bring digital biopsy to the clinic
By adding infrared capability to the ubiquitous, standard optical microscope, researchers hope to bring cancer diagnosis into the digital era. Pairing infrared measurements with high-resolution optical images and machine learning...
How electric fields affect a molecular twist within light-sensitive proteins
A team of scientists has gained insight into how electric fields affect the way energy from light drives molecular motion and transformation in a protein commonly used in biological imaging.
Quantum anomalous Hall effect in intrinsic magnetic topological insulator
Nontrivial band topology can combine with magnetic order in a magnetic topological insulator to produce exotic states of matter such as quantum anomalous Hall (QAH) insulators and axion insulators. An...
Resistance is futile: Superconductivity will herald the age of electric flight
As air travel comes under pressure to reduce its environmental impact and prompts us to reconsider our transport choices, scientists are searching for greener ways to power flight.
Simulation experiment allows deeper insights into ultrafast light-induced processes
Researchers from Graz University of Technology and the University of Vienna have better described the energy flow between strongly interacting molecular states. Since the 1990s, femtochemistry has been researching ultrafast...
Simple single-step N-terminal modification of proteins
Proteins are widely used in medicine, biology and chemistry. Enhancing their inherent properties by adding functional molecules to their structures is a common and important step in many fields. For...