Latest science news in Physics & Chemistry
Scientists discover a long-sought-after nitrogen allotrope in black phosphorus structure
Graphene, or a single layer of graphite, has a set of novel properties that have attracted tremendous attention since its discovery. Nitrogen is the next neighbor to carbon in the periodic table of...
Quantum material research facilitates discovery of better materials that benefit our society
A joint research team from the University of Hong Kong (HKU), Institute of Physics at Chinese Academy of Science, Songshan Lake Materials Laboratory, Beihang University in Beijing and Fudan University...
Support drives fate of protected gold nanoclusters as catalysts
In collaboration with experimentalists from Ghent University, Belgium and Utrecht University, Netherlands, researchers at the Nanoscience Center (NSC) at the University of Jyväskylä, have recently discovered that the choice of...
Determining effective magnetic moment of multicore nanoparticles
Magnetic nanoparticles, a class of nanoparticles that can be manipulated by magnetic fields, have a wide range of technical and biomedical applications, including magnetic hyperthermia, targeted drug delivery, new magnetic...
With a 'catch-and-release' process, researchers advance graphene electronics
In recent years, atomically flat layered materials have gained significant attention due to their prospects for building high-speed and low-power electronics. Best known among those materials is graphene, a single...
Borrowing from robotics, scientists automate mapping of quantum systems
Scientists at the University of Sydney have adapted techniques from autonomous vehicles and robotics to efficiently assess the performance of quantum devices, an important process to help stabilize the emerging...
Tomography studies of coins shed light on the history of Volga Bulgaria
Kazan Federal University, Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (Dubna, Russia), and Khalikov Institute of Archeology (Tatarstan Academy of Sciences, Kazan, Russia) are working together to study the physical properties of...
Working in the sun: Heating of the head may markedly affect safety and performance
Prolonged exposure of the head to strong sunlight significantly impairs cognitively dominated functions and coordination of complex motor tasks shows a new study. This may have important implications for work...
All of the performance, none of the fuss: nitrile hydrogenation done right
The need to be mindful consumers is becoming a priority for an ever-growing portion of society. This means that achieving efficient and environmentally sustainable chemical processes is more important than...
How politics have played a big role in the release of prisoners
As governments around the world responded to the COVID-19 pandemic, they released prisoners in large numbers. The scale and scope of these releases are unprecedented, but this phenomenon is not...
Portable smartphone add-on can measure methanol in alcoholic beverages
A team of researchers and engineers from Particle Technology Laboratory, ETH Zurich and University Hospital Zurich has designed and built a palm-sized device that can measure the amount of methanol...
A fractional corner anomaly reveals higher-order topology
Topological insulators (TIs) have an insulating interior and support conducting surface states with additional interfacing properties. The exotic metallic states on their surfaces can provide new routes to generate new...
New technique for polymer manufacturing with reduced solvents aimed at vehicle, packaging production
A team of Purdue University innovators hopes its new technology provides a more business-friendly option to utilize sustainable cellulose nanomaterials for use in vehicles, food packaging and other manufactured items.
Combining magnetic data storage and logic
Computers normally store and process data in separate modules. But now researchers at ETH Zurich and the Paul Scherrer Institute have developed a method that allows logical operations to be...
Quantum cryptography keys for secure communication distributed 1,000 kilometers farther than previous attempts
The exchange of a secret key for encrypting and decrypting messages over a distance of 1,120 kilometers is reported in Nature this week. This achievement is made using entanglement-based quantum...
Novel redshift mechanism of Ce3+ emission in Ce
As the most commonly used color phosphor in w-LEDs, Ce: Y3Al5O12 (Ce: YAG) makes an almost perfect match with blue chips to convert blue light into yellow light and obtain...
Ultraviolet laser induces color centers in ytterbium-doped silica glasses
Ytterbium-doped silica fiber (YDF) has important applications in material processing and scientific research. The photodarkening (PD) effect, which originates from the formation of color centers, can decrease the laser output...
Sulfur provides promising 'next-gen' battery alternative
With the increasing demand for affordable and sustainable energy, the ongoing development of batteries with a high energy density is vital. Lithium-sulfur batteries have attracted the attention of academic researchers...
Eagles Pro Bowl G Brandon Brooks tears Achilles, out for season
The Philadelphia Eagles will need a replacement player to step up in 2020 after star guard Brandon Brooks sustained a torn Achilles.
O.C.'s Sawdust Art Festival to go on in July as a weekend outdoor marketplace
Festival organizers announced last week that the Sawdust Festival would be pivoting to a weekend outdoor marketplace as opposed to its typical summer festival as a result of the coronavirus...
Powerful floor air conditioners that keep you cool in a heat wave
Keep it cool in any room. (Drew Coffman via Unsplash/)Summertime is here, and for many people that means dusting off an old air conditioner, shoving it into the window, and praying it...
The top trail-running shoes for people who love being outside
The most important piece of running gear. (Brian Metzler via Unsplash/)In case you are wondering, all running shoes aren’t created equal. And trail running shoes aren’t necessarily the same as shoes for running...
Circular reasoning: Spiraling circuits for more efficient AI
Scientists have built new specialized computer hardware that can perform AI tasks more efficiently based on a spiraling 3D architecture. This work may help with the development of energy efficient...
Accelerating biological systems design for sustainable biomanufacturing
A new cell-free platform rapidly identifies optimal enzyme combinations for sustainable fuels and materials.
U.S. Open of Surfing in Huntington Beach is canceled amid COVID-19 pandemic
Organizers have canceled the Vans U.S. Open of Surfing, an annual event near the Huntington Beach for 60 years, because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
California's starting to reopen hotels. Hawaii just extended its shutdown
California and Hawaii are responding differently to reopening hotels and other tourism spots during the pandemic.
Atomic physics: Radiation pressure with recoil
Light exerts a certain amount of pressure onto a body: sun sails could thus power space probes in the future. However, when light particles (photons) hit an individual molecule and...
Excitons form superfluid in certain 2D combos
Mixing and matching computational models of 2D materials led scientists to the realization that excitons can be manipulated in new and useful ways.