Blog
- Study identifies high-performance alternative to conventional ferroelectrics 11/06/2024 Lighting a gas grill, getting an ultrasound, using an ultrasonic toothbrush—these actions involve the use of materials that can translate an electric voltage into a change in shape and vice versa.
- Self-embedding silver nanoparticles: Researchers find the 'silver lining' in cotton gin waste 06/06/2024 Cotton gin waste, also known as cotton gin trash, is a byproduct of the cotton ginning process and occurs when the cotton fibers are separated from the seed boll. For cotton gin waste, the treasure is its hidden potential to transform silver ions into silver nanoparticles and create a new hybrid material that could be used to add antimicrobial properties to consumer products, like aerogels, packaging, or composites.
- The tunable coupling of two distant superconducting spin qubits 04/06/2024 Quantum computers, computing devices that leverage the principles of quantum mechanics, could outperform classical computing on some complex optimization and processing tasks. In quantum computers, classical units of information (bits), which can either have a value of 1 or 0, are substituted by quantum bits or qubits, which can be in a mixture of both 0 and 1 simultaneously.
- Novel liquid crystals produced by stacking antiaromatic units could lead to advances in organic semiconductors 28/05/2024 In organic chemistry, π-stacking systems are supramolecular structures that arise due to the dispersion force, a type of intermolecular noncovalent interaction. They are a common occurrence in nature. The stabilized structure of DNA is a very prominent example of a π-stacking system, and so are the arrangement of amino acids in certain proteins.
- New Quantum State Discovered in Trimer-Honeycomb Material 23/05/2024 The transformation allows for a billion percent increase in the material’s conductivity and could lead to a new paradigm for quantum devices.
- Electron vortices in graphene detected 21/05/2024 Researchers at ETH Zurich have, for the first time, made visible how electrons form vortices in a material at room temperature. Their experiment used a quantum sensing microscope with an extremely high resolution.
- Lithium-free sodium batteries exit the lab and enter US production 16/05/2024 Two years ago, sodium-ion battery pioneer Natron Energy was busy preparing its specially formulated sodium batteries for mass production. The company slipped a little past its 2023 kickoff plans, but it didn't fall too far behind as far as mass battery production goes. It officially commenced production of its rapid-charging, long-life lithium-free sodium batteries this week, bringing to market an intriguing new alternative in the energy storage game.
- Goldene: New 2D form of gold makes graphene look boring 09/05/2024 Graphene is a bit like the Novak Djokovic of materials – it’s so damn talented that each new achievement feels passé. But now, an exciting new upstart is challenging graphene’s title. Meet goldene, a two-dimensional sheet of gold that has its own strange properties.
- The experimental demonstration of a verifiable blind quantum computing protocol 07/05/2024 Quantum computers, systems that process and store information leveraging quantum mechanical phenomena, could eventually outperform classical computers on numerous tasks. Among other things, these computers could allow researchers to tackle complex optimization problems, speed up drug discovery and better protect users against cyber-security threats.
- Self-embedding silver nanoparticles: Researchers find the 'silver lining' in cotton gin waste 02/05/2024 Cotton gin waste, also known as cotton gin trash, is a byproduct of the cotton ginning process and occurs when the cotton fibers are separated from the seed boll. For cotton gin waste, the treasure is its hidden potential to transform silver ions into silver nanoparticles and create a new hybrid material that could be used to add antimicrobial properties to consumer products, like aerogels, packaging, or composites.
- Quantum crystal of frozen electrons—the Wigner crystal—is visualized for the first time 30/04/2024 Electrons—the infinitesimally small particles that are known to zip around atoms—continue to amaze scientists despite the more than a century that scientists have studied them. Now, physicists at Princeton University have pushed the boundaries of our understanding of these minute particles by visualizing, for the first time, direct evidence for what is known as the Wigner crystal—a strange kind of matter that is made entirely of electrons.