Soundwaves carry information between quantum systems

Researchers invented a unique way for different types of quantum technology to 'talk' to each other using sound. The study provides a step towards bringing quantum technology closer to reality.

Scientists create tiny lasers from nanoparticles and plastic beads

Researchers found a way to create lasers smaller than red blood cells. These microlasers convert infrared light into light at higher frequencies. Made from nanoparticles, these are among the smallest, continuously emitting lasers of their kind ever reported.

Strategies to generate larger pores in metal-organic frameworks

A new paper reviews recent methodology advances of hierarchically porous MOF synthesis.

Scientists develop ceramic materials that are IR-transparent

Researchers have developed nanocomposite ceramics with uniform distribution of two phases, microhardness over 11 GPa, and average grain size of 250 nm. It capable of transmitting over 70% of IR-range with wavelength up to 6,000 nm.

Paving the way for spintronic RAMs: A deeper look into a powerful spin phenomenon

Scientists explore a new material combination that sets the stage for magnetic random access memories, which rely on spin - an intrinsic property of electrons - and could outperform current storage devices. Their breakthrough published in a new study describes a novel strategy to exploit spin-related phenomena in topological materials.

A fast and inexpensive nanotube device to capture and identify viruses

Researchers synthesized a gradient of aligned carbon nanotube forest arrays to capture different viruses according to their size and detect them in-situ using Raman spectroscopy. They designed and assembled a portable platform that enriches virus particles from several milliliters of clinical samples in a couple of minutes.

Nanowire device splits and recombines superconducting electron pairs

A nanowire device could help explore a form of superconductivity that features exotic particles with potential uses in quantum computing.

Brain-like functions emerging in a metallic nanowire network

Emerging fluctuation-based functionalities are expected to open a way to novel memory device technology.

Surface acoustic waves in graphene: straintronics with nanoquakes

Researchers have shown that the properties of graphene can be locally and dynamically modulated by means of a surface acoustic wave, a kind of earthquake on a chip, generated with an integrated transducer on a piezoelectric substrate holding the graphene sheet.

High-performance anode for all-solid-state Li batteries is made of Si nanoparticles

Large volume expansion during charging, the obstacle to using Si anodes in conventional liquid electrolytes, helps a Si anode composed of nanoparticles in solid electrolytes has high-rate discharge capability approaching those of Si films.

Microsensor implants for 24/7 health monitoring

Researchers have developed a new wireless reader that is so sensitive to minute changes in a sensor's readings that it enables the creation of sub-millimetre microsensors, tiny enough to be injected under the skin.

Researchers break the geometric limitations of moire pattern in graphene heterostructures

Researchers have uncovered interesting phenomena when multiple two-dimensional materials are combined into van der Waals heterostructures (layered ?sandwiches? of different materials).

Researchers to develop a theory of transients in graphene

The research considers behavior of graphene in the moment of its transition from the state of thermal equilibrium and the process of returning to this state.

Scientists develop gentle, microscopic hands to study tiny, soft materials

Handling very soft, delicate items without damaging them is hard enough with human hands, let alone doing it at the microscopic scale with laboratory instruments. Three new studies show how scientists have honed a technique for handling tiny, soft particles using precisely controlled fluid flows that act as gentle microscopic hands. The technique allows researchers to test the physical limits of these soft particles and the things made from them -- ranging from biological tissues to fabric softeners.

New rules illuminate how objects absorb and emit light

Researchers have uncovered new rules governing how objects absorb and emit light, fine-tuning scientists' control over light and boosting research into next-generation solar and optical devices.

Scientists create thin-films with tantalizing electronic properties

As predicted by theorists, experiments show that barium zirconium sulfide thin films hold great promise for solar cells, LEDs.

From 3-D to 2-D and back: reversible conversion of lipid spheres into ultra-thin sheets

Scientists have developed a technique for the reversible conversion of 3D lipid vesicles into 2D ultra-thin nanosheets. Both the stable nanosheets and the reversible 2D?3D conversion process can find various applications in the pharmaceutical, bioengineering, food, and cosmetic sciences.

Electronics at the speed of light

A team of researchers has found a way of transporting electrons at times below the femtosecond range by manipulating them with light. This could have major implications for the future of data processing and computing.

Arrangement of atoms measured in silicene

In contrast to the ultra-flat material graphene, which is made of carbon, silicene shows surface irregularities that influence its electronic properties. Now, physicists have been able to precisely determine this corrugated structure.

New nano-barrier for composites could strengthen spacecraft payloads

Researchers have developed a robust multi-layed nano-barrier for ultra-lightweight and stable carbon fibre reinforced polymers that could be used to build high precision instrument structures for future space missions.

Computing with molecules: A big step in molecular spintronics

Chemists and physicists joined forces to design, deposit and operate single molecular spin switches on surfaces. The newly developed molecules feature stable spin states and do not lose their functionality upon adsorption on surfaces.

Saving Moore's Law by 3D integration with 2D materials

By selecting certain 2D materials and stacking them, according to the researchers, not only does the monolithic 3D conserve precious space on the chip, but also allows for configuration based on the combined electronic properties of the materials.

Super-resolution at all scales with active thermal detection

Researchers have found that the temperature increase caused by the probe beam could be utilized to generate a signal per se for detecting objects. Notably, this so-called 'active thermal detection' enables super-resolution imaging at all scales, compared to conventional techniques whose application are confined to microcopy only.

Researchers realize a quantum heat engine in the lab

A new experimental proof-of-concept quantum Otto cycle, using nuclear spins, has reached an efficiency close to its thermodynamic limit at maximum power.

Why are alloy metal nanoparticles better than monometallic ones for carbon nanotubes growth?

Revealing a long-term mystery of why certain nanoparticles are more efficient in incorporating carbon atoms and achieving a faster carbon nanotube growth.

Researchers directly measure 'Cheerios effect' forces for the first time

In a finding that could be useful in designing small aquatic robots, researchers have measured the forces that cause small objects to cluster together on the surface of a liquid -- a phenomenon known as the 'Cheerios effect'.

Researchers apply temperature gradients to grow and move liquid crystals

Researchers have discovered that applying a small difference in temperature to a watered-down mixture of a compound called zirconium phosphate initiates its liquid crystallization. As zirconium phosphate particles move toward warmer temperatures, they start aligning themselves with each other and eventually turn into pure liquid crystals.

Playing the angles with dramatic effect

Researchers develop new materials theory relevant to ultrafast electronics, batteries and more.

New quantum material with intrinsically magnetic and topological properties

An international consortium of chemists and physicists has discovered a new type of quantum material with intrinsic magnetic and topological properties. Since they manifest without doping or strong external magnetic fields, this material may lead the way to new applications in spintronics, two-dimensional magnetism and quantum transport.

Improved 3D nanoprinting technique to build nanoskyscrapers

Simply adding 'table salt' helps to build self-stacked nanoarchitectures.

Nanopores can identify the amino acids in proteins, the first step to sequencing

While DNA sequencing is a useful tool for determining what's going on in a cell or a person's body, it only tells part of the story. Protein sequencing could soon give researchers a wider window into a cell's workings. A new study demonstrates that nanopores can be used to identify all 20 amino acids in proteins, a major step toward protein sequencing.

Large-area and flexible near-infrared light-emitting diodes

Researchers have developed highly efficient, large-area and flexible near-infrared light-emitting diodes (LEDs) for new wearable device technologies.

Quantum-dot tattoos hold vaccination record

Bioengineers reveal dissolving microneedles that also embed fluorescent medical info.

Proof of a decades-old theory hides in the thinnest of materials

By layering two-dimensional materials, scientists have confirmed electrochemical phenomena based on theory established in the 1950s.

Free short story collection to entangle readers in the quantum world

Are you ready to get entangled in the science of the very small? That's the thread running through a new anthology, Quantum Shorts: Collected Flash Fiction Inspired by Quantum Physics.

Turning light energy into heat to fight disease

Scientists have developed a method involving terahertz radiation to monitor temperature changes when laser light is focused on tiny gold particles in water.

Chemists glimpse the fleeting 'transition state' of a reaction

New technique for observing reaction products offers insights into the chemical mechanisms that formed them.

Storing data in everyday objects

Researchers have discovered a new method for turning nearly any object into a data storage unit. This makes it possible to save extensive data in, say, shirt buttons, water bottles or even the lenses of glasses, and then retrieve it years later.

Camouflage made of quantum material could hide you from infrared cameras

Infrared cameras detect people and other objects by the heat they emit. Now, researchers have discovered the uncanny ability of a material to hide a target by masking its telltale heat properties.

Nanocellulose-based air filter offers cost-effective low resistance

Researchers have developed a new nanocellulose-based material that has outstanding air filtration performance.

Researchers observe brain-like behavior in nanoscale device

'Tiny silver brains' could have long-term implications for more powerful, energy-efficient computing.

Advanced viral nanovaccine for cancer immunotherapy

Researchers have discovered a novel system to generate an artificially enveloped oncolytic adenovirus to direct the immune response against cancer.

Researchers close in on new nonvolatile memory

Researchers have achieved a breakthrough on the way to new types of nonvolatile memory devices. The team came up with a unique method for measuring the electric potential distribution across a ferroelectric capacitor.

A new gene therapy strategy, courtesy of Mother Nature

Scientists have developed a new gene-therapy technique by transforming human cells into mass producers of tiny nano-sized particles full of genetic material that has the potential to reverse disease processes.

Liquid-like behaviour displayed but phase remains stable in ultrathin hexagonal gold nanoribbons

Scientists have discovered that the ultrathin gold nanoribbons with unique hexagonal (4H type) crystal phase shows 'liquid-like' behaviour under heating, but its hexagonal crystalline structure remains stable. This provides insight into the thermal stability of this new type of metallic nanomaterials and facilitates the development of practical applications in the future.

The world's fastest molecular shuttle

Thanks to a clever chemical design, researchers have succeeded in making a very fast molecular machine. The moving parts shift more than one nanometre relative to each other in a record-breaking time of 30 billionths of a second.

What happens to gold nanoparticles in cells?

Gold nanoparticles, which are supposed to be stable in biological environments, can be degraded inside cells.

Mind the gap - new wide-bandgap topological insulator

Researchers have discovered a 'telephone number' compound combining wide bandgap and robust topological surface state, which could enable room-temperature operation of ultra-energy efficient electronics.

New discovery reveals tractionless motion is possible

Sientists have answered the fundamental question: 'Is it possible to move without exerting force on the environment?', by describing the tractionless self-propulsion of active matter.

Artificial intelligence may help scientists make spray-on solar cells

Artificial Intelligence may be just the thing to accelerate spray-on solar cell technology, which could revolutionize how consumers use energy. A research team used Machine Learning, aka Artificial Intelligence to optimize the materials used to make perovskite solar cells.