Mikado inside a nano box: Bertrand's paradox revisited

When you shake a box filled with Mikado sticks, will you get a uniform spreading of the sticks inside the box? This question touches Bertrands paradox, a classic in mathematics. For designing nano mikado boxes for photonics purposes, scientists wanted to be able to determine the free space between the sticks.

3D printing micro-electromechanical switches

Researchers have demonstrated the facile fabrication of two-terminal micro-electromechanical (MEM) switches using a commercially available fused deposition modeling (FDM)-based 3D printer.

Scientists propose new method for studying hydrodynamic behavior of electrons in graphene

By studying how electrons in two-dimensional graphene can literally act like a liquid, researchers have paved the way for further research into a material that has the potential to enable future electronic computing devices that outpace silicon transistors.

Crack propagation is asymmetric in polar materials

Researchers report how, due to flexoelectricity, cracks in ferroelectrics (switchable polar materials) propagate more easily in the polar direction than in the opposite.

Capturing the behavior of single-atom catalysts on the move

Scientists precisely control where single-atom catalysts sit on their support structures, and show how changing their position affects their reactivity.

Unprecedented insight into two-dimensional magnets using diamond quantum sensors

For the first time, physicists have succeeded in measuring the magnetic properties of atomically thin van der Waals materials on the nanoscale.

New lens system for brighter, sharper diffraction images

Researchers designed, implemented, and applied a new and improved focusing system for electron diffraction measurements.