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Researchers at ETH Zurich have managed to make sound waves travel only in one direction. In the future, this method could also be used in technical applications with electromagnetic waves. Be it water, light or sound: waves usually propagate in the same way forwards as in the backward direction. As a consequence, when we are speaking to someone standing some distance away from us, that person can hear us as well as we can hear them.

Lightwave electronics aim to integrate optical and electronic systems at incredibly high speeds, leveraging the ultrafast oscillations of light fields. Imagine how a phone call works: Your voice is converted into electronic signals, shifted up to higher frequencies, transmitted over long distances, and then shifted back down so it can be heard clearly on the other end.

Superconductivity theory proposed by Würzburg physics team validated in international experiment: Cooper pairs display wave-like distribution in Kagome metals, enabling new technological applications like superconducting diodes. For about fifteen years, Kagome materials with their star-shaped structure reminiscent of a Japanese basketry pattern have captivated global research.

How can diseases of the cardiovascular system be detected before symptoms appear? Researchers at Graz University of Technology (TU Graz) have found a way to track them down at an early stage. Cardiovascular diseases are among the most common causes of death worldwide. They are often only discovered when symptoms have already appeared and the disease is already relatively advanced.

The work, originating from ultrathin materials, could impact future electronics and establishes a new way to study these particles through a powerful instrument at the Brookhaven National Laboratory. MIT physicists and colleagues report new insights into exotic particles key to a form of magnetism that has attracted growing interest because it originates from ultrathin materials only a few atomic layers thick.

Researchers at QuTech developed somersaulting spin qubits for universal quantum logic. This achievement may enable efficient control of large semiconductor qubit arrays. The research group published their demonstration of hopping spins in Nature Communications and their work on somersaulting spins in Science.

A University of Waterloo engineer has paired inexpensive wireless communication antennas with artificial intelligence (AI) to improve how doctors can detect bone fractures. Determining bone fractures using traditional diagnostic methods such as x-rays, computed tomography (CT) scans, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) takes time - such equipment is not readily available in ambulances or primary care facilities and, with health care services in high demand, many people have to wait for an x-ray or scan once they arrive at the hospital.

Doctoral students Bart van der Holst and Gijs Verhoeven investigated financial measures for grid operators to make better use of the existing grid capacity. Our electricity grid cannot keep up with the energy transition. New schools, businesses and neighborhoods have to wait for a connection and solar panels are already switched off at peak times.

EPFL engineers have created a device that can efficiently convert heat into electrical voltage at temperatures lower than that of outer space. The innovation could help overcome a significant obstacle to the advancement of quantum computing technologies, which require extremely low temperatures to function optimally.

This tiny, biocompatible sensor may overcome one of the biggest hurdles that prevent the devices from being completely implanted. Cochlear implants, tiny electronic devices that can provide a sense of sound to people who are deaf or hard of hearing, have helped improve hearing for more than a million people worldwide, according to the National Institutes of Health.

The newly synthesized material could be the basis for wearable thermoelectric and spintronic devices. A material with a high electron mobility is like a highway without traffic. Any electrons that flow into the material experience a commuter's dream, breezing through without any obstacles or congestion to slow or scatter them off their path.

Researchers at EPFL have discovered that by shining different wavelengths of light on a material called magnetite, they can change its state, making it more or less conducive to electricity. This could lead to the development of innovative materials for electronics. Magnetite is the oldest and strongest natural magnet.

Electromagnetic engines can't be reduced to just any size. It takes clever engineering tricks to generate active movement in miniature format. Researchers in Bochum are constantly coming up with new technologies. Over the years, a great many technical components have been shrunk in size. But miniaturization reaches its limits when tiny systems are supposed to move actively, because conventional electromagnetic motors become inefficient when reduced to miniature format.

Research sheds light on the properties of novel materials that could be used in electronics operating in extremely hot environments. The scorching surface of Venus, where temperatures can climb to 480 degrees Celsius (hot enough to melt lead), is an inhospitable place for humans and machines alike. One reason scientists have not yet been able to send a rover to the planet's surface is because silicon-based electronics can't operate in such extreme temperatures for an extended period of time.

Researchers engineered a hair-thin fabric to create a lightweight, compact, and efficient mechanism to reduce noise transmission in a large room. We are living in a very noisy world. From the hum of traffic outside your window to the next-door neighbor's blaring TV to sounds from a co-worker's cubicle, unwanted noise remains a resounding problem.

In the ongoing quest to make electronic devices ever smaller and more energy efficient, researchers want to bring energy storage directly onto microchips, reducing the losses incurred when power is transported between various device components. To be effective, on-chip energy storage must be able to store a large amount of energy in a very small space and deliver it quickly when needed - requirements that can't be met with existing technologies.

The technique opens possibilities for exploring exotic states of matter and building new quantum materials. Proximity is key for many quantum phenomena, as interactions between atoms are stronger when the particles are close. In many quantum simulators, scientists arrange atoms as close together as possible to explore exotic states of matter and build new quantum materials.

Researchers have for the first time recorded X-rays being produced at the beginning of upward positive lightning flashes; an observation that gives important insight into the origins of this rare - and particularly dangerous - form of lightning. Globally, lightning is responsible for over 4,000 fatalities and billions of dollars in damage every year; Switzerland itself weathers up to 150,000 strikes annually.

Researchers at the University of Würzburg have developed a method that can improve the performance of quantum resistance standards. It's based on a quantum phenomenon called Quantum Anomalous Hall effect. The precise measurement of electrical resistance is essential in industrial production or electronics - for example, in the manufacture of high-tech sensors, microchips and flight controls.

New Technique Lets Scientists Create Resistance-Free Electron Channels " layout="backlink-only" Key Takeaways Scientists have taken the first atomic-resolution images of an exotic quantum phenomenon that could help researchers advance quantum computing and energy-efficient electronics. The work enables the visualization and control of electron flow in a unique class of quantum insulators.