Computer Science - Apr 18
Project Sidewalk helps users map accessibility around Seattle, other cities
Project Sidewalk helps users map accessibility around Seattle, other cities
« BACK
Health - Materials Science - 19.04.2019
Physics - Materials Science - 18.04.2019 
Electric Skyrmions Charge Ahead for Next-Generation Data Storage
Berkeley Lab-led research team makes a chiral skyrmion crystal with electric properties; puts new spin on future information storage applications VIDEO: Simulation of a single polar skyrmion. Red arrows signify that this is a left-handed skyrmion. The other arrows represent the angular distribution of the dipoles.
Chemistry - Materials Science - 15.04.2019 
Best in snow: New scientific device creates electricity from snowfall
The first-of-its-kind nanogenerator designed by UCLA researchers and colleagues also acts as a weather station Stuart Wolpert UCLA researchers and colleagues have designed a new device that creates electricity from falling snow. The first of its kind, this device is inexpensive, small, thin and flexible like a sheet of plastic.
Materials Science - Environment - 15.04.2019
Physics - Materials Science - 10.04.2019 
Wonder material: individual 2D phosphorene nanoribbons made for the first time
Tiny, individual, flexible ribbons of crystalline phosphorus have been made and measured an international collaboration, in a world first, and they could revolutionise electronics and fast-charging battery technology. Since the isolation of 2-dimensional phosphorene (the phosphorus equivalent of graphene) in 2014, more than 100 theoretical studies have predicted that new and exciting and properties could emerge by producing narrow ‘ribbons' of this material.
Physics - Materials Science - 08.04.2019
Chemistry - Materials Science - 08.04.2019
Materials Science - Environment - 02.04.2019 
Rotten to the core
Fungi that decompose tree trunks can conjure up real works of art in wood. In nature, however, the decay-causing fungi not only decorate the tree, but also destroy it. Empa researchers are now teaching the fungi how to draw. The result: upscale marbled wood that can be processed into design furniture or musical instruments.
Materials Science - Computer Science / Telecom - 25.03.2019 
AI accurately predicts useful life of batteries
In an advance that could accelerate battery development and improve manufacturing, scientists have found how to accurately predict the useful lifespan of lithium-ion batteries, used in devices from mobile phones to electric cars. If manufacturers of cell-phone batteries could tell which cells will last at least two years, then they could sell only those to phone makers and send the rest to makers of less demanding devices.
Innovation / Technology - Materials Science - 25.03.2019
Physics - Materials Science - 20.03.2019 
The Best Topological Conductor Yet: Spiraling Crystal Is the Key to Exotic Discovery
The realization of so-called topological materials - which exhibit exotic, defect-resistant properties and are expected to have applications in electronics, optics, quantum computing, and other fields - has opened up a new realm in materials discovery. Several of the hotly studied topological materials to date are known as topological insulators.
Physics - Materials Science - 19.03.2019 
A Pioneer in Ultrasensitive Particle Detectors
Berkeley Lab's Alan Smith drove the science of measuring radioactivity in experiments' materials and components Note: This article was adapted from an article originally published by the Sanford Underground Research Facility. View the original article. In 1953, Alan "Al" Smith arrived for his first day of work at the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab).
Materials Science - 19.03.2019 
Deliberate Short Circuits and Nail Torture as a Means of Enhancing Security: Battery research
Most of the people who stroll across the Leonardo campus are unlikely to notice a narrow, single-storey building. The construction in question is about 25 metres long and five metres wide. It is adorned with red and white stripes, has a corrugated iron roof, and is surrounded by a wire mesh fence which is about 1.5 metres high.
Materials Science - Physics - 18.03.2019 
Scientists create fire-retardant sensors for safety gear in harsh environments
Self-extinguishing device uses body movement to determine when workers are in danger Meghan Steele Horan Imagine a device that could stand up to even the most intense fires so that it could automatically signal others when a firefighter is immobilized on the job. UCLA researchers and colleagues at two other universities have designed the first fire-retardant, self-extinguishing motion sensor and power generator.
Physics - Materials Science - 15.03.2019
Materials Science - Physics - 08.03.2019 
Researchers simulate the process of adhesive wear
Using high-performance computer simulations, EPFL researchers were able to observe how surface roughness changes when two materials rub together. Their findings, which provide insight into friction and wear mechanisms, have implications for areas ranging from engineering to the study of tectonic faults.
Physics - Materials Science - 08.03.2019 
Scientists Take a Deep Dive Into the Imperfect World of 2D Materials
Berkeley Lab-led team combines several nanoscale techniques to gain new insights on the effects of defects in a well-studied monolayer material Nothing is perfect, or so the saying goes, and that's not always a bad thing. In a study at the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), scientists learned how nanoscale defects can enhance the properties of an ultrathin, so-called 2D material.
Physics - Materials Science - 07.03.2019 
When Semiconductors Stick Together, Materials Go Quantum
A new study led by Berkeley Lab reveals how aligned layers of atomically thin semiconductors can yield an exotic new quantum material A method developed by a Berkeley Lab-led research team may one day turn ordinary semiconducting materials into quantum electronic devices. (Credit: iStock.com/NiPlot) A team of researchers led by the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) has developed a simple method that could turn ordinary semiconducting materials into quantum machines - superthin devices marked by extraordinary electronic behavior.
Materials Science - Chemistry - 06.03.2019 
Smoothing out the wrinkles in graphene
Coating graphene with wax makes for a less contaminated surface during device manufacturing. To protect graphene from performance-impairing wrinkles and contaminants that mar its surface during device fabrication, MIT researchers have turned to an everyday material: wax. Graphene is an atom-thin material that holds promise for making next-generation electronics.
Materials Science - Innovation / Technology - 06.03.2019 
A self-healing composite
Researchers from EPFL's Laboratory for Processing of Advanced Composites have developed a material that can easily heal after being damaged. This cutting-edge composite could be used in aircraft, wind turbines, cars and sports equipment. When a wind turbine blade or an airplane is hit by something, the damaged part has to be either replaced or patched with resin.
Materials Science
Results 1 - 20 of 60.
Possible blood test for colon cancer
Up to half of people who should be screened for colorectal cancer do not get the routine procedure. A blood test to detect colorectal cancer being developed by Stanford doctors and materials scientists could help change that. Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in the U.S. and a growing problem around the world, but not because it's a particularly difficult cancer to detect and halt.
Up to half of people who should be screened for colorectal cancer do not get the routine procedure. A blood test to detect colorectal cancer being developed by Stanford doctors and materials scientists could help change that. Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in the U.S. and a growing problem around the world, but not because it's a particularly difficult cancer to detect and halt.
Berkeley Lab-led research team makes a chiral skyrmion crystal with electric properties; puts new spin on future information storage applications VIDEO: Simulation of a single polar skyrmion. Red arrows signify that this is a left-handed skyrmion. The other arrows represent the angular distribution of the dipoles.
The first-of-its-kind nanogenerator designed by UCLA researchers and colleagues also acts as a weather station Stuart Wolpert UCLA researchers and colleagues have designed a new device that creates electricity from falling snow. The first of its kind, this device is inexpensive, small, thin and flexible like a sheet of plastic.
The wood magician
The new head of Empa's Cellulose & Wood Materials lab, Gustav Nyström, has taken everyone by surprise by setting unconventional goals. However, paper batteries and nanocellulose sensors have one main objective: to help solve fundamental, socially relevant questions. When Gustav Nyström sees a tree, he sees more than just a biological marvel.
The new head of Empa's Cellulose & Wood Materials lab, Gustav Nyström, has taken everyone by surprise by setting unconventional goals. However, paper batteries and nanocellulose sensors have one main objective: to help solve fundamental, socially relevant questions. When Gustav Nyström sees a tree, he sees more than just a biological marvel.
Tiny, individual, flexible ribbons of crystalline phosphorus have been made and measured an international collaboration, in a world first, and they could revolutionise electronics and fast-charging battery technology. Since the isolation of 2-dimensional phosphorene (the phosphorus equivalent of graphene) in 2014, more than 100 theoretical studies have predicted that new and exciting and properties could emerge by producing narrow ‘ribbons' of this material.
KU Leuven engineers calculate where microplastics will end up
What is the impact of weathering processes on microplastics, and how do the particles spread across seas and oceans' Computer models developed by hydraulics engineers from KU Leuven may help to find the answers. Through rivers and wastewater, enormous amounts of minuscule plastic particles end up in our seas and oceans.
What is the impact of weathering processes on microplastics, and how do the particles spread across seas and oceans' Computer models developed by hydraulics engineers from KU Leuven may help to find the answers. Through rivers and wastewater, enormous amounts of minuscule plastic particles end up in our seas and oceans.
Fuel cell advance a breath of fresh air for future power alternative
A promising alternative to conventional power plants, solid oxide fuel cells use electrochemical methods that can generate power more efficiently than existing combustion-based generators. But fuel cells tend to degrade too quickly, eating up any efficiency gains through increased cost. Now, in an advance that could help lead the way toward longer-lived green energy devices, engineers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have revealed new insights about the chemical reactions that power fuel cells.
A promising alternative to conventional power plants, solid oxide fuel cells use electrochemical methods that can generate power more efficiently than existing combustion-based generators. But fuel cells tend to degrade too quickly, eating up any efficiency gains through increased cost. Now, in an advance that could help lead the way toward longer-lived green energy devices, engineers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have revealed new insights about the chemical reactions that power fuel cells.
Fungi that decompose tree trunks can conjure up real works of art in wood. In nature, however, the decay-causing fungi not only decorate the tree, but also destroy it. Empa researchers are now teaching the fungi how to draw. The result: upscale marbled wood that can be processed into design furniture or musical instruments.
In an advance that could accelerate battery development and improve manufacturing, scientists have found how to accurately predict the useful lifespan of lithium-ion batteries, used in devices from mobile phones to electric cars. If manufacturers of cell-phone batteries could tell which cells will last at least two years, then they could sell only those to phone makers and send the rest to makers of less demanding devices.
Experts Assess Future of Fuel Cells
In the quest for alternatives to gas-powered vehicles, experts believe one new method shows great promise: Proton exchange membrane fuel cells. In the quest for the perfect alternative for gas-powered vehicles, there have been a lot of contenders over the years. When it comes to public perception, battery electric vehicles are some of the most widely known.
In the quest for alternatives to gas-powered vehicles, experts believe one new method shows great promise: Proton exchange membrane fuel cells. In the quest for the perfect alternative for gas-powered vehicles, there have been a lot of contenders over the years. When it comes to public perception, battery electric vehicles are some of the most widely known.
The realization of so-called topological materials - which exhibit exotic, defect-resistant properties and are expected to have applications in electronics, optics, quantum computing, and other fields - has opened up a new realm in materials discovery. Several of the hotly studied topological materials to date are known as topological insulators.
Berkeley Lab's Alan Smith drove the science of measuring radioactivity in experiments' materials and components Note: This article was adapted from an article originally published by the Sanford Underground Research Facility. View the original article. In 1953, Alan "Al" Smith arrived for his first day of work at the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab).
Most of the people who stroll across the Leonardo campus are unlikely to notice a narrow, single-storey building. The construction in question is about 25 metres long and five metres wide. It is adorned with red and white stripes, has a corrugated iron roof, and is surrounded by a wire mesh fence which is about 1.5 metres high.
Self-extinguishing device uses body movement to determine when workers are in danger Meghan Steele Horan Imagine a device that could stand up to even the most intense fires so that it could automatically signal others when a firefighter is immobilized on the job. UCLA researchers and colleagues at two other universities have designed the first fire-retardant, self-extinguishing motion sensor and power generator.
High-quality bespoke nanocrystals
Stanford researchers redefine what it means for low-cost semiconductors, called quantum dots, to be near-perfect and find that quantum dots meet quality standards set by more expensive alternatives. Tiny, easy-to-produce particles, called quantum dots, may soon take the place of more expensive single crystal semiconductors in advanced electronics found in solar panels, camera sensors and medical imaging tools.
Stanford researchers redefine what it means for low-cost semiconductors, called quantum dots, to be near-perfect and find that quantum dots meet quality standards set by more expensive alternatives. Tiny, easy-to-produce particles, called quantum dots, may soon take the place of more expensive single crystal semiconductors in advanced electronics found in solar panels, camera sensors and medical imaging tools.
Using high-performance computer simulations, EPFL researchers were able to observe how surface roughness changes when two materials rub together. Their findings, which provide insight into friction and wear mechanisms, have implications for areas ranging from engineering to the study of tectonic faults.
Berkeley Lab-led team combines several nanoscale techniques to gain new insights on the effects of defects in a well-studied monolayer material Nothing is perfect, or so the saying goes, and that's not always a bad thing. In a study at the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), scientists learned how nanoscale defects can enhance the properties of an ultrathin, so-called 2D material.
A new study led by Berkeley Lab reveals how aligned layers of atomically thin semiconductors can yield an exotic new quantum material A method developed by a Berkeley Lab-led research team may one day turn ordinary semiconducting materials into quantum electronic devices. (Credit: iStock.com/NiPlot) A team of researchers led by the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) has developed a simple method that could turn ordinary semiconducting materials into quantum machines - superthin devices marked by extraordinary electronic behavior.
Coating graphene with wax makes for a less contaminated surface during device manufacturing. To protect graphene from performance-impairing wrinkles and contaminants that mar its surface during device fabrication, MIT researchers have turned to an everyday material: wax. Graphene is an atom-thin material that holds promise for making next-generation electronics.
Researchers from EPFL's Laboratory for Processing of Advanced Composites have developed a material that can easily heal after being damaged. This cutting-edge composite could be used in aircraft, wind turbines, cars and sports equipment. When a wind turbine blade or an airplane is hit by something, the damaged part has to be either replaced or patched with resin.
Computer Science - Apr 18
Project Sidewalk helps users map accessibility around Seattle, other cities
Project Sidewalk helps users map accessibility around Seattle, other cities