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Physics - Materials Science - 18.03.2022

Tiny but Mighty: Atomic Forces at the Engineering Scale
An interdisciplinary manuscript reporting on a collaboration between physicists and computational engineers from the University of Luxembourg and Padova (Italy) has been published in Physical Review Letters. This work reveals that interactions between many electrons in materials can induce a colossal enhancement of atomic forces at the nanoscale and in large engineering-scale systems.

Physics - Materials Science - 14.03.2022

Novel X-ray lens facilitates glimpse into the nanoworld
PSI scientists have developed a ground-breaking achromatic lens for X-rays. This allows the X-ray beams to be accurately focused on a single point even if they have different wavelengths. The new lens will make it much easier to study nanostructures using X-rays, according to a paper just published by the researchers in the scientific.

Materials Science - Electroengineering - 14.03.2022

Scientists create new lead-free piezoelectric materials
Researchers have discovered that gadolinium-doped cerium oxide, a compound they created in the lab, could be a promising alternative to certain piezoelectric materials: it has the same proprieties yet may be 100 times more effective. It's also lead-free, unlike the best piezoelectric materials, which means that it could be employed in bio-compatible medical applications.

Materials Science - 11.03.2022

The next generation of robots will be shape-shifters
Physicists have discovered a new way to coat soft robots in materials that allow them to move and function in a more purposeful way. Physicists have discovered a new way to coat soft robots in materials that allow them to move and function in a more purposeful way. The research, led by the University of Bath, is described today in Science Advances .

Materials Science - Physics - 02.03.2022

Micro-CT Lab: Looking Deeply into Material Structures
By Birgit Baustädter Since the innovative Micro-CT Lab at TU Graz went into operation in 2022, researchers from TU Graz, the Uni Graz and the Med Uni Graz have been working together examining material structures. From the outside, the two new white cabinets are inconspicuous. Rather big. White. Each one with a viewing window and a sample stage.

Physics - Materials Science - 01.03.2022

NGI uses twist to engineer 2D semiconductors with built-in memory functions
A team of researchers at The University of Manchester's National Graphene Institute (NGI) and the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) has demonstrated that slightly twisted 2D transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) display room-temperature ferroelectricity. This characteristic, combined with TMDs- outstanding optical properties, can be used to build multi-functional optoelectronic devices such as transistors and LEDs with built-in memory functions on nanometre length scale.

Physics - Materials Science - 24.02.2022

Revealing New States in 2D Materials
02/24/2022 Würzburg researchers have highlighted and quantified a three-fold coupling between exciton, photon, and phonon in a microcavity with embedded two-dimensional materials. Atomically thin two-dimensional (2D) materials can provide highly interesting excitonic properties, which render them an attractive platform to explore polaritonic physics.

Materials Science - 22.02.2022

Silence on the tracks
Noise barriers or improved wheel systems and brakes that are less noisy are not the only ways to reduce railway noise for close-by residents. An inconspicuous component under the tracks is a source of hope for a research team including scientists. Railway noise is unhealthy. Hundreds of millions of Swiss francs have already been invested in noise barriers, quieter braking systems and other measures with the goal to protect at least 80 percent of the Swiss population from emissions by the year 2025 - but because railway traffic will continue to increase, a lot remains to be done.

Materials Science - Environment - 15.02.2022

New efficiency record set for ultrathin solar cells
A team co-led by UCL researchers has substantially increased the efficiency of a new type of solar cell, potentially paving the way for its use as a low cost, environmentally friendly alternative to existing solar power technology. Standard solar cells are silicon-based, but they are bulky, expensive and energy intensive to produce.

Physics - Materials Science - 11.02.2022

Two-dimensional material could store quantum information at room temperature
Researchers have identified a two-dimensional material that could be used to store quantum information at room temperature. There are defects in this material that can emit single photons, which means it could be used in quantum systems Hannah Stern Quantum memory is a major building block to be addressed in the building of a quantum internet, where quantum information is securely stored and sent via photons, or particles of light.

Environment - Materials Science - 11.02.2022

Solar and wind power are key to decarbonising Switzerland
A team from the UNIGE and Empa demonstrate that a mix of photovoltaic and wind power is optimal for reducing the carbon footprint of Swiss electricity consumption . How can we reduce the carbon footprint of electricity consumption in Switzerland? The country relies on electricity imports from fossil fuel power plants, which are major emitters of greenhouse gases.

Materials Science - Physics - 10.02.2022

NGI advances graphene spintronics as 1D contacts improve mobility in nano-scale devices
Researchers at The University of Manchester may have cleared a significant hurdle on the path to quantum computing, demonstrating step-change improvements in the spin transport characteristics of nanoscale graphene-based electronic devices.

Materials Science - Physics - 10.02.2022

Fully woven, smart display
Researchers have developed a 46-inch woven display with smart sensors, energy harvesting and storage integrated directly into the fabric. By integrating fibre-based electronics, photonic, sensing and energy functionalities, we can achieve a whole new class of smart devices and systems Luigi Occhipinti An international team of scientists have produced a fully woven smart textile display that integrates active electronic, sensing, energy and photonic functions.

Health - Materials Science - 10.02.2022

Futuristic coating for hospital fabrics and activewear kills COVID and E. coli
UBC researchers have developed an inexpensive, non-toxic coating for almost any fabric that decreases the infectivity of the virus that causes COVID-19 by up to 90 per cent. And in the future, you might be able to spray it on fabric yourself. "When you're walking into a hospital, you want to know that pillow you're putting your head onto is clean," says lead author Taylor Wright, a doctoral candidate in the department of chemistry.

Materials Science - Chemistry - 09.02.2022

A new electrolyte for greener and safer batteries
A team from the University of Geneva has developed a new material that improves the performance of solid-state sodium batteries, a less dangerous and more durable alternative to lithium. The future of battery technologies lies in sodium. More sustainable than lithium - which currently powers most of our devices and vehicles - sodium is also abundant on the earth's surface.

Materials Science - Physics - 09.02.2022

New thermofluidic process for lab-on-a-chip applications
Researchers at Leipzig University have succeeded in moving tiny amounts of liquid at will by remotely heating water over a metal film with a laser. The currents generated in this way can be used to manipulate and even capture tiny objects. This will unlock groundbreaking new solutions for nanotechnology, the manipulation of liquids in systems in tiny spaces, or in the field of diagnostics, by making it possible to detect the smallest concentrations of substances with new types of sensor systems.

Materials Science - Innovation - 07.02.2022

New adaptable smart window coating could help heat or cool a home and save energy
Researchers at the University of Oxford have collaborated with industry experts to develop an adaptable smart window technology that could reduce the energy usage of an average home by up to a third. The new glass has a spectrally tuneable low-emissivity coating that uses a phase change material to control the amount of heat that comes into the room from the window, without affecting the quality of the light.

Materials Science - Innovation - 07.02.2022

’Smart’ 3D-printed braces could improve scoliosis treatment
A new type of lightweight 3D-printed back brace capable of sensing how effectively it fits patients could lead to improved treatment for scoliosis, its developers say. Scoliosis, a common form of spine deformity, affects around three percent of the population, most often between the ages of 10 and 15.

Chemistry - Materials Science - 07.02.2022

Columns Designed from Nanographenes
Several layers of nanographenes stacked on top of each other: such functional elements could one day be used in solar cells. Würzburg chemists have paved the way for this. Graphene is a carbon material that forms extremely thin layers. Because of its unusual properties, it is interesting for many technical applications.

Materials Science - Chemistry - 04.02.2022

With a Little Help, New Optical Material Assembles Itself
Breakthrough could enable large-scale manufacturing of nanomaterials for industry A research team led by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory ÜBerkeley Lab) has demonstrated tiny concentric nanocircles that self-assemble into an optical material with precision and efficiency. Their work overcomes a longstanding problem in nanoscience - molecular impurities.