Phys.org March 14, 2023 Researchers in China examined dust-infused baroclinic storm (DIBS) over East Asia in May 2017 to study the dust effects on cirrus clouds. The data indicated that the 2017 storm produced extremely high ice particle concentrations of 1 to 10 particles per cubic centimeter, with particle sizes in the range of 10 to 30 micrometers. They found that the more sophisticated parameterization matched cloud observations more closely than the simple model: The new, more complex model yielded ice particle concentrations that were 10 to 100 times higher and particle sizes that were 2 to 3 times smaller. […]
Experiment unlocks bizarre properties of strange metals
Science Daily March 13, 2023 An iternational team of researchers (Japan, USA – University of Cincinnati, Rutgers University) fired gamma rays at an alloy of ytterbium to observe its unusual electrical behavior. They studied the charge fluctuations of the strange metal phase of β-YbAlB4 as a function of temperature and pressure they found that the usual single absorption peak in the Fermi-liquid regime splits into two peaks upon entering the critical regime. The team interpreted this spectrum as a single nuclear transition, modulated by nearby electronic valence fluctuations whose long time scales are further enhanced by the formation of charged […]
Magnetism fosters unusual electronic order in quantum material
Phys.org March 13, 2023 Various correlated electronic phases have been discovered in kagome lattice materials, including magnetism, charge density waves, nematicity and superconductivity. Recently, a charge density wave was discovered in the magnetic kagome FeGe, providing a platform for understanding the interplay between charge order and magnetism in kagome materials. An internationl team of researchers (USA – Rice University, UC Berkeley, University of Washington, University, SLAC National Acclerator Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, Israel, China) observed all three electronic signatures of the kagome lattice in FeGe using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. They showed that the presence of van […]
Novel tunable 2D nanosheets enable many semiconductor applications, ranging from electronics to photocatalysis
Nanowerk March 15, 2023 Perovskites is a promising material for producing 2D monolayer nanosheets if their tunability of bandgap corresponding to the energy of visible light. To solve this problem researchers in Japan focused on a Ruddlesden–Popper (RP) phase layered perovskite oxynitrides and successfully created 2D perovskite oxynitride nanosheets with a tunable bandgap using their novel process. The material had a homogenous thickness of 1.6 nm and exhibited different colors, ranging from white to yellow, depending on the nitridation temperature, and exhibited the semiconductor property of having a tunable bandgap in the visible region, ranging from 2.03-2.63 eV, based on […]
Researchers develop new method to enhance sodium ion storage
Phys.org March 9, 2023 The larger diameter of Na ions compared to Li ions makes the sodiation/desodiation process more difficult with a larger volumetric variation of the electrode material, leading to poor capacity and cycling stability. Researchers in China developed an atomic-interface of well-constructed 2H-MoS2/Fe(SA)-N-C anode assembled with 2H-MoS2 layer and N-doped carbon-confined Fe atom, which boosted the reversible sodium storage capacity. They found that driven by the work function difference at the heterointerface, the electron could transfer from Fe(SA)-N-C to 2H-MoS2 easily, enhancing the adsorption Na+ ion at the S sites of electron-rich MoS2. They indicated that the change […]
Researchers develop soft robot that shifts from land to sea with ease
Science Daily March 14, 2023 A team of researcers in the USA (Carnegie Mellon University, UCLA) has developed a multimodal soft robot locomotion using highly compact and dynamic bistable soft actuators. The actuators are composed of a prestretched membrane sandwiched between two 3D printed frames with embedded shape memory alloy (SMA) coils. The actuator can swiftly transform between two oppositely curved states and generate a force through a snap-through instability that is triggered after 0.2 s of electrical activation with an electrical energy input power. The consistency and robustness of the snap-through actuator response was experimentally validated through cyclical testing. […]
Researchers develop ultraefficient white light laser on a chip
Phys.org March 13, 2023 Supercontinuum lasers are able to produce a continuous spectrum of color and can therefore appear white. To generate the wide bandwidth of colors, supercontinuum lasers have a high peak power consumption, they are enormous and have to be stabilized in a laboratory. Researchers in the Netherlands have developed a scheme where the input energy requirements for integrated supercontinuum generation are drastically lowered by orders of magnitude for bandwidth generation of the order of 500–1000 nm. They achieved an efficiency enhancement by factors reaching 2800 through sign-alternating dispersion in a CMOS-compatible silicon nitride waveguide. They showed that the […]
Resilient bug-sized robots keep flying even after wing damage
Science Daily March 15, 2023 Although robots driven by rigid actuators have demonstrated agile locomotion and manipulation, most of them lack animal-like robustness against unexpected damage. Dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs), a class of muscle-like soft transducers, have enabled nimble aerial, terrestrial, and aquatic robotic locomotion. However, unlike muscles, DEAs suffer local dielectric breakdowns that often cause global device failure. Researchers at MIT developed DEAs that can endure more than 100 punctures while maintaining high bandwidth and power density sufficient for supporting energetically expensive locomotion such as flight. They fabricated electroluminescent DEAs for visualizing electrode connectivity under actuator damage. When the […]
Scientists demonstrate time reflection of electromagnetic waves
Phys.org March 13, 2023 A team of researchers in the US (City University of New York, City College of New York, Syracuse University) has reported the observation of photonic time reflection and associated broadband frequency translation in a switched transmission-line metamaterial whose effective capacitance is homogeneously and abruptly changed via a synchronized array of switches. A pair of temporal interfaces are combined to demonstrate time-reflection-induced wave interference, realizing the temporal counterpart of a Fabry–Pérot cavity. According to the researchers their results establish the foundational building blocks to realize time metamaterials and Floquet photonic crystals, with opportunities for extreme photon manipulation […]
Shape memory achieved for nano-sized objects
Phys.org March 9, 2023 Magnetoelectric (ME) oxide materials can convert magnetic input into electric output and vice versa, making them excellent candidates for advanced sensing, data storage, and communication. However, their application has been limited to rigid devices due to their brittle nature. An international team of researcher (Switzerland, Germany, South Korea, Spain) has developed flexible ME oxide composite (BaTiO3/CoFe2O4) thin film nanostructures with distinct ME coupling coefficients. In contrast to rigid bulk counterparts, these ceramic nanostructures displayed a flexible behavior after being released from the substrate, and could be transferred onto a stretchable substrate such as polydimethylsiloxane. These ceramic […]