Phys.org June 7, 2022 Climate projections suggest a weakening or collapse of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) under global warming, with evidence that a slowdown is already underway. This could have significant ramifications for Atlantic Ocean heat transport, Arctic Sea ice extent and regional North Atlantic climate. However, the potential for far-reaching effects, such as teleconnections to adjacent basins and into the Southern Hemisphere, remains unclear. Researchers in Australia used a global climate model to show that AMOC collapse can accelerate the Pacific trade winds and Walker circulation by leaving an excess of heat in the tropical South Atlantic. […]
Power up: New polymer property could boost accessible solar power
Science Daily June 6, 2022 The function of many biomolecules is directly linked to their chirality. Chiral molecules assemble into chiral structures (like nucleic acids forming DNA), and achiral molecules assemble into achiral structures. Researchers at the University of Illinois have observed structural chirality emerging in achiral conjugated polymers. They combined achiral conjugated polymers with a solvent then added the solution, drop by drop, to a microscope slide. As the solvent molecules evaporated, leaving the polymers behind, the solution became more and more concentrated. Soon, the compressed achiral polymers began self-assembling to form structures. They can be used to design […]
Researchers demonstrate 40-channel optical communication link, capable of transmitting 400 GB of data per second
Phys.org June 9, 2022 A team of researchers in the US (University of Central Florida, NIST, Stanford University, University of Pennsylvania) has experimentally demonstrated a 400 Gbit/s optical communication link utilizing wavelength-division multiplexing and mode-division multiplexing for a total of 40 channels. This link utilizes a 400 GHz frequency comb source based on a chip-scale photonic crystal resonator. Silicon-on-insulator photonic inverse-designed 4 × 4 mode-division multiplexer structures enabled a fourfold increase in data capacity. They showed less than −10 dBm of optical receiver power for error-free data transmission in 34 out of a total of 40 channels using a PRBS31 pattern…read more. TECHNICAL ARTICLE
Researchers Just Set a New Record For Data Transmission Speed
Science Alert June 4, 2022 Researchers in Japan achieved new data transmission speed record using an optical fiber network similar to those currently used for internet infrastructure. In their experiment they used 0.125 mm diameter multi-core fiber (MCF), with WDM, total of 801 parallel wavelength channels were packed into the same line. They used four cores instead of the standard one, essentially quadrupling the routes for data to take, all while keeping the cable the same size as a standard optical fiber line. They applied various other optimization, signal boosting, and decoding technologies. The team plans to continue to improve […]
Room-temperature molecular switch discovery paves the way for faster computers, longer-lasting batteries
Phys.org June 9, 2022 Until now, molecular switching has only been possible when the molecules are extremely cold. Researchers in Australia have developed a semiempirical microscopic model of spin crossover materials (SCO) materials combining crystal field theory with elastic intermolecular interactions. The model reproduces the key experimental results including thermally induced phase transitions, light-induced spin-state trapping (LIESST), and reverse-LIESST. They reproduced and explained the experimentally observed relationship between the critical temperature of the thermal transition. They proposed strategies to design SCO materials with higher TLIESST. The most dramatic increases came from increasing the cooperativity of the spin-state transition by increasing […]
Scientists address the imbalance of the ‘Asian Water Tower’
Phys.org June 7, 2022 The Hindu Kush–Karakoram–Himalayan system, Asian water tower, named the Third Pole, is the largest global store of frozen water after the polar regions, providing a reliable water supply to almost 2 billion people. Marked atmospheric warming has changed the balance of Asian water tower and altered water resources in downstream countries. In a review article an international team of researchers (China, UK, the Netherlands, USA – Ohio State University, Austria) synthesized the observational evidence and model projections that describe an imbalance in the Asian water tower caused by accelerated transformation of ice and snow into liquid […]
Shining light on a fluid completely changes its dielectric permittivity
Nanowerk June 3, 2022 Researchers in Japan have developed a liquid whose dielectric permittivity can range from 200 to 18,000 in just half a minute when light is shone on it. They combined two molecules – a liquid crystal that has two phases, one with a low and one with extremely high dielectric permittivity. The second molecule is light sensitive. When blue light was shined on the combined molecule, it switched from the low-dielectric-permittivity phase to the high one; when green light was shined on the fluid it reversed the situation, causing it to return to the low-dielectric-permittivity phase. They […]
Single-molecule optoelectronic devices
Phys.org June 2, 2022 Single-molecule devices provide a reliable platform for exploration of the intrinsic properties of matters at the single-molecule level. The regulation of the electrical properties of single-molecule devices will be a key factor in enabling further advances in the development of molecular electronics. In this review article researchers in China introduce the optoelectronic effects that are involved in single-molecule devices, including photoisomerization switching, photoconductance, plasmon-induced excitation, photovoltaic effect, and electroluminescence. They summarize the optoelectronic mechanisms of single-molecule devices, with particular emphasis on the photoisomerization, photoexcitation, and photo-assisted tunneling processes. Discussion on the opportunities and challenges arising in […]
Tear down academic silos: Take an ‘undisciplinary’ approach
Phys.org June 2, 2022 Interdisciplinary scholarship and education remain elusive at modern universities, despite efforts at both the individual and institutional levels. A team of researchers in the US (Cornell University, University of Wisconsin) has identified the main motivations that bring different disciplines together in joint research and some of the obstacles to that coming together. According to them instead of rallying around a specific mission, collaborating among disciplines effectively is much more about how to approach problems, finding a common way of interacting. Through unstructured workshops they found the choice of participants (who participates?), aspects of time (when do […]
Top 10 Science and Technology Inventions for the Week of June 3, 2022
01. Bacteria-killing drills get an upgrade 02. Chip-scale Floquet topological insulators to enhance 5G wireless communications 03. It’s a trap! Laser light ensnared by invisible bonds 04. Light instead of electricity: A new kind of ‘green hydrogen’ 05. A new arrangement: Using quantum dots to quench the smallest ferrimagnetism 06. New route to build materials out of tiny particles 07. A new ultra-thin electrode material: A step closer to next-generation semiconductors 08. Researchers identify alternative to lithium-based battery technology 09. Want to prevent pandemics? Stop spillovers 10. Writing with light on titania: Rewritable UV-sensitive surfaces made from doped TiO2 nanocrystals […]