Phys.org May 20, 2022 A long-standing challenge has been to realize materials that integrate and connect tunable electrical transport and tunable spin configurations. Two-dimensional materials offer a platform to realize this concept but known 2D magnetic semiconductors are electrically insulating in their magnetic phase. An international team of researchers (USA – Columbia University, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Washington University, Japan) demonstrated tunable electron transport within the magnetic phase of the 2D semiconductor chromium sulfide bromide (CrSBr) and showed strong coupling between its magnetic order and charge transport. Exploiting the sensitivity of magnetoresistance to magnetic order, they uncovered […]
Washable and recyclable solar cell-infused textiles
Nanowerk May 21, 2022 Researchers in Finland laminated a solar cell component between textiles in a water-tight polyurethane film to make the component machine-washable. The textiles containing the solar cell component were then washed dozens of times. Five of the eight samples retained their efficiency, and three lost about 20 percent of their power. None of the cells or the textiles were damaged during the process. They used textiles whose fibers were made of only a single material and thus could be recycled as efficiently as possible. Electronic components can be removed from the fabric simply by first applying heat […]
Top 10 Science and Technology Inventions for the Week of May 20, 2022
01. Eavesdroppers can hack 6G frequency with DIY metasurface 02. Exploring chemical logic systems that can respond to environmental conditions 03. Low-cost battery-like device absorbs CO2 emissions while it charges 04. A metasurface-based light-to-microwave transmitter for hybrid wireless communications 05. More efficient optical quantum gates 06. Multisensory hybrid material as smart electronic skin 07. On-chip photodetection: Two-dimensional material heterojunctions 08. Rigid waterproof coating for paper aims to reduce our dependence on plastic 09. Scientists Have Powered a Basic Computer With Just Algae For Over 6 Months 10. Synthesis of two-dimensional holey graphyne And others… Here’s How The Next 5 Years […]
Eavesdroppers can hack 6G frequency with DIY metasurface
Science Daily May 16, 2022 Metasurfaces enable controllable manipulation of electromagnetic waves and have been shown to improve wireless communications in many diverse ways. A team of researchers in the US (Rice University, Brown University) defined and experimentally demonstrated a “MetaSurface-in-the-Middle” (MSITM) attack. In this attack, the adversary Eve placed a metasurface in the path of a directive transmission between Alice and Bob and targeted to re-direct a portion of the signal towards herself, without being detected. They showed how to design a metasurface that induces abrupt phase changes at the interface of the metasurface to controllably diffract directional links […]
Exploring chemical logic systems that can respond to environmental conditions
Phys.org May 13, 2022 Even the simplest form of life (a single cell), can sense various chemical and physical stimuli and process this information through their intrinsic complex intracellular logic to perform complicated cellular functions such as cell division, cell motility, and cargo transport. Harnessing the complete potential of such systems, regarding their ability to process information from multiple external stimuli and perform programmable spatiotemporal functions remains unexplored. An international team of researchers (South Korea, India) has developed out-of-equilibrium chemical systems, which can sense multiple external stimuli ( light, sound, atmospheric oxygen) and process this information to execute programmable life-like […]
Here’s How The Next 5 Years Might Look: Scientists Outline 3 Likely Pandemic Outcomes
Science Alert May 16, 2022 A new report from the International Science Council (ISC), written by a panel of 20 experts on public health, virology, economics, behavioral science, ethics, and sociology, has laid out three scenarios that could occur by 2027 and possible actions the world can take to minimize the pandemic’s impact going forward. Scenario 1 – Globally the coronavirus won’t disappear, but its spread will become far more manageable ; Scenario 2 – By 2027, the ISC report finds the most likely scenario is “an exacerbation of global inequalities; Scenario 3 – As geopolitical tensions grow protectionist policies […]
How to brainstorm brilliant ideas in teams without sliding into ‘groupthink’
Phys.org May 13, 2022 Researchers at the University of Illinois explore the creative process in the context of higher education, advertising and leadership and offer some concrete ways to facilitate idea generation, both individually and in groups. Research shows that groups with diverse disciplines, backgrounds, beliefs, knowledge, and skills produce the strongest, most unique results. According to the researchers it is important to carefully define the challenge, task or problem including gathering key data and outlining boundaries, and any other constraints. Establishing three key guidelines is essential: Focus on the quantity of ideas generated, not their quality; Avoid criticism, judgment, […]
Low-cost battery-like device absorbs CO2 emissions while it charges
Science Daily May 19, 2022 The most advanced carbon capture technologies currently require large amounts of energy and they are expensive. Researchers in the UK have designed a supercapacitor that consists of two electrodes of positive and negative charge. They found that alternating from a negative to a positive voltage improved the supercapacitor’s ability to capture carbon. When the electrodes become charged, the negative plate draws in the CO2 gas, while ignoring other emissions, such as oxygen, nitrogen, and water. Using this method, the supercapacitor both captures carbon and stores energy. They have developed a technique to understand the mechanism […]
A metasurface-based light-to-microwave transmitter for hybrid wireless communications
Phys.org May 13, 2022 Realizing signal conversion between optical and microwave frequencies typically requires a complicated relay to perform multiple operations, which will consume additional hardware/time/energy resources. An international team of researchers (China, Singapore) has reported a light-to-microwave transmitter based on the time-varying and programmable metasurface integrated with a high-speed photoelectric detection circuit into a hybrid. Such a transmitter can convert a light intensity signal to two microwave binary frequency shift keying signals by using the dispersion characteristics of the metasurface to implement the frequency division multiplexing. In demonstration the system allowed dual-channel data transmissions in a light-to-microwave link. They […]
More efficient optical quantum gates
Phys.org May 13, 2022 Progress in optical quantum information processing is hampered by the low efficiency of the two-qubit quantum gates realized so far. Researchers in Germany demonstrated an optical two-qubit gate with an average efficiency above 40%, thus outperforming the previous record by a factor of almost 4. They accomplished this with electromagnetically induced transparency. Incoming photons are converted into polaritons in highly excited Rydberg state. Any two atoms in such a state have a strong interaction, even at large separations. When two photons enter the resonator, both become polaritons and their Rydberg components interact. When the excitations leave […]