Phys.org May 17, 2021 According to a team of researchers in the US (Research center, Harvard University) Carbon emissions from permafrost thaw and Arctic wildfires, which are not fully accounted for in global emissions budgets, will greatly reduce the amount of greenhouse gases that humans can emit to remain below 1.5 °C or 2 °C. The Paris Agreement provides ongoing opportunities to increase ambition to reduce society’s greenhouse gas emissions, which will also reduce emissions from thawing permafrost. In December 2020, more than 70 countries announced more ambitious nationally determined contributions as part of their Paris Agreement commitments; however, the […]
Rechargeable cement-based batteries
Science Daily May 18, 2021 Researchers in Sweden have developed a rechargeable cement-based battery using iron and zinc as anodes, and nickel-based oxides as cathodes. The conductivity of cement-based electrolytes was modified by adding short carbon fibers. The electrodes were produced by two methods: powder-mixing and metal-coating. Different combinations of cells were tested. The results showed that the best performance of the rechargeable battery was the Ni–Fe battery, produced by the metal-coating method. The battery has an average energy density of 7 Wh/m2 (or 0.8 Wh/L) during six charge/discharge cycles. Their battery could be more than ten times that of […]
Researchers shed light on the evolution of extremist groups
EurekAlert May 19, 2021 A team of researchers in the US (George Washington University, Los Alamos National Laboratory, industry) compared the growth of the Boogaloos, a new and increasingly prominent U.S. extremist movement, to the growth of online support for ISIS, a militant, terrorist organization based in the Middle East to understand any system-level commonalities in the ways these movements emerge and grow. They showed that the early dynamics of these two online movements follow the same mathematical order despite their stark differences and the evolution of both movements, across scales, follows a single shockwave equation that accounts for heterogeneity […]
Using micro-sized cut metal wires, team forges path to new uses for terahertz waves
Phys.org May 14, 2021 Terahertz flat optics is a design concept for replacing conventional three-dimensional bulky optical components with two-dimensional ultra-thin optical components. However, high refractive index materials suitable for flat optics are frequently subject to high Fresnel reflections due to the cumbersome control of the relative permeability it requires. Researchers in Japan fabricated metasurface consisting of 80,036 pairs of cut metal wires on both the front and back of a 5 μm-thick polyimide film with a super-fine ink-jet printer using silver paste ink. They have experimentally shown that the metasurface is reflectionless, has a high refractive index, extremely low […]
Top 10 Science and Technology Inventions for the Week of May 14, 2021
01. New evidence for electron’s dual nature found in a quantum spin liquid 02. Evading the uncertainty principle in quantum physics 03. Harnessing the hum of fluorescent lights for more efficient computing 04. Light meets superconducting circuits 05. Nanoscale defects could boost energy storage materials 06. A new device can light up 100 LED bulbs with a single drop of water (w/video) 07. Researchers generate tunable twin particles of light 08. Researchers in Sweden develop light emitter for quantum circuits 09. Researchers realize coherent storage of light over one hour 10. Successful synthesis of perovskite visible-light-absorbing semiconductor material And others… […]
Agents that target viral RNA could be the basis for next generation anti-viral drugs
EurekAlert May 10, 2021 The technique proposed by a team of researchers in the UK uses cylindrically shaped molecules which can block the function of a particular section at one end of the RNA strand called untranslated RNA that are essential for regulating the replication of the virus. They contain junction points and bulges which are normally recognised by proteins or other pieces of RNA. The cylindrical molecules are attracted to these holes. Once they slide into them, the RNA closes around them, forming a precise fit, which consequently will interfere with the virus’s ability to replicate. According to the […]
Evading the uncertainty principle in quantum physics
Phys.org May 6, 2021 Quantum mechanics sets a limit for the precision of continuous measurement of the position of an oscillator. An international team of researchers (Finland, Australia) has developed a theoretical model to show that there is a way to get around the uncertainty principle. In their experiment they used two vibrating drumheads vibrating in opposite phase to each other cancelling the quantum uncertainty of the drums’ motion if the two drums are treated as one quantum-mechanical entity. Thus the researchers were able to simultaneously measure the position and the momentum of the two drumheads – which should not […]
Harnessing the hum of fluorescent lights for more efficient computing
Science Daily May 12, 2021 Magnetostriction, which causes the buzz of fluorescent lights and electrical transformers, occurs when a change in the shape of the material causes a change in magnetic field. An international team of researchers (USA – University of Michigan, Cornell University, SUNY Buffalo, UC Berkeley, University of Wisconsin, Purdue University, Germany) has developed a material made of a combination of iron and gallium which has at least twice as magnetostrictive and far less costly than other materials in its class. By freezing the iron-gallium alloy and preventing it from forming an ordered structure they were able to […]
Light-controlled nanoparticles will play key role in biosensor development
Phys.org May 11. 2021 An international team of researchers (Russia, Singapore) made nanoparticles composed of silicon cores and biopolymer shells. The substances that make up the shells have different hydrophobic/hydrophilic qualities using which they could make the particles contract or expand depending on external factors. The nanoparticles change both shape and color under thermal influence. The new controllable systems can also be used to create thermo- and light-controlled dyes akin to liquid-crystal modulators used in holography and lithography. Changes in the color of the particles occur solely due to structural transformations. Change in color allows monitoring the particle in real […]
Light meets superconducting circuits
EurekAlert May 10, 2021 Realizing the full potential of quantum computers requires a significant increase in the number of qubits to store and manipulate quantum information. To prevent contaminating quantum signals by thermal noise, the superconducting quantum systems must operate at ultra-low temperatures. An international team of researchers (Switzerland, India) has developed a novel approach that uses light to read out superconducting circuits. They replaced low-noise high-electron mobility transistors and coaxial cables with a lithium niobate electro-optical phase modulator and optical fibers. Microwave signals from superconducting circuits modulate a laser carrier and encode information on the output light at cryogenic […]