EurekAlert August 17, 2020 Protecting coherence is the main difficulty hindering the development of powerful quantum computers. An international team of researchers (Finland, UK, USA – Yale University, Russia) cooled superfluid helium-3 to within one ten thousandth of a degree from absolute zero and created two time crystals inside the superfluid. They observed an exchange of magnons between the time crystals leading to opposite-phase oscillations leading to opposite-phase oscillations in their populations while the defining periodic motion remains phase coherent throughout the experiment. The findings offer a basis to further investigate the fundamental properties of these phases, opening pathways for […]
Insect wings inspire new ways to fight superbugs
EurekAlert August 18, 2020 New anti-bacterial surfaces are being developed, featuring different nanopatterns that mimic the deadly action of cicadas and dragonflies’ wings. In a review article an international team of researchers (Australia, Spain, USA – Ohio State University, UK) has detailed exactly how these patterns destroy bacteria – stretching, slicing, or tearing them apart. They point out that different species have wings that are better at killing some bacteria than others, the wing surfaces have different density, height, and diameter of the nanopillars. The nanostructured surfaces could be used in medical or industrial applications…read more. TECHNICAL ARTICLE
IARPA pursues advanced radio eavesdropping defenses
Defense Systems August 18, 2020 IARPA has released a request for information for the Securing Compartmented Information with Smart Radio Systems (SCISRS) Research Program. It wants to find elusive radio frequency irregularities in increasingly complex radio environments, including low probability of intercept signals (LPIs), altered or mimicked signals, and abnormal unintended emissions using smart radio technologies…read more.
A new iron based super elastic alloy capable of withstanding extreme temperatures
EurekAlert August 20, 2020 Researchers in Japan have discovered novel iron-based super elastic alloy (SEA) made of Fe-Mn-Al-Cr-Ni whose controllable temperature dependence goes from positive to negative, it is capable of withstanding extreme temperatures -both high and low. Increasing the amount of Chromium allowed the researchers to change the temperature dependence from a positive to a negative. Balancing the Chromium content resulted in zero temperature dependence with the critical stress remaining almost constant at various temperatures. The discovery possesses wide-spread application for outer-space exploration given the large temperature fluctuations that occur. It can potentially be used in tension braces in […]
Protecting emerging and existing technology investments with escrow
Defense Systems August 14, 2020 One of the key concerns for all government agencies — especially DOD with its national security mission — is what happens to the technology they have procured when a commercial developer determines that it will no longer support that version of the technology, merges with or is acquired by another company, goes out of business or no longer has the ability to make changes to the software source code or underlying technology. On a basic level technology escrow is a legal agreement between all parties involved in a technology transaction. It is managed by a […]
Researchers capture footage of fluid behaving like a solid
Phys.org August 14, 2020 To study the Discontinuous Shear Thickening (DST) researchers in the UK used regular kitchen corn starch mixed with water, placed this in a narrow cell and released pressurized air into the cornstarch-water fluid. They observed three distinct pattern morphologies: viscous fingering, dendritic fracturing, and system-wide fracturing, which correspond to the same packing fraction ranges as weak shear thickening, discontinuous shear thickening, and shear-jammed regimes. DST behaviour could be used to calibrate future theoretical models for unique engineering applications such as soft body armour, “smart” speed bumps, and food production…read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLE
Scientists use photons as threads to weave novel forms of matter
EurekAlert August 17, 2020 An international team of researchers (UK, France, Italy) has spectroscopically observed bound electrons and holes, leading to the creation of an intraband bound exciton. The discrete resonance appears below the ionization threshold only when the coupling between light and matter is increased above a critical value. The result demonstrates that two charged particles can be bound by the exchange of transverse photons. Light–matter coupling can thus be used as a tool in quantum material engineering, tuning electronic properties of semiconductor heterostructures beyond those permitted by mere crystal structures, with direct applications to mid-infrared optoelectronics…read more. TECHNICAL […]
Sculpting a Waveguide with Light
American Physical Society August 14, 2020 Accelerating charged particles using intense laser pulses instead of radio-frequency fields could dramatically reduce the sizes of high-energy particle accelerators. Researchers at the University of Maryland prepared a longer, more controllable, and less leaky waveguide using two consecutive laser pulses that approximate Bessel beams, which are waveforms that do not spread out as they propagate. The first pulse creates the core of the waveguide. The second pulse creates the cladding. With this independent preparation of core and cladding, the team could form a waveguide with finely tunable parameters, such as the diameter and the […]
Trace vapor generator for detecting explosives, narcotics
Science Daily August 18, 2020 The Trace Vapor Generator for Explosives and Narcotics (TV-Gen) sampling device designed by a team of researchers in the US (Naval Research Laboratory, research institution, National Research Council) can be used with a broad range of analytes, detection systems, materials, and sensors. It can switch easily between the clean and analyte vapor streams. The TV-Gen system utilizes nebulization of aqueous analyte solutions and a control box that provides dedicated computer control with logging capabilities. Resultant vapor streams are stable over several hours, with the vapor concentration controlled by a combination of aqueous analyte solution concentration, […]
Ultrafast electrons in magnetic oxides: A new direction for spintronics?
Science Daily August 19, 2020 Special metal oxides could one day replace semiconductor materials that are commonly used today in processors. Until recently it had not been clear how the electron transfer across the band gap coupled with the spin of the magnetic oxide occurs. An international team of researchers (Germany, USA – research institute, Switzerland) was able to excite an electron to lift it across the band gap in nickel oxide. They also observed how the information was then transferred to the magnetic system. This enabled the team to identify a previously unknown ultrafast coupling mechanism that occurs on […]