EurekAlert March 4, 2020 Accurate predictions of the temperature when embrittlement occurs is crucial to design conducting polymers that are used in next-generation flexible electronics. An international team of researchers (USA – Pennsylvania State University, Germany) found a way to measure glass transition temperatures by keeping track of the mechanical properties as embrittlement occurs, laying the foundation for understanding the relationship between the glass transition and structure. Follow-up studies then determined the glass transition for 32 different polymers by measuring mechanical properties as a function of temperature. They showed the simple relationship between the chemical structure and the glass transition […]
Scientists created an ‘impossible’ superconducting compound
Phys.org March 3, 2020 An international team of researchers (China, Russia) successfully synthesized praseodymium superhydrides (PrHg) and showed the emergence of a possible superconducting transition (Tc) below 9 K and Tc dependent on the applied magnetic field. Theoretical calculations indicated that magnetic order and likely superconductivity coexist in a narrow range of pressures in the PrHg sample, which may contribute to its low superconducting temperature. The results highlight the intimate connections between hydrogenic sublattices, density of states, magnetism, and superconductivity in Pr-based superhydrides…read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLE
Turning water into watts
Physics World March 3, 2020 Most approaches to harvesting mechanical energy from ocean waves rely on finding a way to move a conducting wire through a magnetic field to generate electricity. Researchers at Georgia Institute of Technology designed triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) in small plastic spheres, about the size of oranges, that float in water. As the waves jostle the sphere, material inside bumps against the outer shell, generating charges. Th charges then flow through an attached wire. In lab tests each sphere could generate about 10 mW of power enough for powering small devices such as sensors on buoys used […]
This wearable device camouflages its wearer no matter the weather
Phys.org March 3, 2020 An international team of researchers (USA -UC San Diego, Singapore) has developed a proof-of-concept device that has a surface that cools down or heats up to match ambient temperatures, camouflaging the wearer’s body heat. The surface can go from 10 to 38 degrees Celsius (50 to 100.5 degrees Fahrenheit) in less than a minute. They used phase-changing material that’s like wax but with more complex properties. The melting point of the material is 30 degrees Celsius (roughly 86 degrees F), the same temperature as the surface temperature of human skin. The outside layer of the device […]
Top 10 Science and Technology Inventions for the Week of February 28, 2020
01. Quantum researchers able to split one photon into three 02. New way to control the phase of light using 2D materials 03. A possible new way to cool computer chips 04. Researchers create new state of light 05. Scientists create new material for electronics of the future 06. Team develops optical communications technology to double data transfer speed 07. Using light to put a twist on electrons 08. Observation of non-trivial superconductivity on surface of type II Weyl semimetal 09. Simple self-charging battery offers power solutions for devices 10. Computer scientists’ new tool fools hackers into sharing keys for […]
The 10 most important future big-science facilities in physics
Physics World February 24, 2020 At a meeting on big science in physics, experts described several important facilities. New facilities to watch for are the James Webb Space Telescope; ITER; The European Extremely Large Telescope; the European Spallation Source (ESS); the Extreme Light Infrastructure; Hyper Kamiokande; the Square Kilometre Array; the Long Baseline Neutrino Facility; the Electron-Ion Collider; and a future electron-positron collider…read more.
Computer scientists’ new tool fools hackers into sharing keys for better cybersecurity
Science Daily February 27, 2020 Researchers at UT Dallas aim to solve a major challenge to using artificial intelligence for cybersecurity: a shortage of data needed to train computers to detect intruders. They have developed a method called DEEP-Dig (DEcEPtion DIGging), which ushers intruders into a decoy site so the computer can learn from hackers’ tactics. The information is then used to train the computer to recognize and stop future attacks. Most cyber defense programs try to disrupt intruders before anyone can monitor the intruders’ techniques. DEEP-Dig will give researchers a window into hackers’ methods as they enter a decoy […]
Lights, camera, action… the super-fast world of droplet dynamics
Eurekalert February 25, 2020 The chemistry behind emerging 3D-printing technologies involves having chemicals deposited onto a surface in a highly specific way. But how to make that happen in the printing process is poorly understood. Researchers in the UK used two synchronised cameras to see what was happening both on the surface and inside the droplets and to make a better assessment of mixing, whether they have mixed or has one droplet just passed over the other. The research provides understanding of the way chemicals react when they are deposited by a 3D printer which will lead to significant advances […]
New way to control the phase of light using 2D materials
Science Daily February 24, 2020 Little is known about the effect of doping on the optical properties of TMDs at wavelengths far from excitonic resonances, where the material is transparent and therefore could be leveraged in photonic circuits. A team of researchers in the US (Columbia University, North Carolina State University, University of Chicago) has demonstrated the strong electro refractive response of monolayer tungsten disulfide (WS2) at near-infrared wavelengths (deep in the transparency regime) by integrating it on silicon nitride photonic structures to enhance the light–matter interaction with the monolayer. They showed that the doping-induced phase change relative to change […]
Observation of non-trivial superconductivity on surface of type II Weyl semimetal
Phys.org February 25, 2020 An international team of researchers (China, USA – University of Tennessee, Israel) reported the experimental evidence for the unconventional superconductivity generated by the surface states in TaIrTe4 from both scanning tunneling microscopy/ spectroscopy (STM/STS) and electrical transport measurements. They demonstrated its superconductivity by both the superconducting gap from STS and the consistent resistance drop from electrical transport. The thickness-independence of ultralow critical current and angular dependence of upper critical field (Bc2) indicate that the superconductivity occurs only in the surface states. The research offers a novel platform for exploring topological superconductors and may contribute to the […]