01. Physicists grab individual atoms in ground-breaking experiment 02. Growing crystals to generate random numbers 03. Lasers and terahertz waves combined in camera that sees ‘unseen’ detail 04. New green technology generates electricity ‘out of thin air’ 05. University of Illinois researchers demonstrate new capability for cooling electronics 06. Van der Waals magnets, a material for future semiconductors 07. What if we could teach photons to behave like electrons? 08. Highly sensitive sensors show promise in enhancing human touch 09. A spookily good sensor 10. After 40 Years of Hunting, Scientists Identify a Key Flaw in Solar Panel Efficiency And […]
After 40 Years of Hunting, Scientists Identify a Key Flaw in Solar Panel Efficiency
Science Alert February 13, 2020 Silicon solar cells containing boron and oxygen suffer from Light Induced Degradation which could be responsible for the 2 percent efficiency drop that solar cells can see in the first hours of use. Using deep level transient spectroscopy and photoluminescence an international team of researchers (UK, Portugal, Belarus, Australia) has observed the conversion of a deep boron-di-oxygen-related donor state into a shallow acceptor which correlates with the change in the lifetime of minority carriers in the silicon. They propose structures of the BsO2 defect which match the experimental findings and hypothesize that the dominant recombination […]
Growing crystals to generate random numbers
Phys.org February 19, 2020 The process of crystallization is random due to many factors that come into play as chemicals in a liquid solution evolve from a disordered state to one that is very organized. Researchers in the UK created a crystallization array and attached a reagent dispenser put different chemicals into the cups. A camera took a picture of each of the cups as crystal formation began. Each of the pictures was converted to a zero or a one based on nothing but the geography of the crystal. The zeros and ones were then strung together to form a […]
Highly sensitive sensors show promise in enhancing human touch
Nanowerk February 18, 2020 People rely on a highly tuned sense of touch to manipulate objects, but injuries to the skin and the simple act of wearing gloves can impair this ability. Researchers in China have developed a visually aided tactile enhancement system for precise motion control by combining ultrathin, highly sensitive, crack-based strain sensors and signal acquisition circuit with real-time display equipment. With the optimization of the thicknesses of the substrates and sensitive films of the strain sensors, the device has a detection limit as low as 0.01% and an ultrahigh gauge factor of 44 013 at a strain of […]
Lasers and terahertz waves combined in camera that sees ‘unseen’ detail
Science Daily February 18, 2020 The core challenge in THz cameras is not about collecting an image, but preserving the objects spectral fingerprint that can be easily corrupted by the technique. Researchers in the UK used a single-pixel camera to image sample objects with patterns of THz light. The prototype they built can detect how the object alters different patterns of THz light. By combining this information with the shape of each original pattern the camera reveals the image of an object as well as its chemical composition. The camera creates THz electromagnetic waves very close to the sample, similar […]
Light moves spins around
Nanowerk February 17, 2020 When complex material systems are exposed to ultrashort light pulses of only a few tens of femtosecond duration the light pulse can also permanently reverse the magnetization. Researchers in Germany show that an optical inter-site spin transfer (OISTR) from Pt to Co emerges as a dominant mechanism governing the ultrafast magnetization dynamics of a CoPt alloy. To demonstrate this, they performed a joint theoretical and experimental investigation to determine the transient changes of the helicity dependent absorption in the extreme ultraviolet spectral range. They showed that the helicity dependent absorption is directly related to changes of […]
New green technology generates electricity ‘out of thin air’
Phys.org February 17, 2020 Researchers at UMass Amherst have developed a thin-film device they call “Air-gen”, made from nanometre-scale protein wires harvested from the microbe Geobacter sulfurreducens that can generate continuous electric power in the ambient environment. The devices produce a sustained voltage of around 0.5 volts across a 7-micrometre-thick film, with a current density of around 17 microamperes per square centimetre. According to the researchers the driving force behind this energy generation is a self-maintained moisture gradient that forms within the film when the film is exposed to the humidity that is naturally present in air. Connecting several devices […]
Russian scientists found an effective way to obtain fuel for hydrogen engines
EurekAlert February 20, 2020 Catalysts used for releasing hydrogen from an H2O molecule are made from platinum, or molybdenum which are expensive hence the output energy is expensive too. Researchers in Russia used thin films of molybdenum sulfide deposited on the surface of glassy carbon instead. In this case, the material consumption will be minimal, and the surface area of the catalyst will be the same as if it was completely made from molybdenum sulfide. They measured electrochemical characteristics which indicated that the differences in the achievable hydrogen evolution reactions performances of the films could be caused by their unique […]
Scientists Are Deeply Concerned These 5 Cascading Crises Threaten Future Generations
Science Alert February 17, 2020 Our Future on Earth, 2020 – a report published by Future Earth, an international sustainability research network, includes a survey of 222 leading scientists from 52 countries who identified five global risks: failure of climate change mitigation and adaptation; extreme weather events; major biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse; food crises; and water crises. They identified these risks as the most severe in terms of impact on planetary health – the health of human civilization and the state of the natural systems on which it depends. It also highlights where progress is being made, such as […]
Physicists grab individual atoms in ground-breaking experiment
Science Daily February 20, 2020 Researchers in New Zealand trapped and cooled three individual atoms to a temperature of about a millionth of a Kelvin using highly focused laser beams in a hyper-evacuated chamber. They combined the traps containing the atoms to produce controlled interactions which were measured. When the three atoms approach each other, two form a molecule, and all receive a kick from the energy released in the process. A microscope camera allows the process to be magnified and viewed. They were able to see the exact outcome of individual processes and observed a new process where two […]