01. A Swiss cheese-like material’ that can solve equations 02. Tiny optical elements could one day replace traditional refractive lenses 03. Ferromagnetic nanoparticle systems show promise for ultrahigh-speed spintronics 04. A direct current (DC) remote cloak to hide arbitrary objects 05. Engineering for high-speed devices 06. Researchers find that the sun’s magnetic field is ten times stronger than previously believed 07. How to ice-proof the next generation of aircraft 08. A billion people will be newly exposed to diseases like dengue fever as world temperatures rise 09. ‘Biological bandage’ could help heal wounds 10. DARPA Seeks to Make Scalable On-Chip […]
Tiny optical elements could one day replace traditional refractive lenses
Eurekalert March 28, 2019 Metalenses are currently limited by their static and their complex and expensive fabrication and for imaging operations such as zooming and focusing. Most metalenses cannot adjust their focal spots without physical motion as the building blocks of these lenses are made of hard materials that cannot change shape once fabricated. Researchers at Northwestern University built a flat and versatile lens out of an array of cylindrical silver nanoparticles and a layer of polymer patterned into blocks on top of the metal array. By simply controlling the arrangement of the polymer patterns, the nanoparticle array could direct […]
‘A Swiss cheese-like material’ that can solve equations
University of Pennsylvania March 21, 2019 Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have introduced a metamaterial platform capable of solving an arbitrary wave as the input function to an equation associated with a prescribed integral operator. The solution of such an equation is generated as a complex-valued output electromagnetic field. They demonstrated their technique at microwave frequencies through solving a generic integral equation and using a set of waveguides as the input and output to the designed metastructures. The research provides a route to develop chip-based analog optical computers and computing elements…read more. TECHNICAL ARTICLE
Researchers find that the sun’s magnetic field is ten times stronger than previously believed
Phys.org March 29, 2019 An international team of researchers (UK, Spain, Switzerland, Austria, Slovakia, Sweden, Georgia, Germany) analyzed the solar flare which erupted near the surface of the sun on 10 September 2017. The analysis showed that the coronal magnetic field strengths was as high as 350 Gauss at heights up to 25 Mm above the solar limb. These measurements are substantially higher than several previous estimates and may have considerable implications for our current understanding of the extended solar atmosphere…read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLE
How to ice-proof the next generation of aircraft
Science Daily April 1, 2019 To prevent ice formation on aircraft during flight, current systems utilize the heat generated by burning fuel, but these high-temperature, fuel-dependent systems cannot be used on the proposed all-electric, temperature-sensitive materials of next-generation aircraft. An international team of researchers (China, USA – Iowa State University) has shown that equipment important in controlling landing and takeoff can double-up to control icing based on plasma acutators. When high voltage is applied across electrodes most is converted into heat and the rest is converted into an induced flow or ionic wind over the actuator, so the plasma actuator […]
Fleets of autonomous satellites to coordinate tasks among themselves
Phys.org March 27, 2019 Working under the CORDIS project NetSat researchers in Germany aim to launch four small satellites, at the end of this year, to orbit the Earth and test formations with varying degrees of autonomy, with light-touch supervision from ground control. Each satellite weighs 3 kilogram and they will be placed in low Earth orbit. The satellites will be able to coordinate with each other over distances from about 100 kilometres down to 10 metres, as well as change their formation depending on the tasks they need to perform. AI can make a satellite aware of its surroundings and […]
Ferromagnetic nanoparticle systems show promise for ultrahigh-speed spintronics
Phys.org March 28, 2019 Based on their previous discovery that the “electric field” component of a terahertz pulse plays a key role in the terahertz magnetization modulation of semiconductor-based ferromagnetic materials, researchers in Japan embedded MnAs ferromagnetic nanoparticles in a GaAs host matrix. They observed a large modulation up to 20% of the magnetization of the nanoparticles with terahertz pump pulse irradiation. They found that the modulation is induced by the electric-field component of the terahertz pulse via spin-carrier interactions. The results will lead to an ultrafast coherent magnetization reversal within a picosecond, which will be an essential technique for […]
Engineering for high-speed devices
Science Daily March 29, 2019 A team of researchers in the US (University of Delaware, industry, Columbia University) combined silicon with graphene which can transmit radiofrequency waves in less than a picosecond at a sub-terahertz bandwidth. Graphene has better carrier mobility and direct bandgap and allows for faster electron transmission and better electrical and optical properties. By combining silicon with graphene, scientists may be able to continue to utilize technologies that are already used with silicon devices. The research could add up to cheaper and faster wireless devices in the future. It could make the network stronger, better and cheaper…read […]
The Doomsday Vault’s Home Is Already Threatened by Warming, And It May Get Much Worse
Science Alert March 27, 2019 The global seed ark, popularly known as the “Doomsday Vault”, is embedded deep in the permafrost of a northerly Norwegian island and stores nearly a million samples from around the world for safekeeping in the event of war, famine, disease, and climate change. It backs up gene banks around the globe and it is supposed to be indestructible, the frigid landscape serving as a natural coolant for the genetic material it protects. Climate change has been profoundly affecting the region, causing permafrost to melt, avalanches to strike, and, on one notable occasion, water to collect […]
A direct current (DC) remote cloak to hide arbitrary objects
Phys.org March 27, 2019 An international team of researchers (China, Singapore) used a negative resistor network with active elements to achieve the remote function of the DC cloak. Based on this network, the cloak can remotely generate a hidden region without distorting the currents far from the cloaked region. The experimental results show that any object in the hidden region is invisible to a DC detector. The cloak does not require any knowledge of the hidden object. The cloaking device may find potential applications in medical or geologic research…read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLE