01. Nanowires replace Newton’s famous glass prism 02. Using nature to produce a revolutionary optical material 03. At the edge of chaos, powerful new electronics could be created 04. A new alphabet to write and read quantum messages with very fast particles 05. Explosive fireballs: Never-before-seen insight 06. Novel math could bring machine learning to the next level 07. HOT SHOT findings could save defense tech developers time and money 08. Performance of electric solid propellant 09. Defrosting surfaces in seconds 10. Single atoms as catalysts And others… Australia targets foreign influence at universities Biological ‘rosetta stone’ brings scientists closer […]
At the edge of chaos, powerful new electronics could be created
Science Daily September 3, 2019 An international team of researchers (The Netherlands, USA – Pennsylvania State University, Spain, UK) observed a structural transition in the ferroelastic material barium titanate. The unit cells in these crystals are elongated creating an elastic strain that reduces the crystal stability. Increasing the temperature increases the entropy in the material. Cooling the material reduces the periodicity of the domains by repeated halving. They have shown that the behaviour observed in the ferroelastic barium titanate is generic for ferroic materials. Doubling of domains creates a structure similar to the bifurcating dendrites connecting the pyramidal cells in […]
Australia targets foreign influence at universities
Science September 6, 2019 Responding to concerns about leaks of military and dual-use technologies to adversaries and increasing incidents of hacking attacks on university computer networks, Australia’s Department of Education last week announced the formation of a University Foreign Interference Taskforce. No countries were identified by the department, but it is widely understood that worries center on China. Half the panel’s members will come from universities, with the remainder from the education department and government security agencies. The task force will have four working groups focusing on cybersecurity, intellectual property, foreign collaborations, and raising awareness of security issues. Draft guidelines […]
Biological ‘rosetta stone’ brings scientists closer to deciphering how the body is built
Science News August 29, 2019 Every animal, from an ant to a human, contains in their genome pieces of DNA called Hox genes which dictate how embryos grow into adults, including where a developing animal puts its head, legs and other body parts. An international team of researchers (Spain, Columbia University) stumbled upon a small piece of regulatory DNA, called vvI1+2, that appeared to be regulated by all the fruit fly’s eight Hox genes. Their analyses provided a precise road map of Hox binding sites in vvI1+2, which could be applied to a living fruit fly. By employing a combination […]
Defrosting surfaces in seconds
Phys.org August 30, 2019 Conventional defrosting melts all the ice or frost from the top layer. Researchers at the University of Illinois proposed delivering a pulse of very high current where the ice and the surface meet to create a layer of water. To ensure the pulse reaches the intended space rather than melting the exposed ice, they applied a thin coating of indium tin oxide to the surface of the material. They validated the concept in an experimental model which showed that <1% of the energy and <0.01% of the defrosting time was needed compared to conventional thermal-based defrosting […]
Explosive fireballs: Never-before-seen insight
Science Daily September 3, 2019 A team of researchers in the US (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, University of Arizona, industry, University of Illinois) used swept-wavelength external cavity quantum cascade laser (swept-ECQCL), a special type of infrared laser, to sweep the laser beam through the chamber containing four types of high-energy explosives. They measured changes as the infrared light was absorbed by molecules in the fireball. Detailed analysis of the results provided the investigators with information about temperature and concentrations of the substances throughout the explosive event. They were also able to measure absorption and emission of infrared light from tiny […]
Fifteen tips to make scientific conferences more welcoming for everyone
Physics World September 2, 2019 As summer draws to a close scientists around the world reflect on their international conference experiences. Since 2005 SPIE has advocated for women scientists, creating an annual Women in Optics Planner that is distributed to schools and colleges all over the world. Its regular meetings feature a range of equity, diversity and inclusion events, which include talks, training and networking opportunities. Inspired by SPIE’s efforts and their recent call to arms for increased diversity in physics, Physics World presents their advice…read more.
HOT SHOT findings could save defense tech developers time and money
Phys.org August 30, 2019 Having better data at an early stage of development of missile technologies could create opportunities to explore new, innovative ideas by reducing the risk of failure. By analysing HOT SHOT sounding rocket data researchers at Sandia National Laboratory found a way to improve these tests, providing an earlier, more accurate indicator of whether an experimental technology will ultimately succeed in flight. They dressed the insides of sounding rockets with pea-sized instruments that measure vibration which has produced a more complete picture of flight vibrations that is now being used to create more accurate simulations and ground […]
A new alphabet to write and read quantum messages with very fast particles
Phys.org September 2, 2019 If the quantum particle is relativistic it is impossible for standard techniques to decode the message unambiguously, and the communication therefore fails. Researchers in Austria deliver a new definition of the spin of quantum particles that move very quickly. It modifies both the way Anna writes the message and the way Bill reads it. Key to this technique is a “translation” of the way the message would be written and read between the standard alphabet used when the electron is at rest, and the new alphabet used when the electron travels very fast. These results indicate […]
In a Totally Unexpected Finding, Water Has Spontaneously Produced Hydrogen Peroxide
Science Alert September 1, 2019 According to the researchers at Stanford University the spontaneous production of hydrogen peroxide can occur when water is atomised into microdroplets without any chemical reagent, catalyst, applied electric potential, or radiation. Hydrogen peroxide production yield was inversely proportional to microdroplet size. The discovery could lead to new and more environmentally sustainable ways of manufacturing this common chemical and innovative opportunities including green and inexpensive production of hydrogen peroxide, green chemical synthesis, safe cleaning, and food processing…read more. TECHNICAL ARTICLE