Globalchange.gov November 1, 2018 The Third National Climate Assessment is the result of a three-year analytical effort by a team of over 300 experts, overseen by a broadly constituted Federal Advisory Committee of 60 members. It was developed from information and analyses gathered in over 70 workshops and listening sessions held across the country. It was subjected to extensive review by the public and by scientific experts in and out of government, including a special panel of the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences. This process of unprecedented rigor and transparency was undertaken so that the findings […]
An important step towards completely secure quantum communication network
Phys.org November 28, 2018 For practical long-distance quantum communication room-temperature atomic vapours are important. Atomic motion has so far limited the single-excitation lifetime in such systems to the microsecond range. Researchers in Denmark have demonstrated that lifespan of the quantum state at room temperature can be extended to about a quarter of a millisecond. They used a small glass container, filled with Cesium atoms, in which they were able to load, store and retrieve single photons from, the quantum states necessary for the repeater. This technique improves the life span of the quantum states at room temperature a hundred times…read […]
First study of terahertz radiation in liquids
Phys.org November 29, 2018 The most common sources of terahertz radiation are solid materials. An international team of researchers (USA – University of Rochester, Russia) provides fundamental insights into the THz wave generation process in water and an alternative perspective for studying laser-induced breakdown in liquids. They substantiate the radiation patterns of terahertz radiation in a liquid and its dependence on the angle at which the liquid collides with the pump radiation. They plan to solve the problem of THz absorption by optimizing the type of fluid, the shape of the jet and the pump power and several other parameters. […]
EU US Roadmap Nanoinformatics 2030
Nanowerk November 15, 2018 The Roadmap is a compilation of state-of-the-art commentaries from multiple interconnecting scientific fields, combined with issues involving nanomaterial risk assessment and governance by an international team of researchers from the EU, US and other countries. The authors address three recognised challenges facing nanoinformatics: 1) limited data sets; 2) limited data access; and 3) regulatory requirements for validating and accepting computational models. The main purpose of this roadmap is educational. By no means was the intention to provide all possible details. Instead, interested readers will find plenty of additional references mentioned in each of the chapters that […]
Environment turns molecule into a switch
Phys.org November 26, 2018 An international team of researchers (Germany, Spain) used a manganese phthalocyanine molecule, which cannot be normally switched, and mounted it on a metallic surface built of silver and bismuth atoms. When a very fine tip emitting an electric field approached the manganese atom at the centre of the molecule, the molecule took on two stable switchable states. They demonstrated that this functionality can also be created in non-switchable molecules by selectively manipulating the molecule’s environment developing a new concept to build molecular switches which may open new design possibilities in molecular electronics in the future…read more. […]
Detecting dengue, Zika, and chikangunya within minutes
MIT News November 21, 2018 Researchers at MIT have developed a paper-based diagnostic test to detect Zika, dengue, chikungunya and other related viruses within minutes. The test can quickly and accurately identify Zika, dengue 1-4, and chikungunya at the point of care at an affordable cost. They have commercialized the technique to change the way mosquito-borne illnesses are diagnosed and enable governments to effectively prevent and respond to an outbreak from turning into a public health crisis, especially in high-risk, resource-poor areas across the world…read more.
Could an anti-global warming atmospheric spraying program really work?
Science Daily November 23, 2018 A team of researchers in the US (Yale University, Harvard University) reviewed the capabilities and costs of various lofting methods intended to deliver sulfates into the lower stratosphere. They lay out a future solar geoengineering deployment scenario of halving the increase in anthropogenic radiative forcing beginning 15 years hence by deploying material to altitudes as high as ~20 km. After surveying an exhaustive list of potential deployment techniques, they settled upon an aircraft-based delivery system. Unlike the one prior comprehensive study on the topic, they conclude that no existing aircraft design—even with extensive modifications—can reasonably […]
Changing color of light using a spatiotemporal boundary
Phys.org November 29, 2018 Effective temporal control of the medium is critical for frequency conversion. Researchers in South Korea designed a metasurface for the sudden merging of two distinct metallic meta-atoms into a single one upon ultrafast optical excitation. Sudden merging creates a spectrally designed temporal boundary on the metasurface by which the frequency conversion can be achieved and engineered. The technique provides a spatiotemporal boundary as a platform for freely designing and changing the spectral properties of the medium. Since frequency conversion can be observed even in weak light, this technique could be particularly useful in communication technology…read more. […]
Top 10 Science and Technology Inventions for the Week of November 23, 2018
01. Quantum artificial life created on the cloud 02. A Quantum Encryption Record in Optical Fiber 03. MIT engineers fly first-ever plane with no moving parts 04. Graphene boosts GHz signals into terahertz territory 05. Self-sensing materials are here 06. Magnetic topological insulator makes its own magnetic field 07. Getting rid of sweat at the push of a button 08. Bending light around tight corners without backscattering losses 09. Infinite-dimensional symmetry opens up possibility of a new physics—and new 10. Five nanosecond decision-making And others… The Case Against Quantum Computing Countries convene to update chemical weapons prohibitions The first worldwide […]
Self-sensing materials are here
Nanowerk November 16, 2018 In Carbon fiber composites the damage can remain hidden below the surface, undetectable by visual inspection. Researchers at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory have invented a roll-to-roll process to coat electrically conductive carbon fibers with semiconducting silicon carbide nanoparticles. This nanomaterial-embedded composite is stronger than other fiber-reinforced composites and imbued with a new capability—the ability to monitor its own structural health…read more. TECHNICAL ARTICLE