Science Daily April 2, 2018 Researchers in Switzerland used sequences of multiple periodic position and momentum measurements to demonstrate that varying the period controls whether one measurement disturbs the state of the following one. At specific values of the period, they found that such measurements can avoid disturbance, whereas other choices produce strong disturbance. Modular position and momentum measurement are central components of several proposals for quantum computing and precision-measurement protocols that exploit periodic functions of position and momentum to escape Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle. The research provides a fundamental ingredient — measurement — for such applications, thus bringing them closer […]
Engineers turn plastic insulator into heat conductor
Science Daily March 30, 2018 Previously engineered ultradrawn nanofibers from a standard sample of polyethylene could only dissipate heat along the length of each polymer chain. A team of researchers in the US (MIT, Argonne National Laboratory) developed a new way to engineer a polymer conductor using oxidative chemical vapor deposition, whereby two vapors are directed into a chamber and onto a substrate, where they interact and form a film creating rigid chains of polymers, rather than the twisted, spaghetti-like strands in normal polymers. 2 square centimeter samples they produced were able to conduct heat at about 2 watts per […]
Finding order in disorder demonstrates a new state of matter
Science Daily April 2, 2018 In artificial spin ice, which in certain phases appears disordered, the material is ordered, but in a “topological” form. A team of researchers in the US (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Los Alamos National Laboratory, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, University of Minnesota, Yale University) explored a particular artificial spin ice geometry, called Shakti spin ice which could reach its low-energy state as temperature was reduced in successive quenches. Shakti spin ice stubbornly remained at about the same energy level that could be mapped exactly into the “dimer cover model,” whose […]
Knitting electronics with yarn batteries
Science Daily March 28, 2018 Researchers in China twisted carbon nanotube fibers into a yarn, then coated one piece of yarn with zinc to form an anode, and another with magnesium oxide to form a cathode. These two pieces were then twisted like a double helix and coated with a polyacrylamide electrolyte and encased in silicone. In tests the yarn zinc-ion battery was stable, had a high charge capacity, was rechargeable and waterproof. The material could be knitted and stretched, cut into several pieces, each of which could power a watch. In a proof-of-concept demonstration, eight pieces of the cut […]
MIALinx connects machines
Fraunhofer Research April 3, 2018 Researchers in Germany have developed MIALinx, a web-based application that connects machines, sensors and data to an agile network. Building on a previous project called Sense&Act, this latest advance brings a great measure of adaptability to plants and, as an added perk, optimizes machine maintenance. MIALinx even interfaces with old lathes and milling machines. It can respond to events and act on if-then rules. Even older machines can be readily integrated. It can be handled and configured intuitively via a graphical user interface – without a lot of time spent getting acquainted and without programming […]
Microengineered slippery rough surface for water harvesting in air
Nanowerk March 30, 2018 A team of researchers in the US (Pennsylvania State University, UT Dallas) developed a pitcher plant-inspired slippery surface with hydrophilic chemistry. They added the directional grooves and gave the new surface a microscale roughness that increased the surface area. The rate of water and fog harvesting are directly proportional to the amount of surface area on which droplets can form. The rice leaves-inspired grooves whisk the water droplets away through capillary action or gravity. If the slippery rough surface (SRS) material is produced at scale, they estimate that over 120 liters of water can be collected […]
Photosynthetic protein structure that harvests and traps infrared light
Phys.org April 4, 2018 Plants and algae use chlorophyll to absorb energy from the Sun to power photosynthesis at wavelengths up to 720 nm. Researchers in the UK studied photosynthetic LH1-RC complex from the bacterium Blastochloris viridis, which can harvest and use light at wavelengths over 1,000 nm. They showed how it converts near-infrared light into an electrical charge to power cell metabolism, which enables the bacterium to live at the extreme red limit of photosynthesis on Earth. The study gives an insight into the efficiency and limits of photosynthesis… read more. TECHNICAL ARTICLE
R&D Special Focus: Green Technology
R&D Magazine March 29, 2018 Throughout the month of March, R&D Magazine highlighted many of those green-minded R&D 100 Awardees as well as other innovators working on important environmentally sustainable and clean technologies. With new green technologies like those they featured this month emerging every day, advocacy groups across the country are needed to work with federal and state agencies, school districts and small business owners to promote these innovations… read more.
Sugar-coated nanosheets developed to selectively target pathogens
Science Daily March 29, 2018 A team of researchers in the US (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, New York University) created the synthesized nanosheets out of self-assembling, bio-inspired polymers called peptoids. The sheets were designed to present simple sugars in a patterned way along their surfaces. Picking the right sugars to bind to the peptoid nanosheets, in the right distributions, can determine which pathogens will be drawn to them. They confirmed that the bindings with the targeted proteins were successful. The peptoid platform is rugged and stable, it can be deployed into the field for tests of bioagents by military personnel […]
Why noise can enhance sensitivity to weak signals
Phys.org April 5, 2018 To understand stochastic resonance, researchers in Japan established a simple model that excluded friction force, a parameter that they consider negligible in nano- and molecular-scale systems. They found that when a transition occurs without friction, the sensitivity of the bistable system to a Gaussian-noise-imposed weak signal becomes significantly high and the relative difference – which determines the sensitivity – of Gaussian distribution function diverges in its tail edge. This means that the sensitivity becomes anomalously high by increasing the threshold of the bistable system. The finding could pave the way for using noise rather than eliminating […]