MIT News February 21, 2023 To overcome errors in the qubits due to heat in quantum systems, researchers at MIT developed a wireless communication system that enables a quantum computer to send and receive data to and from electronics outside the refrigerator using high-speed terahertz waves. A transceiver chip, cryostat, placed inside the fridge sends and receives data from a terahertz wave source outside the cryostat using backscatter. An array of antennas on top of the chip, each of which is only about 200 micrometers in size, act as tiny mirrors. These mirrors can be “turned on” to reflect waves […]
Reactive fabrics respond to changes in temperature
Science Daily February 21, 2023 Active fabrics, responding autonomously to environmental changes, are the “Holy Grail” of current development of smart textiles. Liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) promise to be the base materials for large-stroke reversible actuation. The mechanical behavior of LCEs matches almost exactly the human muscle. Yet, it was not possible to produce filaments from LCEs that would be suitable for standard textile production methods. Based on their recent development of next-generation LCE fibers, an international team of researchers (Finland, UK) has developed a process for producing active fabrics incorporating LCE yarn, woven on a standard loom. Weave density […]
Smooth sailing for electrons in graphene: Measuring fluid-like flow at nanometer resolution
Phys.org February 16, 2023 Electron flow in conductors becomes viscous when electron-electron collisions dominate over collisions with defects and other sources of resistance. An international team of researchers (USA – University of Wisconsin, Japan) investigated such behavior by using scanning tunneling potentiometry to probe the nanometer-scale flow of electron fluids in graphene as they pass through channels defined by smooth and tunable in-plane p-n junction barriers. They observed that as the sample temperature and channel widths were increased, the electron fluid flow underwent a Knudsen-to-Gurzhi transition from the ballistic to the viscous regime characterized by a channel conductance that exceeded […]
Solid-state thermal transistor demonstrated
Nanowerk February 21, 2023 Although several thermal transistors are demonstrated, the use of liquid electrolytes may limit the application from the viewpoint of reliability or liquid leakage. An international team of researchers (Japan, South Korea) constructed and demonstrated a solid-state thermal transistor that can electrochemically control the heat flow with an on-to-off ratio of the thermal conductivity without using any liquid. They constructed thermal transistor on an yttrium oxide-stabilized zirconium oxide base, which also functioned as the switching material, and used strontium cobalt oxide as the active material. Platinum electrodes were used to supply the power required to control the […]
The switch – analogous to a transistor – made from a single fullerene molecule
Nanowerk February 21, 2023 An international team of researchers (Japan, Germany?) has demonstrated a switch analogous to a transistor, made from fullerene. They theorized, tested and confirmed how the emission of electrons from excited molecules of fullerene should behave when exposed to specific kinds of laser light. They controlled the way a molecule directs the path of an incoming electron using a very short pulse of red laser light. When placed on a metal point the fullerenes orientated a certain way so they will direct electrons predictably. They achieved a switching speed 1 million times faster than a classical transistor. […]
U.S. unprepared for dangers posed by zoonotic diseases, new analysis concludes
Science Daily February 16, 2023 In October, the Biden administration released its National Biodefense Strategy (NBS-22), the first update since the COVID-19 pandemic began. According to a team of researcher in the US (Harvard University, New York University) although the document notes that one of the lessons of the pandemic is that threats originating anywhere are threats everywhere, it frames threats as largely external to the United States. NBS-22 focuses primarily on bioterrorism and laboratory accidents, neglecting threats posed by routine practices of animal use and production inside the United States. NBS-22 references zoonotic disease but assures readers that no […]
Top 10 Science and Technology Inventions for the Week of February 17, 2023
01. Atom-thin walls could smash size, memory barriers in next-gen devices 02. A counterintuitive way to make stronger alloys 03. Elusive transition shows universal quantum signatures 04. The ‘flip-flop’ qubit: Realization of a new quantum bit in silicon controlled by electric signals 05. How to pull carbon dioxide out of seawater 06. A liquid laser that is robust in air and tunable by wind 07. Mechanical engineering meets electromagnetics to enable future technology 08. New photodiode with extremely low excess noise for optical communication and long-range LIDAR 09. Researchers find thermal limits of advanced nanomaterials 10. Researchers realize complete family […]
Atom-thin walls could smash size, memory barriers in next-gen devices
Science Daily February 13, 2023 In nanoelectronics charged domain walls, especially in ferroelectric structures, serve as an active element. The ability to deterministically create and manipulate charged domain walls is essential to realize their functional properties in electronic devices. An international team of researchers (China, Singapore, USA – University of Nebraska, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology) developed and demonstrated a strategy for the controllable creation and manipulation of in-plane charged domain walls in BiFeO3 ferroelectric films a few nanometres thick. By using an in-situ biasing technique within a scanning transmission electron microscope, an unconventional layer-by-layer switching mechanism was […]
Can clay capture carbon dioxide?
Phys.org February 9, 2023 Although numerous investigations have studied the formation of H2CO3 in water from CO2, the conversion of CO2 to H2CO3 in nanopores, and how it differs from that in bulk water, has not been understood. Researchers at Sandia National Laboratory used ReaxFF metadynamics molecular simulations to demonstrate striking differences in the free energy of CO2 conversion to H2CO3 in bulk and nanoconfined aqueous environments. They found that nanoconfinement not only reduces the energy barrier but also reverses the reaction from endothermic in bulk water to exothermic in nanoconfined water. Charged intermediates are observed more often under nanoconfinement […]
A counterintuitive way to make stronger alloys
Phys.org February 9, 2023 Low-temperature decomposition of supersaturated solid solution into unfavorable intergranular precipitates is a long-standing bottleneck limiting the practical applications of nanograined aluminum alloys that are prepared by severe plastic deformation. Minimizing the vacancy concentration is generally regarded as an effective approach in suppressing the decomposition process. An international team of researchers (China, Norway, Italy) has developed a strategy to stabilize supersaturated solid solution in nanograined Al-Cu alloys via high-density vacancies in combination with Sc microalloying. By generating a two orders of magnitude higher concentration of vacancies bonded in strong (Cu, Sc, vacancy)-rich atomic complexes, a high thermal […]