Carbon Nanotube Films As Ultrasensitive Photodetectors: Progress and Challenges
By Tsinghua University Press in phys.org
Semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes (s-SWCNTs) are being used to develop a third generation of optimized shortwave infrared photodetectors that will improve pixel size, weight, power consumption, performance and cost over photodetectors made from traditional materials. READ FULL ARTICLE.
Media credits: Nano Research Energy
|
|
Laboratory-Developed High Explosives Mitigate Risk of Accidental Detonation
In an effort to mitigate accidental detonations of stored explosives, a multidisciplinary team of scientists developed a way to create "switchable" high explosives that won't detonate unless activated by being filled with an inert fluid, such as water. READ FULL ARTICLE.
Media credits: Los Alamos National Laboratory
|
|
California Is Once Again Being Deluged by Atmospheric Rivers. What Are They, and Will Climate Change Make Them Worse?
California is once again being deluged by atmospheric rivers that have unleashed major flooding across the state, with river number 12 scheduled to dump more precipitation the week of March 19. Experts explained in a story that originally ran in January what causes these flowing streams of vapor that causing the record rains and deadly floods that have put millions of people under an evacuation order. READ FULL ARTICLE.
Media credits: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain
|
|
First Completely Roll-to-Roll Printable Perovskite Solar Cell
Swansea University has established a low-cost and scalable carbon ink formulation capable of unlocking, for the first time, the potential for perovskite solar cells to be manufactured at scale. Using slot die coating in a roll-to-roll (R2R) process, academics have established a way to create "fully printable" perovskite photovoltaics (PV), a term often used but, until now, incorrect. READ FULL ARTICLE.
Media credits: Swansea University
|
|
Casting Light on Counterfeit Products through Nano-Optical Technology
Each year, an estimated two trillion dollars is lost globally due to counterfeit products ranging from jewelry to medicine. As current security labels and product authentication methods are rapidly becoming obsolete or easy to hack, there is a rising urgency for more secure anti-counterfeiting labels. READ FULL ARTICLE.
Media credits: SUTD
|
|
Coupling Light and Matter to Ensure Optimum Brightness for Displays
Researchers have discovered a way of coupling light and matter to ensure optimum brightness and color of the latest TVs and smart screen displays without sacrificing the device's efficiency. They have now demonstrated that a fundamental scientific principle—the strong coupling of light and matter—can be utilized to modify the emission spectra of OLEDs in a manner similar to the use of a microcavity, but without inheriting the strong viewing angle dependence that typically accompanies such designs. READ FULL ARTICLE.
Media credits: Professor Malte Gather and Dr Andreas Mischok
|
|
US Public Water Supply Is a Local Source of Phosphorus Pollution, Finds Study
In the United States, public water systems are sometimes dosed with phosphate to reduce copper levels and lead pipe corrosion. This practice can help avert humanitarian disasters like the Flint water crisis, but because phosphorus can contribute to eutrophication, it could harm local aquatic ecosystems. READ FULL ARTICLE.
|
|
Researchers Fabricate Novel Flexible Supercapacitors on Paper
Wearable devices such as smartwatches, fitness trackers, and virtual reality headsets are becoming commonplace. They are powered by flexible electronics that consist of electrodes with plastic or metal foil as substrates. However, both of these come with their own drawbacks. Plastics suffer from poor adhesion and low durability, while metal foils make the devices bulky and less flexible. READ FULL ARTICLE.
Media credits: Dr. Inho Nam and Prof. Suk Tai Chang from Chung-Ang University, Korea
|
|
Shape Memory Achieved for Nano-Sized Objects
Alloys that can return to their original structure after being deformed have a so-called shape memory. This phenomenon and the resulting forces are used in many mechanical actuating systems, for example in generators or hydraulic pumps. However, it has not been possible to use this shape-memory effect at a small nanoscale. Objects made of shape-memory alloy can only change back to their original shape if they are larger than around 50 nanometers. READ FULL ARTICLE.
Media credits: ETH Zurich / Minsoo Kim
|
|
Physics Model Could Optimize Basketball Player Positioning
A physics theory that's proven useful to predict the crowd behavior of molecules and fruit flies also seems to work in a very different context—a basketball court. A model based on density functional theory can suggest the best positioning for each player on the basketball court in a given scenario if they want to raise their probability of either scoring or defending successfully. READ FULL ARTICLE.
Media credits: Sreang Hok/Cornell University
|
|
EPA Rule On 'Forever Chemicals' Is a Step, But Doesn't Address 'Regrettable Substitutions,' Say Researchers
The Environmental Protection Agency will require utilities to monitor the levels of toxic chemicals called per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, in water systems, in what amounts to the first action the federal government has taken to set limits on PFAS pollution, according to a new regulation proposed by the agency. READ FULL ARTICLE.
Media credits: Northeastern University
|
|
Fusion's Future in the US Could Come Down to Dollars and Cents
Fusion energy is often hailed as a limitless source of clean energy, but new research suggests that may only be true if the price is right. In this study, researchers modeled the cost targets that a fusion reactor might have to meet to gain traction in a future U.S. energy grid. READ FULL ARTICLE.
Media Credits: Bumper DeJesus
|
|
Researchers Create World's First Energy-Saving Paint—Inspired by Butterflies
University of Central Florida researcher Debashis Chanda, a professor in UCF's NanoScience Technology Center, has drawn inspiration from butterflies to create the first environmentally friendly, large-scale and multicolor alternative to pigment-based colorants, which can contribute to energy-saving efforts and help reduce global warming. READ FULL ARTICLE.
Media credits: Science Advances (2023). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adf7207
|
|
Femtosecond Laser Improves Bismuth Film Quality for Ultra-Broadband Photodetection
Researchers have developed a new technique for upgrading the quality of topological insulator bismuth films for use in ultra-broadband photodetectors. The researchers used femtosecond laser treatment to significantly improve the photoelectric conversion and carrier transportation of bismuth films, which previously limited the optoelectronic properties of the material. READ FULL ARTICLE.
Media credits: Optics Express (2023). DOI: 10.1364/OE.482018
|
|
Why It's So Hard to Be Prepared for Disasters
By Daniella Zandi, State of the Planet, phys.org
Jeffrey Schlegelmilch is the director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University's Climate School. There, he works to understand and improve the nation's capacity to prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters. Although the events themselves are extraordinarily traumatic and disruptive, Schlegelmilch finds the field of inquiry around disasters fascinating. READ FULL ARTICLE.
Media credits: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain
|
|
Fire Reveals Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral Was Historical First in Using Iron Reinforcements in the 12th Century
The Notre-Dame de Paris is the first known cathedral of Gothic-style architecture to be initially constructed with extensive use of iron to bind stones together. The 2019 fire that significantly damaged the cathedral enabled analyses leading to this discovery. READ FULL ARTICLE.
Media credits: Maxime L'Héritier, CC-BY 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
|
|
Graphene Quantum Dots Show Promise as Novel Magnetic Field Sensors
Trapped electrons traveling in circular loops at extreme speeds inside graphene quantum dots are highly sensitive to external magnetic fields and could be used as novel magnetic field sensors with unique capabilities, according to a new study. Electrons in graphene (an atomically thin form of carbon) behave as if they were massless, like photons, which are massless particles of light. READ FULL ARTICLE.
Media credits: Tianhui Zhu
|
|
Strong Microwave Magnetic Fields for More Efficient Plasmas
Hot gases composed of metal ions and electrons, called plasmas, are widely used in many manufacturing processes, chemical synthesis, and metal extraction from ores and welding. A collaborative research group from Tohoku University and the Toyohashi University of Technology has invented a new and efficient method to create metallic plasmas from solid metals under a strong magnetic field in a microwave resonator. READ FULL ARTICLE.
Media credits: S. Fujii et al.
|
|
Society of Vacuum Coaters | PO Box 10628, Albuquerque, NM 87184
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
