New method allows scientists to create a quantitative map of radioactive cesium-rich microparticle distribution in soils collected around the damaged Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP). This could help inform clean-up efforts in Fuksuhima region.
Read moreInvestors need to pay closer attention to the non-financial measures linked to CEO cash bonuses, because targets that are not disclosed, or undefined, in annual reports are associated with worse company performance down the track, new research reveals.
Read moreA catalyst's utility is influenced by its surface charge and how that charge is transferred. Until recently, studying charge transfer has relied on complex imaging techniques that are both expensive and time-consuming. Scientists now report an approach for studying charge transfer that does not rely on complicated equipment — simplifying the real-time observation of catalysis.
Read moreScientists have estimated the emissions intensity of carbon dioxide and other air pollutants from a major electricity distributor and highlighted key consequences – essential information for policymakers shaping decisions to reduce electricity system emissions.
Read moreCalcium-based batteries promise to reach a high energy density at low manufacturing costs. This lab-scale technology has the potential for replacing lithium-ion technology in future energy storage systems. Using the electrolytes available, however, it has been impossible so far to charge calcium batteries at room temperature. Researchers of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT ) now present a promising electrolyte class, with which this will be possible.
Read moreTiny magnetic vortices known as skyrmions form in certain magnetic materials, such as Cu2OSeO3. These skyrmions can be controlled by low-level electrical currents — which could facilitate more energy-efficient data processing. Now a team has succeeded in developing a new technique at the VEKMAG station of BESSY II for precisely measuring these vortices and observing their three different predicted characteristic oscillation modes (Eigen modes).
Read moreResearchers have fabricated a self-assembled, carbon-based nanofilm where the charge state (ie, electronically neutral or positive) can be controlled at the level of individual molecules. Molecular self-assembly on a metal results in a high-density, 2D, organic quantum-dot array with electric-field-controllable charge state, with the organic molecules used as 'nano-sized building blocks' in fabrication of functional nanomaterials. Achieved densities are an order of magnitude larger than conventional inorganic systems.
Read moreTopological insulators are innovative materials that conduct electricity on the surface, but act as insulators on the inside. Physicists have begun investigating how they react to friction. Their experiment shows that the heat generated through friction is significantly lower than in conventional materials. This is due to a new quantum mechanism, the researchers report.
Read moreScientists have created a nano-electronic circuit which vibrates without any external force. Just as a guitar string vibrates when plucked, the wire — 100,000 times thinner than a guitar string — vibrates when forced into motion by an oscillating voltage. The surprise came when they repeated the experiment without the forcing voltage. Under the right conditions, the wire oscillated of its own accord. The nano-guitar string was playing itself.
Read moreResearchers have shown for the first time that a cheap catalyst can split water and generate hydrogen gas for hours on end in the harsh environment of a commercial electrolyzer — a step toward clean, large-scale hydrogen production for fuel, fertilizer and industry.
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