Researchers are using liquid crystals to create incredibly small, swirling schools of 'fish.' The fish in this case are minute disruptions in the orientations of the molecules that make up solutions of liquid crystals.
It is crucial for photovoltaics and other technical applications, how efficiently energy spreads in a small volume. With new methods, the path of energy in the nanometer range can now be followed precisely.
Read moreScientists have conducted an in-depth study on how carbon nanotubes with oxygen-containing groups can be used to greatly enhance the performance of perovskite solar cells. The newly discovered self-recrystallization ability of perovskite could lead to improvement of low-cost and efficient perovskite solar cells.
Read moreThe technique may have a far-reaching implication for many scientific and industrial applications and disciplines that involve particulate matter.
Read moreResearchers have developed a new, futuristic 3D printer that is so big and so fast it can print an object the size of an adult human in just a couple of hours.
Read moreIn order to make transistors that operate using the spin of electrons, rather than their charge, it is necessary to find a way of switching spin currents on and off. Furthermore, the lifetime of the spins should at least be equal to the time taken for these electrons to travel through a circuit. Scientists have now taken an important step forward by creating a device that meets both of these requirements.
Read morePhysicists have developed a fast and sensitive mechanical tool to measure light. The graphene nanomechanical bolometer is the fastest and most sensitive in its class. It is poised to detect nearly every color of light at high speeds and obtain measurements at and far above room-temperature.
Read moreAlthough LEDs are increasingly used in low-energy lighting and displays, consumers sometimes find their light harsh or unpleasant. Findings from a new study point to the need to take age-related perception differences into account when designing white LED lighting that is more pleasing to the eye.
Read moreArapaima gigas is a big fish in a bigger river full of piranhas, but that doesn't mean it's an easy meal. It's evolved armor-like scales that deform, but don't tear or crack, when a piranha — which has one of the animal kingdom's most powerful bites — attacks. Researchers describe the unique properties of the Amazonian Arapaima skin and its potential for human-made materials.
Read moreA team chemically engineered carbon nanotubes to synthesize and trap trions at room temperature. Trions are quasi particles that can potentially carry more information than electrons in applications from bioimaging to chemical sensing and quantum computing. The research makes it possible to manipulate trions and study their fundamental properties in ways that have never been possible before.
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