Picoscience and a plethora of new materials

The revolutionary tech discoveries of the next few decades may come from new materials so small they make nanomaterials look like lumpy behemoths. These materials will be designed and refined at the picometer scale, which is a thousand times smaller than a nanometer. A new study moves picoscience in a new direction: taking elements from the periodic table and tinkering with them at the subatomic level to tease out new materials.

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Laser-based system detects fires even in dusty, harsh environments

Researchers have developed a new laser-based system that offers an efficient and low-cost way to detect fires in challenging environments such as industrial facilities or large construction sites. With further development, the system could eventually detect fires that are more than a kilometer away.

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Iridium 'loses its identity' when interfaced with nickel

Hey, physicists and materials scientists: You'd better reevaluate your work if you study iridium-based materials — members of the platinum family — when they are ultra-thin. Iridium 'loses its identity' and its electrons act oddly in an ultra-thin film when interfaced with nickel-based layers, which have an unexpectedly strong impact on iridium ions.

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