How might dark matter interact with ordinary matter? Scientists have imposed conditions on how dark matter may interact with ordinary matter. In the search for direct detection of dark matter, the experimental focus has been on WIMPs, or weakly interact …
Graphene could be key to controlling water evaporation Graphene coatings may offer the ability to control the water evaporation process from various surfaces, according to new research. The study looked at the interactions of water molecules with various …
New molecular structures in boron-based nanoclusters Researchers have shown that clusters of boron and lanthanide atoms form interesting 'inverse sandwich' structures that could be useful as molecular magnets.
VERITAS supplies critical piece to neutrino discovery puzzle The VERITAS array has confirmed the detection of gamma rays from the vicinity of a supermassive black hole. While these detections are relatively common for VERITAS, this black hole is potentially the …
Quantum dot white LEDs achieve record efficiency Researchers have demonstrated nanomaterial-based white-light-emitting diodes (LEDs) that exhibit a record luminous efficiency of 105 lumens per watt.
Heaviest known calcium atom discovered Researchers have discovered eight new rare isotopes of the elements phosphorus, sulfur, chlorine, argon, potassium, scandium and, most importantly, calcium. These are the heaviest isotopes of these el …
Can ultrashort electron flashes help harvest nuclear energy? Physicists have now demonstrated experimentally the ability to coherently manipulate the wave function of a free electron down to the attosecond timescale (10-18 of a second). The team also developed …
Controlling the manufacture of stable aerogels Researchers have developed a new approach to control the fabrication of soft, porous materials, overcoming a primary challenge in materials science.
Brain function partly replicated by nanomaterials Researchers have created extremely dense, random SWNT/POM network molecular neuromorphic devices, generating spontaneous spikes similar to nerve impulses of neurons. They conducted simulation calculat …
High-fidelity quantum secret sharing prevents eavesdropping Eavesdropping is of concern for secrets shared using quantum scale messengers. A quantum secret is akin to an unknown quantum state of two entangled particles carrying the secret. In a new study scien …
Centenary of cosmological constant lambda Physicists are now celebrating the 100th anniversary of the cosmological constant. On this occasion, two recent articles highlight its role in modern physics and cosmology. Before becoming widely acce …
'Star in a jar': World record for stellarators set When Germany's Wendelstein 7-X fusion facility set a world record for stellarators recently, a finely tuned instrument proved the achievement. The record strongly suggests that the design of the …
Manipulating single atoms with an electron beam The same electrons that form images of atomic structures can also be used to move atoms in materials. This technique of single-atom manipulation is now able to achieve nearly perfect control over the …
Physicists uncover why nanomaterial loses superconductivity Physicists have discovered that superconducting nanowires made of MoGe alloy undergo quantum phase transitions from a superconducting to a normal metal state when placed in an increasing magnetic fiel …
Qubits as valves: Controlling quantum heat engines Researchers are designing nano-sized quantum heat engines to explore whether they may be able to outperform classical heat engines in terms of power and efficiency.
Breaking the bond: To take part or not? Physicists working have investigated if and how chemical reactions can be influenced by targeted vibrational excitation of the reactants. They were able to demonstrate that excitation with a laser bea …
Scattering of W and Z bosons: Rare process like 'tiny lightsabers' Particle physicists have discovered an extremely rare process that can be compared to tiny lightsabers. The researchers have shown that messenger particles of the so-called weak interaction interact w …
Swimming bacteria work together to go with the flow Swimming bacteria can reduce the viscosity of ordinary liquids like water and make them flow more easily, sometimes down to the point where the viscosity becomes zero: the flow is then frictionless.
Scientists pump up chances for quantum computing New research has moved the world one step closer to reliable, high-performance quantum computing. A ground-breaking single-electron "pump" device developed by researchers can produce one bil …
Putting a quantum gas through its phases Physicists have developed an experimental platform for studying the complex phases of a quantum gas characterized by two order parameters. With unprecedented control over the underlying microscopic in …
Machine learning can improve catalytic design Chemical engineers have shown that combining machine learning and quantum chemistry can save time and expense in designing new catalysts.
Quantum-enhanced sensing of magnetic fields An international team of physicists has demonstrated that algorithms and hardware developed originally in the context of quantum computation can be harnessed for quantum-enhanced sensing of magnetic f …
Sound-waves: Making opaque materials totally transparent Researchers have found a way to make materials that are normally opaque to sound waves completely transparent. Their system involves placing acoustic relays at strategic locations so that sound waves …
How polymers relax after stressful processing The polymers that make up synthetic materials need time to de-stress after processing, researchers said. A new study has found that entangled, long-chain polymers in solutions relax at two different r …
'Dancing' holes in droplets submerged in water-ethanol mixtures Researchers have observed the formation of holes that move by themselves in droplets of ionic liquids (IL) sitting inside water-ethanol mixtures. This curious, complex phenomenon is driven by an inter …
The culprit of some GaN defects could be nitrogen As silicon-based semiconductors reach performance limits, gallium nitride is becoming the next go-to material for several technologies. Holding GaN back, however, is its high numbers of defects. Bette …
Light mixer generates 11 colors simultaneously A multicolor laser pointer you can use to change the color of the laser with a button click — similar to a multicolor ballpoint pen — is one step closer to reality thanks to a new tiny synthetic mat …
Building bridges with water molecules Researchers have managed to uncover the mystery behind the structure of water molecules on iron oxide surfaces, and their work has revealed that water molecules can form of complex structures reminisc …
Fingerprints of molecules in space Physicists are on the hunt for nitrogen containing molecules in space. Using terahertz spectroscopy, they directly measured two spectral lines for one particular molecule for the first time. The disco …
Insight into the physics of the Higgs particle Physicists have succeeded in putting a superconducting gas into an exotic state. Their experiments allow new insights into the properties of the Higgs particle, but also into fundamental characteristi …
Probing nobelium with laser light Sizes and shapes of nuclei with more than 100 protons were so far experimentally inaccessible. Laser spectroscopy is an established technique in measuring fundamental properties of exotic atoms and th …
THz spectroscopy could help explain water's anomalies Liquid water sustains life on earth, but its physical properties remain mysterious among scientific researchers. Recently, a team of researchers used existing THz spectroscopy techniques to measure li …
Graphene forms electrically charged crinkles Gently compressed stacks of graphene form sharp crinkles that carry an electric charge, which could be useful in nanoscale self-assembly and other applications.
Staying coherent while spinning Scientists have shown that photo-excited polyatomic molecules maintain their coherence in motion while undergoing spin changes within ultrashort timescales.
The photoelectric effect in stereo In the photoelectric effect, a photon ejects an electron from a material. Researchers have now used attosecond laser pulses to measure the time evolution of this effect in molecules. From their result …
'Stealth' material hides hot objects from infrared eyes Infrared cameras are the heat-sensing eyes that help drones find their targets even in the dead of night or through heavy fog. Hiding from such detectors could become much easier, thanks to a new cloa …
Template to create superatoms could make for better batteries Researchers have discovered a novel strategy for creating superatoms — combinations of atoms that can mimic the properties of more than one group of elements of the periodic table. These superatoms c …
Unprecedented control of polymer grids achieved The first examples of covalent organic frameworks (COFs) were discovered in 2005, but quality has been poor and preparation methods uncontrolled. Now researchers have produced high-quality versions of …
Einstein proved right in another galaxy Astronomers have made the most precise test of gravity outside our own solar system. By combining data taken with NASA's Hubble Space Telescope and the European Southern Observatory's Very L …
Discovery of 12-sided silica cages Scientists report the discovery of 10-nanometer, individual, self-assembled dodecahedral structures — 12-sided silica cages that could have applications in mesoscale material assembly, as well as med …