Magnetization by laser pulse
From Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf 24/12/23 To magnetize an iron nail, one simply has to stroke its surface several times with a bar magnet. Yet, there is a much more unusual method: A team led by the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) discovered some time ago that a certain iron alloy can be magnetized with ultrashort laser pulses. The […]
Discovery of structural regularity hidden in silica glass
From Tohoku University 30/11/23 Glass is a fundamental material used in insulation and in the screens of computers and smartphones. Despite its long history, the disordered atomic structure of glass is still not fully understood by scientists. This lack of understanding makes it difficult to control glass’s structural properties and design efficient materials. A research […]
Density matters for better battery material performance, researchers find
From Tsinghua University Press 28/11/23 Zinc — cheap, abundant, environmentally friendly — may be the answer to better batteries, but there’s a major problem: Aqueous zinc ion batteries (AZIBs) cannot match lithium-ion batteries in terms of power output. To test what electrode material composition might be able to bring AZIBs up to par, a research […]
Can you feel the carbon in the air tonight? Carbon capture method plucks CO2 straight from the air
From Northwestern University 06/10/23 Even as the world slowly begins to decarbonize industrial processes, achieving lower concentrations of atmospheric carbon requires technologies that remove existing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere — rather than just prevent the creation of it. Typical carbon capture catches CO2 directly from the source of a carbon-intensive process. Ambient carbon capture, […]
Breakdown breakthrough: Previously unrecyclable plastic mix now recyclable
From DOE/Oak Ridge National Laboratory 22/09/23 Almost 80% of plastic in the waste stream ends up in landfills or accumulates in the environment. Oak Ridge National Laboratory scientists have developed a technology that converts a conventionally unrecyclable mixture of plastic waste into useful chemicals, presenting a new strategy in the toolkit to combat global plastic […]
AI discovers magnetic materials to replace rare earth elements used in green tech
From DOE/Ames National Laboratory 06/08/23 A team of scientists from Ames National Laboratory developed a new machine learning model for discovering critical-element-free permanent magnet materials. The model predicts the Curie temperature of new material combinations. It is an important first step in using artificial intelligence to predict new permanent magnet materials. This model adds to […]
A simpler way to connect quantum computers over long distances
From Princeton University, Engineering School 03/09/23 A new atomic device sends high-fidelity quantum information over fiber optic networks. Researchers have a new way to connect quantum devices over long distances, a necessary step toward allowing the technology to play a role in future communications systems. While today’s classical data signals can get amplified across a […]
Steel cork: MIT engineers use kirigami to make ultrastrong, lightweight structures for airplanes
From Massachusetts Institute of Technology 23/08/23 Cellular solids are materials composed of many cells that have been packed together, such as a honeycomb. The shape of those cells largely determines the material’s mechanical properties, including its stiffness or strength. Bones, for instance, are filled with a natural material that enables them to be lightweight, but stiff and strong. Inspired by […]