May 24, 2022 (Nanowerk News) A team of researchers from the UK and Japan has found that the tiny defects which limit the efficiency of perovskites – cheaper alternative materials for solar cells – are also responsible for structural changes in the material that lead to degradation. The researchers used...
Traveling wave of light sparks simple liquid crystal microposts to perform complex dance
May 24, 2022 (Nanowerk News) When humans twist and turn it is the result of complex internal functions: the body’s nervous system signals our intentions; the musculoskeletal system supports the motion; and the digestive system generates the energy to power the move. The body seamlessly integrates these activities without our...
Researchers develop algorithm to divvy up tasks for human-robot teams
May 24, 2022 (Nanowerk News) As robots increasingly join people on the factory floor, in warehouses and elsewhere on the job, dividing up who will do which tasks grows in complexity and importance. People are better suited for some tasks, robots for others. And in some cases, it is advantageous...
Researchers demonstrate significant energy savings using neuromorphic hardware
May 24, 2022 (Nanowerk News) For the first time TU Graz’s Institute of Theoretical Computer Science and Intel Labs demonstrated experimentally that a large neural network can process sequences such as sentences while consuming four to sixteen times less energy while running on neuromorphic hardware than non-neuromorphic hardware. The new...
Bio-inspired ‘wooden armor’ modeled on the structure of fish scales
May 24, 2022 (Nanowerk Spotlight) Man-made impact-resistant materials with exceptional mechanical performance are being widely used for military and civilian applications such as bullet-proof jackets, vehicle safety protection, bunkers, jet engines and much more. These materials include rolled homogeneous armor (RHA) steel, aluminum alloys, titanium based alloys, impact-resistant glass, ceramics...
Pull for pull – new method for the mechanical tensile testing of micro and nanofibers
May 24, 2022 (Nanowerk News) Testing the stiffness or tensile strength of fibres in the nano to micro range experimentally, is often very time-consuming. The samples in most cases have to be affixed using adhesive on both ends. Not only curing of the adhesive takes time, but also the sensor...
Research project on machine learning for molecular systems
May 24, 2022 (Nanowerk News) Machine learning, meaning the ability to recognize important patterns in data sets and to generate solutions with the help of algorithms, is a research field of rapidly growing importance. In physics, chemistry and biology with complex molecular structures, classical machine learning is reaching its limits....
Astronomers find hidden trove of massive black holes
May 24, 2022 (Nanowerk News) A team led by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has found a previously overlooked treasure trove of massive black holes in dwarf galaxies. The newly discovered black holes offer a glimpse into the life story of the supermassive black hole...
The chaotic early phase of the solar system
May 24, 2022 (Nanowerk News) Before the Earth and other planets formed, the young sun was still surrounded by cosmic gas and dust. Over the millennia, rock fragments of various sizes formed from the dust. Many of these became building blocks for the later planets. Others did not become part...
Easy as an inkjet, a new soft printing technique has opened the way for pixelated elastics
May 24, 2022 (Nanowerk News) Borrowing a technique from inkjet printers, researchers at Princeton Engineering have rolled out a pixel-by-pixel method to program and manufacture soft structures for use in robotics, biomedical devices or architectural features. The new technique creates pixelated sheets of soft material as easily as pressing a...