Jun 15, 2023 (Nanowerk News) One of the cornerstones of quantum physics is Niels Bohr's complementarity principle, roughly speaking the fact that objects may behave either like particles or like waves. These two mutually exclusive descriptions are well illustrated in the iconic double-slit experiment, where particles are impinging on a...
This salty gel could harvest water from desert air
Jun 15, 2023 (Nanowerk News) MIT engineers have synthesized a superabsorbent material that can soak up a record amount of moisture from the air, even in desert-like conditions. As the material absorbs water vapor, it can swell to make room for more moisture. Even in very dry conditions, with 30...
Engineers develop a soft, 3D-printable, metal-free electrode
Jun 15, 2023 (Nanowerk News) Do an image search for “electronic implants,” and you’ll draw up a wide assortment of devices, from traditional pacemakers and cochlear implants to more futuristic brain and retinal microchips aimed at augmenting vision, treating depression, and restoring mobility. Some implants are hard and bulky, while...
Laser-induced graphenization technique advances electrofluidic paths in microfluidic paper-based devices
Jun 15, 2023 (Nanowerk Spotlight) Microfluidic paper-based analytical devices (µPADs) are a type of technology used for fluid analysis that leverage the properties of paper and microfluidic channels. The main advantage of these devices is their low cost, portability, and ease of use, which makes them particularly suitable for field...
3D Printing of nanoscale glass structures without sintering
Jun 15, 2023 (Nanowerk News) A new process developed at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) enables printing of nanometer-scale quartz glass structures directly onto semiconductor chips. A hybrid organic-inorganic polymer resin is used as feedstock material for 3D printing of silicon dioxide. Since the process works without sintering, the...
A band-aid with sensor function
Jun 15, 2023 (Nanowerk News) To ensure that wounds remain tightly sealed in the abdomen after surgery, researchers at Empa and ETH Zurich have developed a patch with a sensor function. The polymer patch warns before the occurence of dangerous leaks on sutures in the gastrointestinal tract take hold, while...
Ultrafast and tunable: Graphene-based terahertz-to-visible light conversion
Jun 15, 2023 (Nanowerk News) A study carried out by a research team from the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR), the Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICN2), University of Exeter Centre for Graphene Science, and TU Eindhoven demonstrates that graphene-based materials can be used to efficiently convert high-frequency signals into visible...
Researchers develop highly efficient energy harvesting device
Jun 15, 2023 (Nanowerk News) An international research group has engineered a new energy-generating device by combining piezoelectric composites with carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP), a commonly used material that is both light and strong. The new device transforms vibrations from the surrounding environment into electricity, providing an efficient and reliable...
Metamaterials with built-in frustration have mechanical memory
Jun 14, 2023 (Nanowerk News) Researchers from the UvA Institute of Physics and ENS de Lyon have discovered how to design materials that necessarily have a point or line where the material doesn’t deform under stress, and that even remember how they have been poked or squeezed in the past...
Key building block for life found at Saturn’s moon Enceladus
Jun 14, 2023 (Nanowerk News) The search for extraterrestrial life in our solar system just got more exciting. A team of scientists has discovered new evidence that the subsurface ocean of Saturn’s moon Enceladus contains a key building block for life. The team directly detected phosphorus in the form of...