Aug 29, 2023 (Nanowerk News) The field of quantum physics is rife with paths leading to tantalising new areas of study, but one rabbit hole offers a unique vantage point into a world where particles behave differently—through the proverbial looking glass. Dubbed the ‘Alice ring’ after Lewis Carroll’s world-renowned stories...
Researchers produce polymers from ballbot-type carbenes for the first time
Aug 29, 2023 (Nanowerk News) N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) are small, reactive ring molecules which bond well with metallic surfaces and which, over the past few years, have attracted a great deal of interest in the field of the stable chemical modification of metallic surfaces. One property – discovered at the...
A look at graphene’s societal impact
Aug 29, 2023 (Nanowerk News) Graphene Week, the Graphene Flagship’s annual scientific conference during 4–8 September, will feature an open pavilion showcasing graphene products and prototypes, a press conference, the Graphene Innovation Forum providing an industry perspective on graphene technologies, and more. During the event, some of the Graphene Flagship’s...
Golden rules for building atomic blocks
Aug 29, 2023 (Nanowerk News) National University of Singapore (NUS) physicists have developed a technique to precisely control the alignment of supermoiré lattices by using a set of golden rules, paving the way for the advancement of next generation moiré quantum matter. Moiré patterns are formed when two identical periodic...
New type of visible-light responsive photocatalyst is efficient, stable and very economical
Aug 28, 2023 (Nanowerk News) Researchers at the University of Johannesburg have developed a new type of photocatalyst that harnesses the visible portion of the sunlight spectrum. Currently, economical and environmentally-friendly photocatalysts only ‘use’ the UV spectrum of sunlight, example the commonly-used titanium dioxide and other close equivalents. The research...
‘Smart’ glasses skew power balance with non-wearers
Aug 28, 2023 (Nanowerk News) Someone wearing augmented reality (AR) or “smart” glasses could be Googling your face, turning you into a cat or recording your conversation – and that creates a major power imbalance, said Cornell researchers. Currently, most work on AR glasses focuses primarily on the experience of...
‘Thermometer’ molecule confirmed on exoplanet WASP-31b
Aug 28, 2023 (Nanowerk News) Chromium hydride (CrH), a molecule that’s relatively rare and particularly sensitive to temperature, is useful as a “thermometer for stars,” according to astronomer Laura Flagg, because it’s abundant only in a narrow range between 1,200-2,000 degrees Kelvin. Flagg, a research associate in astronomy in the...
Quantum computer unveils atomic dynamics of light-sensitive molecules
Aug 28, 2023 (Nanowerk News) Researchers at Duke University have implemented a quantum-based method to observe a quantum effect in the way light-absorbing molecules interact with incoming photons. Known as a conical intersection, the effect puts limitations on the paths molecules can take to change between different configurations. The observation...
Using a quantum device to slow down simulated chemical reaction 100 billion times
Aug 28, 2023 (Nanowerk News) Scientists at the University of Sydney have, for the first time, used a quantum computer to engineer and directly observe a process critical in chemical reactions by slowing it down by a factor of 100 billion times. Joint lead researcher and PhD student, Vanessa Olaya...
New method makes mid-infrared light detectable at room temperature
Aug 28, 2023 (Nanowerk News) Scientists from the University of Birmingham and the University of Cambridge have developed a new method for detecting mid-infrared (MIR) light at room temperature using quantum systems. The research, published in Nature Photonics ("Single-molecule mid-infrared spectroscopy and detection through vibrationally assisted luminescence"), was conducted at...