Dec 05, 2023 (Nanowerk News) Through analysis of high-resolution data from a ten-metre telescope in Hawaii, researchers at Lund University in Sweden have succeeded in generating new knowledge about three stars at the very heart of the Milky Way. The stars proved to be unusually young with a puzzling chemical...
Watching electrons at work
Dec 05, 2023 (Nanowerk News) Many a scientific and technical problem could be solved easily if it were possible to look inside a material and watch its atoms and electrons wiggle about in real time. In the case of halide perovskites, a class of minerals that has become very popular...
Unlocking neutron star rotation anomalies: Insights from quantum simulation
Dec 05, 2023 (Nanowerk News) A collaboration between quantum physicists and astrophysicists, led by Francesca Ferlaino and Massimo Mannarelli, has achieved a significant breakthrough in understanding neutron star glitches. They were able to numerically simulate this enigmatic cosmic phenomenon with ultracold dipolar atoms. This research establishes a strong link between...
Polymer-grafting approach facilitates fabrication of surface-functionalized MOF nanosheets
Dec 05, 2023 (Nanowerk Spotlight) Researchers are exploring two-dimensional (2D) metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) – crystalline materials with incredibly thin, nanoscale thickness – for advanced applications in separation, catalysis, electronics and energy storage. But a major roadblock has endured. The innate material instability leaves these delicate structures aggregated and unusable. Now,...
Light-controlled liquid metal strips bring new flexibility to soft robotics
Dec 05, 2023 (Nanowerk News) Soft robotics has tantalized researchers with its promise of machines that can squeeze into tight spaces, handle fragile objects, and intuitively interact with humans. Yet realizing this potential has remained an elusive goal due to limitations in the materials and methods used to actuate such...
AI accelerates problem-solving in complex scenarios
Dec 05, 2023 (Nanowerk News) While Santa Claus may have a magical sleigh and nine plucky reindeer to help him deliver presents, for companies like FedEx, the optimization problem of efficiently routing holiday packages is so complicated that they often employ specialized software to find a solution. This software, called...
New material replicates the structural design of colored bird feathers
Dec 05, 2023 (Nanowerk News) The eastern bluebird is a special bird. The blue of its feathers is unique. However, this colour is not based on pigments but on the special structure of the feather. Viewed under the microscope, the feathers are traversed by a network of channels with a...
Tiny electromagnets made of graphene
Dec 05, 2023 (Nanowerk News) An international research team has now added another facet to graphene's diverse properties with experiments at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR): The experts, led by the University of Duisburg-Essen (UDE), fired short terahertz pulses at micrometer-sized discs of graphene, which briefly turned these minuscule objects into...
Using AI to find microplastics faster and more accurately
Dec 05, 2023 (Nanowerk News) An interdisciplinary research team from the University of Waterloo is using artificial intelligence (AI) to identify microplastics faster and more accurately than ever before. The research has been published in Environmental Pollution ("Leveraging deep learning for automatic recognition of microplastics (MPs) via focal plane array...
AI networks are more vulnerable to malicious attacks than previously thought
Dec 05, 2023 (Nanowerk News) Artificial intelligence tools hold promise for applications ranging from autonomous vehicles to the interpretation of medical images. However, a new study finds these AI tools are more vulnerable than previously thought to targeted attacks that effectively force AI systems to make bad decisions. Key Takeaways...