Sep 17, 2024 (Nanowerk News) Researchers have discovered a new mechanism for energy sharing in tiny interfaces in semiconductors, the components at the heart of our electronic devices. This mechanism arises from the close coupling between electrons and atomic vibrations. Researchers made a sandwich of atomically thin layers and used...
Black hole pairs may unveil new particles
Sep 17, 2024 (Nanowerk News) Gravitational waves that are emitted by the merger of two black holes carry detailed information about the shape and evolution of the orbits of the components. A new study ("Legacy of Boson Clouds on Black Hole Binaries") by physicists Giovanni Maria Tomaselli and Gianfranco Bertone...
Bioinspired metafabric delivers powerful personal cooling by reflecting sunlight and managing sweat
Sep 17, 2024 (Nanowerk Spotlight) Imagine standing under an intense midday sun, with no shade in sight. The heat is unbearable, and for outdoor workers, athletes, and soldiers, such conditions can quickly lead to heat stress or even life-threatening situations. While air conditioning provides relief indoors, it’s not an option...
New understanding of the limits on nano-noise
Sep 17, 2024 (Nanowerk News) Thanks to nanoscale devices as small as human cells, researchers can create groundbreaking material properties, leading to smaller, faster, and more energy-efficient electronics. However, to fully unlock the potential of nanotechnology, addressing noise is crucial. A research team at Chalmers University of Technology, in Sweden,...
This screen stores and displays encrypted images without electronics
Sep 17, 2024 (Nanowerk News) A flexible screen inspired, in part, by squid can store and display encrypted images like a computer—using magnetic fields rather than electronics. The research is reported in Advanced Materials ("Janus Swarm Metamaterials for Information Display, Memory, and Encryption") by University of Michigan engineers. “It’s one...
Smart graphene sensor sniffs out ammonia to keep beef fresh
Sep 16, 2024 (Nanowerk Spotlight) Ammonia, a compound often associated with foul odors, is far more than an inconvenience – it’s a vital indicator of processes as diverse as food spoilage, environmental pollution, and even human metabolic disorders. As meat such as beef deteriorates, it emits gases like ammonia, a...
Using sunlight to turn two greenhouse gases into valuable chemicals
Sep 16, 2024 (Nanowerk News) McGill University researchers have harnessed the power of sunlight to transform two of the most harmful greenhouse gases into valuable chemicals. The discovery could help combat climate change and provide a more sustainable way to produce certain industrial products. “Imagine a world where the exhaust...
Liquid crystals in motion mimic biological systems
Sep 16, 2024 (Nanowerk News) Liquid crystals are all around us, from cell phone screens and video game consoles to car dashboards and medical devices. Run an electric current through liquid crystal displays (LCDs) and they generate colors, thanks to the unique properties of these fluids: rearrange their shape, and...
Energy-saving computing with magnetic whirls
Sep 16, 2024 (Nanowerk News) Researchers at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) have managed to enhance the framework of Brownian reservoir computing by recording and transferring hand gestures to the system which then used skyrmions to detect these individual gestures. "We were impressed to see that our hardware approach and...
Controlling molecular arrangements using selenium doping
Sep 16, 2024 (Nanowerk News) Physicists from the National University of Singapore (NUS) have achieved controlled conformational arrangements in nanostructures using a flexible precursor and selenium doping, enhancing material properties and structural homogeneity. Their method advances on-surface synthesis for the design and development of engineered nanomaterials. On-surface synthesis has been...