Feb 14, 2025 (Nanowerk News) UNESCO's International Year of Quantum Science and Technology begins with a success for TU researchers at the Institute of Applied Physics: Physical Review Research ("Dichroic mirror pulses for optimized higher-order atomic Bragg diffraction") publishes results of their research on dichroic mirror pulses. These act like...
The next-generation solar cell is fully recyclable
Feb 14, 2025 (Nanowerk News) In a study published in Nature ("Aqueous based recycling of perovskite photovoltaics"), researchers at Linköping University have developed a method to recycle all parts of a solar cell repeatedly without environmentally hazardous solvents. The recycled solar cell has the same efficiency as the original one....
Nanotechnology shows the way to future food crops
Feb 14, 2025 Nanoparticle technology could help fine-tune plant genes to increase crop yield and improve food quality. (Nanowerk News) University of Queensland researchers have for the first time introduced genetic material into plants via their roots, opening a potential pathway for rapid crop improvement. The research has been published...
Shining a light on magnetic structure
Feb 14, 2025 A novel technique for identifying magnetic ordering in antiferromagnets could improve electronics. (Nanowerk News) A new trick for illuminating the internal ordering within a special type of magnet could help engineers build better memory-storage devices (Nature Communications, "Electric-field-enhanced second-harmonic domain contrast and nonreciprocity in a van der...
The molecular einstein
Feb 13, 2025 (Nanowerk News) Standing at the intersection between mathematics and the tiler's trade is the so-called einstein problem. Despite its name, this mathematical question has nothing to do with the Nobel Prize winner Albert Einstein. It asks: Can you seamlessly tile an endless surface with a single shape...
Scientists describe the creation of black holes without singularities through pure gravity
Feb 13, 2025 (Nanowerk News) Traditional black holes, as predicted by Albert Einstein’s theory of General Relativity, contain what are known as singularities, i.e. points where the laws of physics break down. Identifying how singularities are resolved in the context of quantum gravity is one of the fundamental problems in...
Microscopy study of bacterial flagella motors could guide design of nanoscale machines
Feb 13, 2025 (Nanowerk News) When speaking of motors, most people think of those powering vehicles and human machinery. However, biological motors have existed for millions of years in microorganisms. Among these, many bacterial species have tail-like structures—called flagella—that spin around to propel themselves in fluids. These movements employ protein...
Study reveals breakthroughs in high-performance photon detectors
Feb 13, 2025 (Nanowerk News) From high-speed communication to quantum computing and quantum sensing, the detection, transmission, and manipulation of light (photons) have transformed modern electronics. Central to these systems are photon detectors, which detect and measure photons. One notable type is the superconducting nanowire single-photon detector (SNSPD). SNSPDs utilize...
Scientists discover mechanism driving molecular network formation
Feb 13, 2025 (Nanowerk News) Covalent bonding is a widely understood phenomenon that joins the atoms of a molecule by a shared electron pair. But in nature, patterns of molecules can also be connected through weaker, more dynamic forces that give rise to supramolecular networks. These can self-assemble from an...
Dual-powered fabric desalinates seawater day and night, rain or shine
Feb 13, 2025 (Nanowerk Spotlight) Water scarcity affects billions of people worldwide. While Earth’s oceans hold abundant water, converting seawater into fresh water requires substantial energy and complex infrastructure. Modern desalination plants use processes like reverse osmosis, pushing seawater through specialized membranes under high pressure. These facilities are expensive to...