New model explains why glass becomes less transparent to terahertz light
Electromagnetic waves in the gigahertz (GHz) range, such as those used in mobile communications, can readily pass through many types of glass. However, transmission decreases sign…
Laser temporarily reprograms ultrathin optical device without electrodes
A tiny device that can be reprogrammed using a laser could lead to adaptable devices for computing, imaging and telecommunications. Most devices are built to perform a particular …
DarkSide detector puts 'nuclear' dark matter to the test
Researchers at the DarkSide collaboration have unveiled results from a seven-year experiment that tested whether dark matter particles could exist as composites of smaller, elemen…
Organic chemists harness AI to uncover how fast chemical reactions proceed
Chemists routinely optimize reactions to maximize the yield of their desired products, but understanding why those reactions work can require laborious experiments that track reac…
Mapping one atom's interaction with light uncovers an unbounded network of quantum states
A new graph-theoretic framework provides a unified description of atom-light interactions across regimes ranging from weak to deep-strong coupling.
Magnetic order survives weak quantum fluctuations in gapless magnets
In a new study published in Physical Review Letters, researchers have shown that magnetic order can survive weak quantum fluctuations in disordered magnets that lack an energy gap…
Waves find order in the chaos of an oddly shaped cavity
When light or sound bounces around inside an oddly shaped room, its reflections can quickly become difficult to predict. But new research led by scientists at the Advanced Science…
New metal-free molecules glow deep red in water and boost MRI contrast in test images
Bioimaging technologies, such as fluorescence imaging (FI) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), are powerful tools in basic research and clinical medicine. But they have drawback…
Waste bulrush transformed into copper-enhanced material for dye removal from wastewater
Industrial activities such as textile manufacturing, paper production, leather processing and food processing can generate wastewater containing synthetic dyes. Because many synth…
Pumpkin-derived enzyme weakens peanut proteins' binding to allergy antibodies in lab tests
Peanut allergy is one of the most serious food allergies and can lead to sudden, life-threatening reactions. Researchers from Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences…
Blood pressure enzyme reveals second job: Making sulfur rings for cellular antioxidants
Antioxidants such as vitamins C and E protect cells by neutralizing free radicals, such as reactive oxygen species, before they can damage genetic material or cell membranes. Such…
How a century-old solvent can enable efficient amide synthesis
Amide bonds are chemical linkages essential to biology, medicine and materials chemistry. Peptide bonds, a class of amide bonds, link amino acids to form proteins. Amide bonds are…
Ultrathin materials could make quantum light circuits programmable
Quantum photonics could be a pivotal part of future quantum technology if the right materials can be created, a new review paper has found.
Spin rephasing helps quantum memories store single-photon states longer for future networks
We are continuously sending information to each other, transmitting zeros and ones through a giant network of connected computers and devices. Scientists are now trying to extend …
Discovery confirms rare, switchable electrical property in widely used electronics material
A Husker research team's latest research could open the door to broader use of a class of materials whose electrical properties may someday power next-generation electronics, high…
Molecular switch-up: Bacteria remodel a peptide to take on new role
Remodeling may bring to mind construction crews and scaffolding, but the process is far from unique to buildings. Even molecules can be remodeled. Pandorachelins, newly discovered…
New form of flexible boron is 10 million times more electrically conductive
The atoms of the 5th element of the periodic table often find themselves in the company of each other, forming allotropes with a rich variety of structural motifs, each carrying a…
Rare quantum state reveals particles with quarter-electron charge
An electron's charge is normally fixed, like a coin you can't break into pieces. But if electrons are cooled close to absolute zero and trapped in a two-dimensional layer under a …
Random access quantum memory lets one processor select among seven storage cells
Classical computers can temporarily store the information required to perform specific tasks in a short-term memory component known as RAM (random access memory). This component a…
Cosmic lockdown: How the environment can isolate quantum fields
A simplified cosmological model suggests that decoherence can suppress quantum tunneling, effectively locking fields into the vacuum state they have reached.
Changing counterions gives molecular materials new electronic behaviors
Orthogonally arranged π-electronic systems that combine electron-donating and electron-accepting units display distinctive electronic and photophysical behavior. Fine-tuning their…
Hydrogen crosses, water stays: Palladium membrane enables ammonia synthesis using water
A South Korean research team has developed an environmentally friendly ammonia synthesis process that reduces carbon emissions using a membrane that selectively transports hydroge…
Higher-dimensional black holes hide an exact symmetry in their ringing, and string-inspired gravity breaks it
Strike a bell, and it rings with a pitch and a fading that tell you about the bell: its size, its shape, the metal it is made of. Black holes ring too. When two merge, the newborn…
3D-printed scaffolds help turn waste methane into useful chemical using less power than liquid reactors
When landfills and wastewater treatment plants create methane as a byproduct, much of it is simply burned and its value is lost. But the gas is an energy-rich resource that could …