Spring-like porous crystals could enable chemically responsive microscale materials
Crystals are usually imagined as rigid objects with flat faces and straight edges. A research team led by the University of Osaka has recently created a porous crystal that grows …
How some cyclists paradoxically start 'from rest' with a non-zero velocity
Some track cyclists appear to break the rules of physics, but a new study, published in the journal Royal Society Open Science, has created a model explaining the illusion. The re…
Dual findings reveal how to control coherence in plasmonic nanolasers
Researchers at the University of Eastern Finland have uncovered two complementary mechanisms that govern coherence in miniaturized lasers composed of metallic nanoparticle arrays …
Microbes can produce adhesive materials from glucose instead of petroleum
KAIST researchers have demonstrated the potential of using microorganisms to produce a bio-based alternative to petroleum-derived materials for hot-melt adhesives (HMAs). These he…
Heating mica to 200°C reveals friction independent of sliding speed
Through joint research with the U.S. Geological Survey and the University of Tokyo, NIMS for the first time experimentally demonstrated friction completely independent of sliding …
New simulations link unusual particle diffusion to yielding in soft jammed matter
Soft materials such as colloidal suspensions, emulsions, foams and gels often display complex and unusual behaviors compared with ordinary solids or liquids. From a mechanical poi…
Study explores new photonics advance: Topology imprinting in nonlinear metasurfaces
Light is traditionally described by properties such as wavelength, amplitude, phase and polarization. Advances in optics have shown that light can also be shaped into complex spat…
Plasma and electricity convert CO₂ into methanol, butane and other useful chemicals
Carbon dioxide (CO₂) can be harmful to the environment in large amounts but can be used in the production of fuels and other useful chemicals. Doing so isn't easy, though. Now, Ya…
Disordered atoms steer shared light pulses by matching motion and timing
A research team at the Institute of Applied Physics at TU Darmstadt has shown for the first time that atoms that are completely disordered and in constant motion can nevertheless …
Adaptive crystal can selectively capture CO₂ and recognize similar molecules
Chemical separation can be energy-intensive when molecules have similar sizes and properties. Researchers from Shibaura Institute of Technology, Japan, have now developed an inter…
Magnets could help quantum computers talk to each other, says researcher
Xufeng Zhang is using magnets to make computers more power efficient at the quantum level. The Northeastern professor of electrical and computer engineering recently published two…
Scientists create 'super ice' that is ten times stronger and far harder to shatter
Ice is cheap, abundant and surprisingly strong. But it has one major weakness: Cracks can race through it, causing it to shatter without warning. Now, scientists have developed a …
Robots and AI uncover unexpected pathway in classic 135-year-old chemical reaction
Chemical reactions are often written as simple equations: Starting materials go in, and a product comes out. In reality, the same substrates can follow many different pathways dep…
Novel particle beam could challenge Einstein's theory of gravity
Does gravity act equally on all particles in the universe, or are there differences between ordinary and exotic matter? Physics professor Anna Soter and her team at ETH Zurich and…
Tough vehicle and construction plastics dissolve into reusable material with low-waste method
A new recycling technique could help tackle a major challenge: breaking down some of the toughest plastics without generating large amounts of waste.
Hidden receptor interactions may explain past failures of brain disorder drugs
Metabotropic glutamate receptors, which are important but difficult drug targets, interact in surprisingly varied ways with their principal regulatory proteins, according to two n…
From atomic vibrations to laboratory mechanics: Bridging 20 orders of magnitude in time
How can we predict the way a real material, such as a polymer, responds mechanically over timescales ranging from the ultrafast motion of atoms to the slow deformations measured i…
Turning a potent greenhouse gas into a valuable pharmaceutical building block using light
The trifluoromethyl group, or CF₃, is widely used in pharmaceuticals. When added to organic molecules, it can improve metabolic stability and membrane permeability, making it high…
A painting signed 'L daVinci': Analysis reveals Renaissance pigments and later alterations
Researchers at Uppsala University have analyzed the color pigments in a historical painting signed "L daVinci." Most of the pigments are consistent with materials used during the …
Neutral radicals unlock porous organic semiconductors without chemical doping
Researchers at the Center for Research in Biological Chemistry and Molecular Materials (CiQUS) at the Universidade de Santiago de Compostela (USC) have developed a new strategy fo…
40-year-old prediction of how plastics 'mix' confirmed for the first time
A "mixing" phenomenon between plastic layers that had been predicted only in theory for 40 years has now been experimentally confirmed.
Novel solvent recipe boosts efficiency of organic solar cells
In a study recently published in the Chemical Engineering Journal, a research team from National Taiwan University and international collaborators have developed a straightforward…
Speedy electrons for brilliant laser light: Research paves the way for compact, inexpensive free-electron lasers
Extremely short, intense light flashes are in high demand to investigate atoms, molecules and new materials. Free-electron lasers (FELs) produce these flashes. But around the worl…
Getting photons into shape for reliable quantum communication
The vast majority of modern quantum technologies—from quantum cryptography to the quantum internet to the quantum computer—rely on one essential element: the transmission of photo…