A natural food colorant called phycocyanin provides a fun, vivid blue in soft drinks, but it is unstable on grocery shelves. A synchrotron is helping to steady it.
While the number of qubits and the stability of quantum states are still limiting current quantum computing devices, there are questions where these processors are already able to leverage their enormous computing power. Scientists used...
Light not only plays a key role as an information carrier for optical computer chips, but also in particular for the next generation of quantum computers. Its lossless guidance around sharp corners on tiny chips and the precise control...
The expansion of renewable energies is placing increasing demands on the power grids. Precise forecasts of the amount of solar power that will be fed into the grid is key to effective energy management. In addition to clouds, aerosol...
Physicists have developed a theory describing how space reflection and time reversal symmetries can be exploited, allowing for greater control of transport and correlations within quantum materials.
By trapping light into tiny crevices of gold, researchers have coaxed molecules to convert invisible infrared into visible light, creating new low-cost detectors for sensing.
Superconducting coupling between two regions separated by a one micron wide ferromagnetic compound has been proved by an international team. This macroscopic quantum effect, known as Josephson effect, generates an electrical current...
After analyzing the global plastics supply chain, researchers found that the impact of plastics on the climate and health is greater than thought due to the increased use of coal for process heat, electricity and as a raw material in...
For exploring materials right down to the nano-level, researchers often need to construct a complex structure to house the materials -- a time-consuming and complicated process. But imagine if there was a way the structure could simply...
Researchers used the Frontera supercomputer to explore light-induced superconductivity a pulsed laser, which is believed to be a promising route to room-temperature superconductors. They found that d-wave superconductivity can be...
In a mouse study, a team led by a biomedical scientist found a phthalate -- a chemical used to make plastics more durable -- led to increased plasma cholesterol levels.
Engineers invent 'green' method that combines quantum mechanics with machine learning to accurately predict oxide reactions at high temperatures when no experimental data is available; could be used to design clean carbon-neutral...
Current approaches to create superconducting qubits for quantum computers yield chips that are substantially larger than those found in classical computers. To shrink things down, researchers have taken advantage of atomically thin, 2D...
Combining knowledge of chemistry, physics, biology, and engineering, scientists from McGill University develop a biomaterial tough enough to repair the heart, muscles, and vocal cords, representing a major advance in regenerative medicine.
Car tailpipes spew out molecules of ammonia, a harmful air pollutant that can lead to thousands of premature deaths every year. New research shows that vehicles may produce a lot more of these emissions than federal and state regulators...
Scientists describe development of a cost-effective Scotch-tape-like film that can be applied to perovskite solar cells and capture 99.9% of leaked lead in the event of solar cell damage.
New research gives a bird's-eye view of the scale of plastic creation globally, tracing where it's produced, where it ends up, and its environmental impact.
Lasers in conventional laser printers for paper printouts are very small. 3D laser printers for 3-dimensional microstructures and nanostructures, by contrast, have required big and expensive laser systems so far. Researchers now use...
The quantum world and our everyday world are very different places. Physicists now investigate how the act of measuring a quantum particle transforms it into an everyday object.
A new analysis could help architects and builders reduce the carbon footprint of truss structures, the crisscrossing struts that bolster bridges, towers, and buildings.
Using a new microspectroscopic technique, scientists have found that steam disinfection of silicone-rubber baby bottle nipples exposes babies and the environment to micro- and nanoplastic particles.
When a fire broke out on the deck of the M/V XPress Pearl cargo ship on May 20, 2021, an estimated 70-75 billion pellets of preproduction plastic material, known as nurdles, spilled into the ocean and along the Sri Lankan coastline. That...
Polymers, the basis of all plastics, usually do not have an ordered structure, in contrast to biopolymers such as proteins. A team of researchers has now developed a polymer that can be differentiated into folded (ordered) and unfolded...
Organic materials could soon be utilized for glow-in-the-dark products, which has the potential to diversify and expand the already US$400 million industry, thanks to new research.
Microplastics are everywhere, even in the most remote places. Where do these tiny pieces of plastic come from? Researchers have shown that it takes precise analysis to answer this question.
For geothermal fields around the world, produced geothermal brine has been simply injected back underground, but now it's become clear that the brines produced at the Salton Sea geothermal field contain an immense amount of lithium, a...
A small guest molecule in the right place makes it possible to produce energy-efficient organic solar cells using eco-friendly solvents. A record efficiency over 17% is demonstrated. In addition, solar cells with larger areas can be...
Researchers have succeeded in their aim of not only changing the strength but also the nature of the interaction between microscopic quantum magnets, known as spins. Instead of falling into a state of complete disorder, the especially...
A team of physicists has shown how quantum systems can simultaneously evolve along two opposite time arrows - both forward and backward in time. The study necessitates a rethink of how the flow of time is understood and represented in...
Solid-solution organic crystals have been brought into the quest for superior photon upconversion materials, which transform presently wasted long-wavelength light into more useful shorter wavelength light. Scientists revisited a...
Researchers describe a revolutionary imaging technology that compresses lamp light into a nanometer-sized spot. It holds that light at the end of a silver nanowire like a Hogwarts student practicing the 'Lumos' spell, and uses it to...
Researchers have developed a jelly-like material that can withstand the equivalent of an elephant standing on it, and completely recover to its original shape, even though it's 80% water.
Using computer simulations, chemists have discovered how nuclear bodies called nucleoli interact with chromosomes in the nucleus, and how those interactions help the nucleoli exist as stable droplets within the nucleus.
Researchers have discovered a giant thermoelectric effect in an antiferromagnet. The study shows, surprisingly, that antiferromagnets can have the same value of the anomalous Nernst effect as conventional ferromagnets, but without any...
If an automobile is moving at a steady speed over a hill in the shape of a vertical circular arc, what is the maximum speed it can attain without losing contact with the road at the crest of the hill? New research demonstrates that,...
Neutrinos may be the key to finally solving a mystery of the origins of our matter-dominated universe, and preparations for two major, billion-dollar experiments are underway to reveal the particles' secrets. Now, a team of nuclear...
Researchers have developed highly efficient, on-chip frequency shifters that can convert light in the gigahertz frequency range. The frequency shifters are easily controlled, using continuous and single-tone microwaves.
Physicists have created a new ultra-thin two-layer material with quantum properties that normally require rare earth compounds. This material, which is relatively easy to make and does not contain rare earth metals, could provide a new...
An international research team that synthesized a new ultrahard form of carbon glass with a wealth of potential practical applications for devices and electronics. It is the hardest known glass with the highest thermal conductivity among...
The petrochemical industry turns oil and gas into precursors used to synthesize lubricants and other critical products. Chemists show that bacteria can be metabolically engineered to generate similar precursors, providing a sustainable...
To find the right battery molecules, researchers have turned to the power of artificial intelligence to search through a vast chemical space of over a million molecules and optimize for several properties.
Researchers have developed a unique way of modifying the surfaces of nanoparticles within life-saving medications to provide infusions that can be delivered more quickly, but with a reduced risk of negative reactions.
Using carbon tax revenue to fund free green electricity and public transport could significantly reduce individual households' greenhouse gas emissions, a new study has found. Providing these services for free could reduce home energy...
Researchers have developed a chemical technology of combined fermentation and chemical refining that can produce petroleum-like liquids from renewable plants. These renewable liquids could serve as a more sustainable replacement for...
Alkynes have many uses in industry. Until now, it was assumed that gold- or platinum-based catalysts were absolutely necessary for certain chemical reactions with alkynes. Chemists have now succeeded in carrying out the same reactions...
Researchers categorize origami- and kirigami-based mechanical metamaterials, artificially engineered materials with unusual mechanical properties, and subdivided them into rigid or deformable categories based on the elastic energy...
Scientists have discovered a new process to break bulk metal into atoms to produce heterogeneous catalysts without any chemical waste, which will lead to new sustainable ways of making and using molecules in the most atom efficient way.