/ en-us Â鶹ÒùÔº internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Â鶹ÒùÔºics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. A condition long considered to be unfavorable to electrical conduction in semiconductor materials may actually be beneficial in 2D semiconductors, according to new findings by UC Santa Barbara researchers published in the journal Â鶹ÒùÔºical Review Letters. /news/2025-06-coupled-electrons-phonons-2d-semiconductors.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Mon, 23 Jun 2025 13:00:16 EDT news669902402 Gao Peng's research group at the International Center for Quantum Materials, School of Â鶹ÒùÔºics, Peking University, has developed a breakthrough method for visualizing interfacial phonon transport with sub-nanometer resolution. Leveraging fast electron inelastic scattering in electron microscopy, the team directly measured temperature fields and thermal resistance across interfaces, unveiling the microscopic mechanism of phonon-mediated heat transport at the nanoscale. /news/2025-06-phonon-materials-visualized-atomic.html Condensed Matter Quantum Â鶹ÒùÔºics Fri, 20 Jun 2025 10:46:49 EDT news669635206 A research team including members from the University of Michigan have unveiled a new observational technique that's sensitive to the dynamics of the intrinsic quantum jiggles of materials, or phonons. /news/2025-06-electron-microscopy-technique-captures-nanoparticle.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Wed, 18 Jun 2025 17:19:04 EDT news669485941 Quantum dots are microscopic semiconductor crystals developed in the lab that share many properties with atoms, including the ability to absorb or emit light, a technology that Los Alamos researchers have spent nearly three decades evolving. Through carrier multiplication, in which a single absorbed photon generates two electron-hole pairs, called excitons, quantum dots have the unique ability to convert photons more efficiently to energy. /news/2025-06-ultrafast-exchange-quantum-dots-solar.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Thu, 12 Jun 2025 11:07:03 EDT news668945221 Recent technological advances have opened new exciting possibilities for the development of cutting-edge quantum devices, including quantum random access memory (QRAM) systems. These are memory architectures specifically meant to be integrated inside quantum computers, which can simultaneously retrieve data from multiple 'locations' leveraging a quantum effect known as coherent superposition. /news/2025-06-quantum-random-access-memory-based.html Quantum Â鶹ÒùÔºics Thu, 12 Jun 2025 10:19:23 EDT news668942346 The wildest trampoline in the world swings sideways and "around corners." Yet, no one can jump on it, because it's not even a millimeter tall. Â鶹ÒùÔºicists from the University of Konstanz, the University of Copenhagen, and ETH Zurich designed and constructed it. Why? The aim is to demonstrate improved methods of phonon transport—for example, for use in microchips, where phonons are directed through tight bends. The research is published in the journal Nature. /news/2025-06-physicists-microscopic-trampoline-microchips.html Nanophysics Thu, 05 Jun 2025 11:24:03 EDT news668341442 Nature categorizes particles into two fundamental types: fermions and bosons. While matter-building particles such as quarks and electrons belong to the fermion family, bosons typically serve as force carriers—examples include photons, which mediate electromagnetic interactions, and gluons, which govern nuclear forces. /news/2025-05-dimensional-anyons-exotic-quasiparticles-coldest.html Quantum Â鶹ÒùÔºics Wed, 28 May 2025 11:00:07 EDT news667639621 A research team has discovered ferroelectric phenomena occurring at a subatomic scale in the natural mineral brownmillerite. /news/2025-05-phonon-decoupling-naturally-mineral-enables.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Tue, 27 May 2025 15:48:00 EDT news667579678 A research team has discovered how to make a promising energy-harvesting material much more efficient—without relying on rare or expensive elements. The material, called β-Zn4Sb3, is a tellurium-free thermoelectric compound that can convert waste heat into electricity. /news/2025-05-smart-phonon-boosts-efficiency-eco.html Condensed Matter Mon, 26 May 2025 10:17:03 EDT news667473421 As core components for generating coherent tunable radiation sources in all-solid-state lasers, second-order nonlinear optical (NLO) crystals have demonstrated significant technical advantages in many fields. Metal chalcogenides with tetrahedral cluster (Tn) as the structural unit are regarded as candidate systems for NLO materials of the mid- and far-infrared bands due to their potential strong second-harmonic-generation (SHG) response and wide infrared transmission range. /news/2025-05-inorganic-polycations-widening-infrared-transparency.html Analytical Chemistry Materials Science Wed, 21 May 2025 14:37:03 EDT news667057022 Researchers have improved upon techniques that use thin films to compress infrared light, demonstrating three advantages that make the films more useful for practical applications. The researchers have proven that the "squeezed" infrared light can propagate at least four times farther than previously shown; that the technology can "squeeze" a wider range of infrared wavelengths than previously demonstrated; and that the thin films can be integrated onto a variety of substrate materials and shapes. /news/2025-05-infrared-wavelengths-thin.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Mon, 19 May 2025 13:33:04 EDT news666880381 A team of researchers from TU Dortmund University, the University of Paderborn, and the University of Nottingham has developed a new optical method to detect ultra-weak atomic motion. Their experiment performed in Dortmund has demonstrated unprecedented sensitivity of the detection of atomic motion in crystals by exploiting light interference. /news/2025-05-optical-technique-ultra-weak-atomic.html Condensed Matter Optics & Photonics Fri, 16 May 2025 10:11:03 EDT news666609061 Imagine you are playing the guitar—each pluck of a string creates a sound wave that vibrates and interacts with other waves. Now shrink that idea down to a small single molecule, and instead of sound waves, picture vibrations that carry heat. /news/2025-05-tiny-thermal-sensor-molecules-mute.html Condensed Matter Wed, 07 May 2025 16:19:19 EDT news665853555 The use of light signals to connect electronic components is a key element of today's data communication technologies, because of the speed and efficiency that only optical devices can guarantee. Photonic integrated circuits, which use photons instead of electrons to encode and transmit information, are found in many computing technologies. Most are currently based on silicon—a good solution because it is already used for electronic circuits, but with a limited bandwidth. /news/2025-05-pockels-effect-advance-optoelectronic-technology.html Condensed Matter Optics & Photonics Wed, 07 May 2025 15:20:14 EDT news665850002 Protons are the basis of bioenergetics. The ability to move them through biological systems is essential for life. A new study in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences shows for the first time that proton transfer is directly influenced by the spin of electrons when measured in chiral biological environments such as proteins. In other words, proton movement in living systems is not purely chemical; it is also a quantum process involving electron spin and molecular chirality. /news/2025-05-quantum-effects-proteins-tiny-particles.html Biochemistry Analytical Chemistry Mon, 05 May 2025 15:35:34 EDT news665678126 By adding a sound-mediated way to control light to the toolkit of light-based chips, University of Twente researchers have pushed the boundaries of the technology. This opens up the possibility of making atomic clocks small enough to fit in satellites and drones, helping them navigate without GPS. /news/2025-05-paves-gps-free.html Optics & Photonics Thu, 01 May 2025 11:20:01 EDT news665315726 Scientists have discovered, for the first time, how root cells respond to their complex soil environment, revealing that roots actively "sense" their microenvironment and mount precise, cell-specific molecular responses. The findings could help the development of crops that are resistant to climate stress. /news/2025-04-transcriptomics-root-cells-soil.html Molecular & Computational biology Agriculture Wed, 30 Apr 2025 11:00:07 EDT news665134982 Scientists have achieved a major milestone in the quest to understand high-temperature superconductivity in hydrogen-rich materials. Using electron tunneling spectroscopy under high pressure, the international research team led by the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry has measured the superconducting gap of H3S—the material that set the high-pressure superconductivity record in 2015 and serves as the parent compound for subsequent high-temperature superconducting hydrides. /news/2025-04-high-pressure-electron-tunneling-spectroscopy.html Superconductivity Wed, 23 Apr 2025 15:56:00 EDT news664642551 In new research published in Nature, Weizmann Institute scientists introduce a powerful tool to explore quantum phenomena—the cryogenic Quantum Twisting Microscope (QTM). /news/2025-04-microscope-reveals-quantum-atoms-graphene.html Condensed Matter Quantum Â鶹ÒùÔºics Wed, 23 Apr 2025 11:00:02 EDT news664472881 Imagine if phones never got hot no matter how many apps were running. Picture a future where supercomputers use less energy, electric cars charge faster, and life-saving medical devices stay cooler and last longer. /news/2025-04-cooler-faster-crystal-enable-ultrafast.html General Â鶹ÒùÔºics Condensed Matter Mon, 14 Apr 2025 13:30:01 EDT news663855691 Superconductivity—the ability of some materials to conduct electricity with no energy loss—holds immense promise for new technologies from lossless power grids to advanced quantum devices. /news/2025-04-longstanding-dynamics-1d-cuprates.html Condensed Matter Superconductivity Wed, 09 Apr 2025 14:53:05 EDT news663429182 The melting of crystals is the process by which an increase in temperature induces the disruption of the ordered crystalline lattice, leading to the disordered structure and highly fluctuating dynamic behavior of liquids. At the glass transition, where an amorphous solid (a glass) turns into a liquid, there is no obvious change in structure, and only the dynamics of the atoms change, going from strongly localized dynamics in space (in the glass state) to the highly fluctuating (diffusive) dynamics in the liquid. /news/2025-04-crystal-glass-transition-obey-physical.html Condensed Matter Soft Matter Thu, 03 Apr 2025 07:10:01 EDT news662731528 Magnesium is a common chemical element, an alkaline earth metal, which is highly chemically reactive and is very light (even lighter than aluminum). Magnesium is abundant in plants and minerals and plays a role in human physiology and metabolism. In the cosmos, it is produced by large aging stars. /news/2025-03-magnesium-superconductor-2d-limit.html Condensed Matter Superconductivity Tue, 01 Apr 2025 08:20:01 EDT news662636519 Superconductivity is a quantum phenomenon, observed in some materials, that entails the ability to conduct electricity with no resistance below a critical temperature. Over the past few years, physicists and material scientists have been trying to identify materials exhibiting this property (i.e., superconductors), while also gathering new insights about its underlying physical processes. /news/2025-03-comprehensive-characterization-unconventional-superconductivity-multipolar.html Superconductivity Quantum Â鶹ÒùÔºics Fri, 28 Mar 2025 06:40:01 EDT news662304919 Complex materials such as organic semiconductors or the microporous metal-organic frameworks known as MOFs are already being used for numerous applications such as OLED displays, solar cells, gas storage and water extraction. Nevertheless, they still harbor a few secrets. One of these has so far been a detailed understanding of how they transport thermal energy. /news/2025-03-machine-uncovers-hidden-mechanisms-semiconductors.html Condensed Matter Thu, 20 Mar 2025 13:06:03 EDT news661694761 Imagine a world where your phone stays cool no matter how long you use it, and it's also equipped with tiny sensors that can identify dangerous chemicals or pollutants with unparalleled sensitivity and precision. /news/2025-03-good-vibrations-scientists-method-phonon.html Condensed Matter Optics & Photonics Wed, 19 Mar 2025 12:00:11 EDT news661506602 Scientists know well how conventional materials conduct heat. However, things are not as straightforward under extreme conditions such as temperatures close to absolute zero combined with strong magnetic fields, where strange quantum effects begin to dominate. This is particularly true in the realm of quantum materials. /news/2025-03-quantum-dynamics-toggled-magnetic-fields.html Condensed Matter Quantum Â鶹ÒùÔºics Wed, 19 Mar 2025 11:50:08 EDT news661603805 Recently, a research group led by Prof. Wang Zhenyang and Zhang Shudong from the Hefei Institutes of Â鶹ÒùÔºical Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, developed a new type of ceramic fiber aerogel, SiC@SiOâ‚‚, featuring highly anisotropic thermal conductivity and extreme thermal stability through directional bio-inspired design. /news/2025-03-nature-ceramic-fiber-aerogels-advance.html Materials Science Thu, 13 Mar 2025 12:20:03 EDT news661087202 Since the groundbreaking discovery of graphene in 2004, the dizzying pace of progress in two-dimensional (2D) materials has ushered in a new era of fundamental research and technological innovation. Although nearly 2,000 2D materials have been theoretically predicted and hundreds have been created in laboratory settings, most of these 2D materials are limited to van der Waals (vdW) layered crystals. /news/2025-03-scientists-universal-technique-van-der.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Wed, 12 Mar 2025 12:00:03 EDT news660989068 Ever since their discovery almost four decades ago, high-temperature superconductors have fascinated scientists and engineers alike. These materials, primarily cuprates, defy classical understanding because they conduct electricity without resistance at temperatures far higher than traditional superconductors. Yet despite decades of research, we still don't have a clear, comprehensive microscopic picture of how superconductivity emerges in these complex materials. /news/2025-03-unraveling-mystery-high-temperature-superconductors.html Superconductivity Quantum Â鶹ÒùÔºics Mon, 10 Mar 2025 10:51:49 EDT news660822697