Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Engineering: Robotics Research Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Exploration Space: General
Published

Mix-and-match kit could enable astronauts to build a menagerie of lunar exploration bots      (via sciencedaily.com) 

The Walking Oligomeric Robotic Mobility System, or WORMS, is a reconfigurable, modular, multiagent robotics architecture for extreme lunar terrain mobility. The system could be used to assemble autonomous worm-like parts into larger biomimetic robots that could explore lava tubes, steep slopes, and the moon's permanently shadowed regions.

Physics: General Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

STAR physicists track sequential 'melting' of upsilons      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Scientists using the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) to study some of the hottest matter ever created in a laboratory have published their first data showing how three distinct variations of particles called upsilons sequentially 'melt,' or dissociate, in the hot goo.

Computer Science: Quantum Computers Physics: General Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

Magnetism fosters unusual electronic order in quantum material      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Physicists have published an array of experimental evidence showing that the ordered magnetic arrangement of electrons in crystals of iron-germanium plays an integral role in bringing about an ordered electronic arrangement called a charge density wave that the team discovered in the material last year.

Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Energy: Technology Offbeat: General Physics: General Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

Experiment unlocks bizarre properties of strange metals      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Physicists are learning more about the bizarre behavior of 'strange metals,' which operate outside the normal rules of electricity.

Physics: General Physics: Optics Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

Ringing an electronic wave: Elusive massive phason observed in a charge density wave      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have detected the existence of a charge density wave of electrons that acquires mass as it interacts with the background lattice ions of the material over long distances.

Computer Science: Quantum Computers Offbeat: Computers and Math Physics: General Physics: Optics Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

In the world's smallest ball game, scientists throw and catch single atoms using light      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers show that individual atoms can be caught and thrown using light. This is the first time an atom has been released from a trap -- or thrown -- and then caught by another trap. This technology could be used in quantum computing applications.

Computer Science: Virtual Reality (VR) Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: Earth and Climate
Published

Researchers unveil smart contact lens, capable of implementing AR-based navigation      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A research team has introduced core technology for smart contact lenses that can implement AR-based navigation through a 3D printing process.

Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Energy: Nuclear Physics: General Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

Hitting nuclei with light may create fluid primordial matter      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A new analysis supports the idea that photons colliding with heavy ions create a fluid of 'strongly interacting' particles. The results indicate that photon-heavy ion collisions can create a strongly interacting fluid that responds to the initial collision geometry and that these collisions can form a quark-gluon plasma. These findings will help guide future experiments at the planned Electron-Ion Collider.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Offbeat: Computers and Math Physics: General
Published

Viable superconducting material created, say researchers      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers report the creation of a superconducting material at both a temperature and pressure low enough for practical applications. In a new paper, the researchers describe a nitrogen-doped lutetium hydride that exhibits superconductivity at 69 degrees Fahrenheit and 10 kilobars (145,000 pounds per square inch, or psi) of pressure.

Computer Science: Encryption Offbeat: Computers and Math
Published

New breakthrough enables perfectly secure digital communications      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have achieved a breakthrough to enable 'perfectly secure' hidden communications for the first time. The method uses new advances in information theory methods to conceal one piece of content inside another in a way that cannot be detected. This may have strong implications for information security, besides further applications in data compression and storage.

Engineering: Graphene Engineering: Nanotechnology Physics: General Physics: Optics Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

Graphene quantum dots show promise as novel magnetic field sensors      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Trapped electrons traveling in circular loops at extreme speeds inside graphene quantum dots are highly sensitive to external magnetic fields and could be used as novel magnetic field sensors with unique capabilities, according to a new study.

Computer Science: Quantum Computers Physics: General Physics: Optics Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

Two-dimensional quantum freeze      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have succeeded in simultaneously cooling the motion of a tiny glass sphere in two dimensions to the quantum ground-state. This represents a crucial step towards a 3D ground-state cooling of a massive object and opens up new opportunities for the design of ultra-sensitive sensors.

Environmental: Ecosystems Mathematics: Statistics Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: Plants and Animals Offbeat: Space Space: Exploration Space: General
Published

Can artificial intelligence help find life on Mars or icy worlds?      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have mapped the sparse life hidden away in salt domes, rocks and crystals at Salar de Pajonales at the boundary of the Chilean Atacama Desert and Altiplano. Then they trained a machine learning model to recognize the patterns and rules associated with their distributions so it could learn to predict and find those same distributions in data on which it was not trained. In this case, by combining statistical ecology with AI/ML, the scientists could locate and detect biosignatures up to 87.5 percent of the time and decrease the area needed for search by up to 97 percent.

Chemistry: General Computer Science: Quantum Computers Engineering: Nanotechnology Physics: General Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

An innovative twist on quantum bits: Tubular nanomaterial of carbon makes ideal home for spinning quantum bits      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Scientists develop method for chemically modifying nanoscale tubes of carbon atoms, so they can host spinning electrons to serve as stable quantum bits in quantum technologies.

Physics: General Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

Destroying the superconductivity in a kagome metal      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A recent study has uncovered a distinct disorder-driven superconductor-insulator transition. This first electric control of superconductivity and quantum Hall effect in a candidate material for future low-energy electronics has promise to reduce the rising, unsustainable energy cost of computing.

Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Edible electronics: How a seaweed second skin could transform health and fitness sensor tech      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Scientists have developed biodegradable algae-based hydrogels for strain sensing devices -- such as those used in health monitors worn by runners and hospital patients to track heart rate -- using natural elements like rock salt, water and seaweed, combined with graphene. As well as being more environmentally friendly than polymer-based hydrogels, commonly used in health sensor technology, the graphene algae sensors perform strongly in terms of sensitivity.

Engineering: Robotics Research Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: Space Space: Exploration Space: General Space: The Solar System
Published

Hansel and Gretel's breadcrumb trick inspires robotic exploration of caves on Mars and beyond      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Future space missions likely will send robots to scout out underground habitats for astronauts. Engineers have now developed a system that would enable autonomous vehicles to explore caves, lava tubes and even oceans on other worlds on their own.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Computer Science: Quantum Computers Offbeat: Computers and Math Physics: General Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

Quantum chemistry: Molecules caught tunneling      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Quantum effects can play an important role in chemical reactions. Physicists have now observed a quantum mechanical tunneling reaction in experiments. The observation can also be described exactly in theory. The scientists provide an important reference for this fundamental effect in chemistry. It is the slowest reaction with charged particles ever observed.