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Categories: Geoscience: Severe Weather, Physics: Optics
Published Unintended consequences of fire suppression



A new study reveals how fire suppression ensures that wildfires will burn under extreme conditions at high severity, exacerbating the impacts of climate change and fuel accumulation.
Published A new way to quantify climate change impacts: 'Outdoor days'



'Outdoor days,' a new measure, describes climate change impacts by noting the number of days per year that outdoor temperatures are comfortable enough for normal outdoor activities.
Published Satellite data assimilation improves forecasts of severe weather



In 2020, a line of severe thunderstorms unleashed powerful winds that caused billions in damages across the Midwest United States. A new technique that incorporates satellite data could improve forecasts -- including where the most powerful winds will occur -- for similar severe weather events.
Published Cleaning up environmental contaminants with quantum dot technology



The 2023 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was focused on quantum dots -- objects so tiny, they're controlled by the strange rules of quantum physics. Quantum dots used in electronics are often toxic, but their nontoxic counterparts are being explored for uses in medicine and in the environment, including water decontamination. One team of researchers has specially designed carbon- and sulfur-based dots for these environmental applications.
Published Researchers add swept illumination to open-top light-sheet microscope



Researchers have incorporated a swept illumination source into an open-top light-sheet microscope to enable improved optical sectioning over a larger area of view. The advance makes the technique more practical for nondestructive 3D pathology.
Published The heat index -- how hot it really feels -- is rising faster than temperature



Researchers showed in 2022 that heat index calculations by NOAA based on analyses from the 1970s don't adequately reflect the heat stress humans feel during the extremes of heat and humidity accompanying climate change. Using their revised heat index, the researchers looked at Texas's summer 2023 heat wave and found that the 3 degree F rise in global temperatures has increased the state's heat index as much as 11 degrees F on the hottest days.
Published Metamaterials and AI converge, igniting innovative breakthroughs



Scientists unveil next-generation research trends in metaphotonics platforms with AI.
Published Molecular crystal motors move like microbes when exposed to light



At first glance, Rabih Al-Kaysi's molecular motors look like the microscopic worms you'd see in a drop of pond water. But these wriggling ribbons are not alive; they're made from crystallized molecules that perform coordinated movements when exposed to light. With continued development, these tiny machines could be used as drug-delivery robots or engineered into arrays that direct the flow of water around submarines.
Published Spectroscopy and theory shed light on excitons in semiconductors



Researchers have made very fast and very precise images of excitons -- in fact, accurate to one quadrillionth of a second and one billionth of a meter. This understanding is essential for developing more efficient materials with organic semiconductors.
Published Backyard insect inspires invisibility devices, next gen tech



Leafhoppers, a common backyard insect, secrete and coat themselves in tiny mysterious particles that could provide both the inspiration and the instructions for next-generation technology, according to a new study. In a first, the team precisely replicated the complex geometry of these particles, called brochosomes, and elucidated a better understanding of how they absorb both visible and ultraviolet light.
Published Using light to produce medication and plastics more efficiently



Anyone who wants to produce medication, plastics or fertilizer using conventional methods needs heat for chemical reactions -- but not so with photochemistry, where light provides the energy. The process to achieve the desired product also often takes fewer intermediate steps. Researchers are now going one step further and are demonstrating how the energy efficiency of photochemical reactions can be increased tenfold. More sustainable and cost-effective applications are now tantalizingly close.
Published Projection mapping leaves the darkness behind



Researchers developed a system that enables projection mapping within an illuminated environment. Several standard projectors and one large-aperture projector reproduce the environmental illumination in all areas except for the target object, whereas texture projectors display the texture on the unilluminated object's surface. Experiments show that participants perceived the objects using surface-color mode instead of aperture-color mode, verifying that the proposed system has the potential to produce highly realistic interactive environments.
Published Holographic message encoded in simple plastic



Important data can be stored and concealed quite easily in ordinary plastic using 3D printers and terahertz radiation, scientists show. Holography can be done quite easily: A 3D printer can be used to produce a panel from normal plastic in which a QR code can be stored, for example. The message is read using terahertz rays -- electromagnetic radiation that is invisible to the human eye.
Published An innovative mixed light field technique for immersive projection mapping



A novel mixed light field technique that utilizes a mix of ray-controlled ambient lighting with projection mapping (PM) to obtain PM in bright surroundings has been developed by scientists. This innovative technology utilizes a novel kaleidoscope array to achieve ray-controlled lighting and a binary search algorithm for removing ambient lighting from PM targets. It provides an immersive augmented reality experience with applications in various fields.
Published Self-heating concrete is one step closer to putting snow shovels and salt out of business



Researchers recently reported on the science behind its special concrete, that can warm itself up when it snows, or as temperatures approach freezing.
Published Reimagining the future of solar energy



New research suggests that there might be other ways to generate solar energy than just trying to make individual solar cells super-efficient.
Published Meteorology: Weak polar vortex makes weather more predictable



Events in the stratosphere are making long-range weather in Northern Europe easier to forecast, researchers have discovered.
Published Breakthrough in ultraviolet spectroscopy



Physicists achieve major leap in precision and accuracy at extremely low light levels.
Published Plasma oscillations propel breakthroughs in fusion energy



Researchers have discovered a new class of plasma oscillations -- the back-and-forth, wave-like movement of electrons and ions. The research paves the way for improved particle accelerators and commercial fusion energy.
Published Diverse habitats help salmon weather unpredictable climate changes



Restored salmon habitat should resemble financial portfolios, offering fish diverse options for feeding and survival so that they can weather various conditions as the climate changes, a new study shows.