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Categories: Chemistry: General, Physics: Optics

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Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Upcycling leftover cardboard to make a new type of foam packaging      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

With the holiday season in full swing, gifts of all shapes and sizes are being shipped around the world. But all that packaging generates lots of waste, including cardboard boxes and plastic-based foam cushioning. Rather than discard those boxes, researchers have developed a cushioning foam from cardboard waste. Their upcycled material was stronger and more insulating than traditional, plastic foam-based cushioning.

Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Physics: Optics
Published

Researchers create stable hybrid laser by 3D printing micro-optics onto fibers      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

For the first time, researchers have shown that 3D-printed polymer-based micro-optics can withstand the heat and power levels that occur inside a laser. The advance enables inexpensive compact and stable laser sources that would be useful in a variety of applications, including the lidar systems used for autonomous vehicles.

Chemistry: General Energy: Batteries Energy: Technology Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Resource-efficient and climate-friendly with sodium-ion batteries      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The transition to a society without fossil fuels means that the need for batteries is increasing at a rapid pace. At the same time, the increase will mean a shortage of the metals lithium and cobalt, which are key components in the most common battery types. One option is a sodium-ion battery, where table salt and biomass from the forest industry make up the main raw materials. Now, researchers show that these sodium-ion batteries have an equivalent climate impact as their lithium-ion counterparts -- without the risk of running out of raw materials. 

Chemistry: General Ecology: Nature Energy: Alternative Fuels Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

The solar forest      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

What would be the most effective use of a certain plot of land in terms of the climate crisis: planting a forest, which is a natural means of absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, or erecting fields of solar panels, which reduce the emission of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere? This dilemma has long been debated by decision-makers around the world. Now, for the first time -- based on findings from arid areas and on comprehensive measurements of the energy flow exchanged between the ground and the atmosphere -- we may have an answer to this question.  

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Thermodynamics Physics: General
Published

Ultra-hard material to rival diamond discovered      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have solved a decades-long puzzle and unveiled a near unbreakable substance that could rival diamond, as the hardest material on earth, a study says. Researchers found that when carbon and nitrogen precursors were subjected to extreme heat and pressure, the resulting materials -- known as carbon nitrides -- were tougher than cubic boron nitride, the second hardest material after diamond.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Engineering: Nanotechnology
Published

Spinning up control: Propeller shape helps direct nanoparticles      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Self-propelled nanoparticles could potentially advance drug delivery and lab-on-a-chip systems -- but they are prone to go rogue with random, directionless movements. Now, an international team of researchers has developed an approach to rein in the synthetic particles.

Chemistry: General Energy: Batteries Energy: Technology Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General
Published

Single-use e-cigarettes contain batteries that last hundreds of cycles despite being discarded      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

While the lithium-ion batteries in disposable electronic cigarettes are discarded after a single use, they can continue to perform at high capacity for hundreds of cycles, according to a new study. The analysis highlights a growing environmental threat from these increasingly popular vape pens, which are not designed to be recharged.

Engineering: Nanotechnology Physics: Optics
Published

In a new light -- new approach overcomes long-standing limitations in optics      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

When you look up at the sky and see clouds of wondrous shapes, or struggle to peer through dense, hazy fog, you're seeing the results of 'Mie scattering', which is what happens with light interacts with particles of a certain size. There is a growing body of research that aims to manipulate this phenomenon and make possible an array of exciting technologies. Researchers have now developed a new means of manipulating Mie scattering from nanostructures.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Eco-friendly technologies for plastic production and biodegradation?      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new article covering an overview and trends of plastic production and degradation technology using microorganisms has been published. Eco-friendly and sustainable plastic production and degradation technology using microorganisms as a core technology to achieve a plastic circular economy was presented.

Engineering: Nanotechnology Physics: General Physics: Optics
Published

Chance twists ordered carbon nanotubes into 'tornado films'      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have developed two new methods to create ordered carbon nanotube films with either a left- or right-handed chiral pattern.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Physics: Optics
Published

Conjoined 'racetracks' make new optical device possible      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Kerry Vahala and collaborators from UC Santa Barbara have found a unique solution to an optics problem.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Energy: Alternative Fuels Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Polyethylene waste could be a thing of the past      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Experts have developed a way of using polyethylene waste (PE) as a feedstock and converted it into valuable chemicals, via light-driven photocatalysis. PE is the most widely used plastic in the world including for daily food packaging, shopping bags and reagent bottles, and the researchers say that while recycling of PE is still in early development, it could be an untapped resource for re-use.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Offbeat: General
Published

Veins of bacteria could form a self-healing system for concrete infrastructure      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

In hopes of producing concrete structures that can repair their cracks, researchers are putting a new twist on an old trick for improving the durability of concrete. Fiber reinforcement has been around since the first masons were mixing horsehair into their mud. But this research team is taking this method to the next level by turning reinforcing fibers into a living tissue system that rushes concrete-healing bacteria to the site of cracks to repair the damage.

Physics: General Physics: Optics
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Hybrid device significantly improves existing, ubiquitous laser technology      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have developed a chip-scale laser source that enhances the performance of semiconductor lasers while enabling the generation of shorter wavelengths. This pioneering work represents a significant advance in the field of photonics, with implications for telecommunications, metrology, and other high-precision applications.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Physics: Optics
Published

First observation of structures resulting from 3D domain swapping in antibody light chains      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Antibodies hold promise as therapeutic agents. However, their tendency to aggregate poses significant challenges to drug development. In a groundbreaking study, researchers now provide novel insights into the structure formed due to 3D domain swapping of the antibody light chain, the part of the antibody contributing to antigen binding. Their findings are expected to lead to improvements in antibody quality and the development of novel drugs.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry
Published

A fork in the 'rhod': Researchers unveil comprehensive collection of rhodamine-based fluorescent dyes      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

After more than a decade of developing fluorescent probes, a research team has now released the culmination of their years of work: A comprehensive collection of rhodamine-based dyes, the novel chemistry they developed to synthesize them and insights that provide a roadmap for designing future probes.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Physics: Optics
Published

Training algorithm breaks barriers to deep physical neural networks      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have developed an algorithm to train an analog neural network just as accurately as a digital one, enabling the development of more efficient alternatives to power-hungry deep learning hardware.

Computer Science: General Physics: Optics
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Magnetization by laser pulse      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

To magnetize an iron nail, one simply has to stroke its surface several times with a bar magnet. Yet, there is a much more unusual method: A team has discovered some time ago that a certain iron alloy can be magnetized with ultrashort laser pulses.

Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Thermodynamics Engineering: Nanotechnology Physics: General Physics: Optics
Published

Polaritons open up a new lane on the semiconductor highway      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

On the highway of heat transfer, thermal energy is moved by way of quantum particles called phonons. But at the nanoscale of today's most cutting-edge semiconductors, those phonons don't remove enough heat. That's why researchers are focused on opening a new nanoscale lane on the heat transfer highway by using hybrid quasiparticles called 'polaritons.'

Chemistry: General Energy: Nuclear Physics: General Space: Astrophysics Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features
Published

Ancient stars made extraordinarily heavy elements      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

How heavy can an element be? An international team of researchers has found that ancient stars were capable of producing elements with atomic masses greater than 260, heavier than any element on the periodic table found naturally on Earth. The finding deepens our understanding of element formation in stars.