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Categories: Offbeat: Computers and Math, Physics: Optics
Published Biological specimens imaged with X-rays without damage
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists have managed to image delicate biological structures without damaging them. Their new technique generates high resolution X-ray images of dried biological material that has not been frozen, coated, or otherwise altered beforehand -- all with little to no damage to the sample. This method, which is also used for airport baggage scanning, can generate images of the material at nanometer resolution.
Published Robot centipedes go for a walk
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers show how their multilegged walking robot can be steered by inducing a dynamic instability. By making the couplings between segments more flexible, the robot changes from walking straight to moving in a curved path. This work can lead to more energy-efficient and reliable robotic navigation of terrain.
Published Absolute vs. relative efficiency: How efficient are blue LEDs, actually?
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The absolute internal quantum efficiency (IQE) of indium gallium nitride (InGaN) based blue light-emitting diodes (LEDs) at low temperatures is often assumed to be 100%. However, a new study has found that the assumption of always perfect IQE is wrong: the IQE of an LED can be as low as 27.5%.
Published Emergence of solvated dielectrons observed for the first time
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists generate low-energy electrons using ultraviolet light.
Published Protein-based nano-'computer' evolves in ability to influence cell behavior
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The first protein-based nano-computing agent that functions as a circuit has been created. The milestone puts them one step closer to developing next-generation cell-based therapies to treat diseases like diabetes and cancer.
Published Effective as a collective: Researchers investigate the swarming behavior of microrobots
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Miniaturization is progressing rapidly in just any field and the trend towards the creation of ever smaller units is also prevalent in the world of robot technology. In the future, minuscule robots used in medical and pharmaceutical applications might be able to transport medication to targeted sites in the body. Statistical physics can contribute to the foundations for the development of such technologies.
Published 'A blessing in disguise!' Physics turning bad into good
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Light is a very delicate and vulnerable property. Light can be absorbed or reflected at the surface of a material depending on the matter's properties or change its form and be converted into thermal energy. Upon reaching a metallic material's surface, light also tends to lose energy to the electrons inside the metal, a broad range of phenomena we call 'optical loss.' Production of ultra-small optical elements that utilize light in various ways is very difficult since the smaller the size of an optical component results in a greater optical loss. However, in recent years, the non-Hermitian theory, which uses optical loss in an entirely different way, has been applied to optics research.
Published Robots and Rights: Confucianism Offers Alternative
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source As robots assume more roles in the world, a new analysis reviewed research on robot rights, concluding that granting rights to robots is a bad idea. Instead, the article looks to Confucianism to offer an alternative.
Published Making the structure of 'fire ice' with nanoparticles
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Cage structures made with nanoparticles could be a route toward making organized nanostructures with mixed materials, and researchers have shown how to achieve this through computer simulations.
Published Twisting under the stroboscope -- Controlling crystal lattices of hybrid solar cell materials with terahertz light
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source To overcome global energy challenges and fight the looming environmental crisis, researchers around the world investigate new materials for converting sunlight into electricity. Some of the most promising candidates for high-efficiency low-cost solar cell applications are based on lead halide perovskite (LHP) semiconductors. Despite record-breaking solar cell prototypes, the microscopic origin of the surprisingly excellent optoelectronic performance of this material class is still not completely understood. Now, an international team of physicists and chemists has demonstrated laser-driven control of fundamental motions of the LHP atomic lattice.
Published Snapshots of photoinjection
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Ultrafast laser physicists from the attoworld team have gained new insights into the dynamics of electrons in solids immediately after photoinjection.
Published Keeping time with an atomic nucleus
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Nuclear clocks could allow scientists to probe the fundamental forces of the universe in the future. Researchers have made a crucial advance in this area as part of an international collaboration.
Published The metaverse can lead to better science
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source One researcher says we should look beyond the hype to see how virtual reality can make scientists more effective. But to realize the benefits, researchers must also plan well and avoid potential pitfalls.
Published Scientists propose revolution in complex systems modelling with quantum technologies
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists have made a significant advancement with quantum technologies that could transform complex systems modelling with an accurate and effective approach that requires significantly re-duced memory.
Published Medical 'microrobots' could one day treat bladder disease, other human illnesses
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Engineers have designed a new class of 'microrobots' several times smaller than the width of a human hair that may be able to treat human illnesses like interstitial cystitis -- a painful bladder disease that affects millions of Americans.
Published Quantum matter breakthrough: Tuning density waves
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists have found a new way to create a crystalline structure called a 'density wave' in an atomic gas. The findings can help us better understand the behavior of quantum matter, one of the most complex problems in physics.
Published Breakthrough in computer chip energy efficiency could cut data center electricity use
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have made a breakthrough toward reducing the energy consumption of the photonic chips used in data centers and supercomputers.
Published Researchers build bee robot that can twist
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A robotic bee that can fly fully in all directions has been developed. With four wings made out of carbon fiber and mylar as well as four light-weight actuators to control each wing, the Bee++ prototype is the first to fly stably in all directions. That includes the tricky twisting motion known as yaw, with the Bee++ fully achieving the six degrees of free movement that a typical flying insect displays.
Published Physical chemists develop photochromic active colloids shedding light on the development of new smart active materials
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source In nature, the skin of cephalopods (animals with tentacles attached to the head) exhibits unparalleled camouflage ability. Their skin contains pigment groups that can sense changes in environmental light conditions and adjust their appearance through the action of pigment cells. Although intricate in nature, this colour-changing ability is fundamentally based on a mechanical mechanism in which pigment particles are folded or unfolded under the control of radial muscles. Inspired by this natural process, a research team forms dynamic photochromic nanoclusters by mixing cyan, magenta and yellow microbeads, achieving photochromism on a macro scale.
Published Wiring up quantum circuits with light
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The number of qubits in superconducting quantum computers has risen rapidly during the last years, but further growth is limited by the need for ultra-cold operating temperatures. Connecting several smaller processors could create larger, more computationally powerful quantum computers -- however doing so poses new challenges. Researchers have now demonstrated quantum entanglement between optical and microwave photons that could lay the foundation for such a future quantum network.