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Categories: Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry, Physics: General
Published Groundwork for future ultra-precise timing links to geosynchronous satellites



Scientists have demonstrated a capability long sought by physicists: transmitting extremely precise time signals through the air between far-flung locations at powers that are compatible with future space-based missions. The results could enable time transfer from the ground to satellites in geosynchronous orbit with femtosecond precision -- 10,000 times better than the existing state-of-the-art satellite approaches. It also would allow for successful synchronization using the bare minimum timing signal strength, which would make the system highly robust in the face of atmospheric disturbances.
Published Engineers 'strike gold' with innovation that recovers heavy metals from biosolids



Engineers have developed a cost-effective and environmentally friendly way to remove heavy metals, including copper and zinc, from biosolids. The team's work advances other methods for heavy-metal removal by recycling the acidic liquid waste that is produced during the recovery phase, instead of throwing it away.
Published Clean, sustainable fuels made 'from thin air' and plastic waste



Researchers have demonstrated how carbon dioxide can be captured from industrial processes -- or even directly from the air -- and transformed into clean, sustainable fuels using just the energy from the Sun.
Published Engineers develop a soft, printable, metal-free electrode



Engineers developed a metal-free, Jelly-like material that is as soft and tough as biological tissue and can conduct electricity similarly to conventional metals. The new material, which is a type of high-performance conducting polymer hydrogel, may one day replace metals in the electrodes of medical devices.
Published Cleaner air with a cold catalytic converter



Although passenger vehicle catalytic converters have been mandatory for over 30 years, there is still plenty of room for improvement. For instance, they only work correctly when the engine is sufficiently hot, which is not always the case, especially with hybrid vehicles. Researchers have now developed an improved catalyst that can properly purify exhaust gases even at room temperature.
Published A 'spy' in the belly



To ensure that wounds remain tightly sealed in the abdomen after surgery, researchers have developed a patch with a sensor function. The polymer patch warns before the occurrence of dangerous leaks on sutures in the gastrointestinal tract take hold, while closes the areas on its own. A new material now enables a fast, easy and non-invasive leak diagnosis.
Published Terahertz-to-visible light conversion for future telecommunications



A study demonstrates that graphene-based materials can be used to efficiently convert high-frequency signals into visible light, and that this mechanism is ultrafast and tunable. These outcomes open the path to exciting applications in near-future information and communication technologies.
Published Nanomaterials: 3D printing of glass without sintering



A new process enables printing of nanometer-scale quartz glass structures directly onto semiconductor chips. A hybrid organic-inorganic polymer resin is used as feedstock material for 3D printing of silicon dioxide. Since the process works without sintering, the required temperatures are significantly lower. Simultaneously, increased resolution enables visible-light nanophotonics.
Published Photosynthesis, key to life on Earth, starts with a single photon



A cutting-edge experiment has revealed the quantum dynamics of one of nature's most crucial processes.
Published For experimental physicists, quantum frustration leads to fundamental discovery



A team of physicists recently announced that they have discovered a new phase of matter. Called the 'chiral bose-liquid state,' the discovery opens a new path in the age-old effort to understand the nature of the physical world.
Published Metamaterials with built-in frustration have mechanical memory



Researchers have discovered how to design materials that necessarily have a point or line where the material doesn't deform under stress, and that even remember how they have been poked or squeezed in the past. These results could be used in robotics and mechanical computers, while similar design principles could be used in quantum computers.
Published New technique in error-prone quantum computing makes classical computers sweat



Today's quantum computers often calculate the wrong answer because of noisy environments that interfere with the quantum entanglement of qubits. IBM Quantum has pioneered a technique that accounts for the noise to achieve reliable results. They tested this error mitigation strategy against supercomputer simulations run by physicists, and for the hardest calculations, the quantum computer bested the supercomputer. This is evidence for the utility of today's noisy quantum computers for performing real-world calculations.
Published Hybrid AI-powered computer vision combines physics and big data



Researchers have laid out a new approach to enhance artificial intelligence-powered computer vision technologies by adding physics-based awareness to data-driven techniques. The study offered an overview of a hybrid methodology designed to improve how AI-based machinery sense, interact and respond to its environment in real time -- as in how autonomous vehicles move and maneuver, or how robots use the improved technology to carry out precision actions.
Published Shining potential of missing atoms



Single photons have applications in quantum computation, information networks, and sensors, and these can be emitted by defects in the atomically thin insulator hexagonal boron nitride (hBN). Missing nitrogen atoms have been suggested to be the atomic structure responsible for this activity, but it is difficult to controllably remove them. A team has now shown that single atoms can be kicked out using a scanning transmission electron microscope under ultra-high vacuum.
Published A baking soda solution for clean hydrogen storage



Scientists investigate the promising properties of a common, Earth-abundant salt.
Published A novel, completely solid, rechargeable air battery



Solid-state batteries use solid electrodes and solid electrolytes, unlike the more commonly known lithium-ion batteries, which use liquid electrolytes. Solid-state batteries overcome various challenges associated with liquid-based batteries, such as flammability, limited voltage, unstable reactants, and poor long-term cyclability and strength. Making advances in this field, researchers recently demonstrated an all-solid-state rechargeable air battery composed of a redox-active organic negative electrode and a proton-conductive polymer electrolyte.
Published New material transforms light, creating new possibilities for sensors



A new class of materials that can absorb low energy light and transform it into higher energy light might lead to more efficient solar panels, more accurate medical imaging and better night vision goggles.
Published Breaking through the limits of stretchable semiconductors with molecular brakes that harness light



A research team develops a highly stretchable and high-performance organic polymer semiconductor.
Published Mirror, mirror on the wall... Now we know there are chiral phonons for sure



New findings settle the dispute: phonons can be chiral. This fundamental concept, discovered using circular X-ray light, sees phonons twisting like a corkscrew through quartz.
Published Sustainable technique to manufacture chemicals



A newly published study details a novel mechanochemistry method that can produce chemicals using less energy and without the use of solvents that produce toxic waste.