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Categories: Environmental: Water, Physics: General

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Engineers have developed an ultra-sensitive sensor made with graphene that can detect extraordinarily low concentrations of lead ions in water. The device achieves a record limit of detection of lead down to the femtomolar range, which is one million times more sensitive than previous technologies.

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Scientists have used a combination of scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) and computational modeling to get a closer look and deeper understanding of tantalum oxide. When this amorphous oxide layer forms on the surface of tantalum -- a superconductor that shows great promise for making the 'qubit' building blocks of a quantum computer -- it can impede the material's ability to retain quantum information. Learning how the oxide forms may offer clues as to why this happens -- and potentially point to ways to prevent quantum coherence loss.

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Scientists completed several successful attempts to fire 28 kilojoules of laser energy at small capsules filled with deuterium and tritium fuel, causing the capsules to implode and produce a plasma hot enough to initiate fusion reactions between the fuel nuclei. These results demonstrate an effective 'spark plug' for direct-drive methods of inertial confinement fusion.

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Scientists have discovered that adding a layer of magnesium improves the properties of tantalum, a superconducting material that shows great promise for building qubits, the basis of quantum computers. The scientists show that a thin layer of magnesium keeps tantalum from oxidizing, improves its purity, and raises the temperature at which it operates as a superconductor. All three may increase tantalum's ability to hold onto quantum information in qubits.

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Many people are familiar with facial recognition systems that unlock smartphones and game systems or allow access to our bank accounts online. But the current technology can require boxy projectors and lenses. Now, researchers report on a sleeker 3D surface imaging system with flatter, simplified optics. In proof-of-concept demonstrations, the new system recognized the face of Michelangelo's David just as well as an existing smartphone system.

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Researchers have succeeded in generating a logical qubit from a single light pulse that has the inherent capacity to correct errors.

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A new study provides the first evidence that the Arctic's frozen soil is the dominant force shaping Earth's northernmost rivers, confining them to smaller areas and shallower valleys than rivers to the south. But as climate change weakens Arctic permafrost, the researchers calculate that every 1 degree Celsius of global warming could release as much carbon as 35 million cars emit in a year as polar waterways expand and churn up the thawing soil.

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Researchers recently succeeded in producing a highly durable time crystal that lived millions of times longer than could be shown in previous experiments. By doing so, they have corroborated an extremely interesting phenomenon that Nobel Prize laureate Frank Wilczek postulated around ten years ago and which had already found its way into science fiction movies.

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Researchers have developed a transmissive thin scintillator using perovskite nanocrystals, designed for real-time tracking and counting of single protons. The exceptional sensitivity is attributed to biexcitonic radiative emission generated through proton-induced upconversion and impact ionization.

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Researchers have gained new insights into the development of the light-induced ferroelectric state in SrTiO3. They exposed the material to mid-infrared and terahertz frequency laser pulses and found that the fluctuations of its atomic positions are reduced under these conditions. This may explain why the dipolar structure is more ordered than in equilibrium and why the laser pulses induce a ferroelectric state in the material.

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A research findings show that different AOM lineages employ different regulatory strategies for ammonia or urea utilization, thereby minimizing direct competition with one another and allowing for coexistence.

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Millions of tons of plastic waste enter the oceans each year. The sun's ultraviolet light and ocean turbulence break down these plastics into invisible nanoparticles that threaten marine ecosystems. In a new study, engineers have presented clear images of nanoplastics in ocean water off the coasts of China, South Korea and the United States, and in the Gulf of Mexico. These tiny plastic particles, which originated from such consumer products as water bottles, food packaging and clothing, were found to have surprising diversity in shape and chemical composition.

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Trees are struggling to sequester heat-trapping carbon dioxide (CO2) in warmer, drier climates, meaning that they may no longer serve as a solution for offsetting humanity's carbon footprint as the planet continues to warm, according to a new study.

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Researchers describe the discovery of a new method that transforms everyday materials like glass into materials scientists can use to make quantum computers.

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A joint research team has successfully induced polarization and polarity in metallic substances.

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Carbon nanostructures could become easier to design and synthesize thanks to a machine learning method that predicts how they grow on metal surfaces. The new approach will make it easier to exploit the unique chemical versatility of carbon nanotechnology.

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Green roofs have become increasingly popular thanks to their benefits related to climate adaptation, mitigation, and urban biodiversity management. But, in the U.S., green roofs are typically planted with non-native plants in sterile soils, and their effectiveness declines over time. A new study finds that managing green roof soil microbes boosts healthy urban soil development, which is a methodology that could be applied to support climate resilience in cities.

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Researchers have developed a pioneering method to precisely manipulate ultrafast spin waves in antiferromagnetic materials using tailored light pulses.

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As sea otters recolonize a California estuary, they are restoring its degraded geology by keeping populations of overgrazing marsh crabs in check, a new study shows. The crabs' appetite for plant roots, and their tunneling behavior had caused many of the estuary's marshes and creekbanks to erode and collapse in the otters' absence. Today, erosion has slowed by up to 90% in areas with large otter populations and marshes and streambeds are restabilizing.

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An international team has developed a new method to make and manipulate a widely studied class of high-temperature superconductors. This technique should pave the way for the creation of unusual forms of superconductivity in previously unattainable materials.