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Categories: Anthropology: Cultures, Physics: General
Published Optical data storage breakthrough



Physicists have developed a technique with the potential to enhance optical data storage capacity in diamonds. This is possible by multiplexing the storage in the spectral domain.
Published New theory unites Einstein's gravity with quantum mechanics



The prevailing assumption has been that Einstein's theory of gravity must be modified, or 'quantized', in order to fit within quantum theory. This is the approach of two leading candidates for a quantum theory of gravity, string theory and loop quantum gravity. But a new theory challenges that consensus and takes an alternative approach by suggesting that spacetime may be classical -- that is, not governed by quantum theory at all.
Published Quantum physics: Superconducting Nanowires Detect Single Protein Ions



An international research team has achieved a breakthrough in the detection of protein ions: Due to their high energy sensitivity, superconducting nanowire detectors achieve almost 100% quantum efficiency and exceed the detection efficiency of conventional ion detectors at low energies by a factor of up to a 1,000. In contrast to conventional detectors, they can also distinguish macromolecules by their impact energy. This allows for more sensitive detection of proteins and it provides additional information in mass spectrometry.
Published Engineers tackle hard-to-map class of materials



Materials scientists mapped the structural features of a 2D ferroelectric material made of tin and selenium atoms using a new technique that can be applied to other 2D van der Waals ferroelectrics, unlocking their potential for use in electronics and other applications.
Published Paleolithic humans may have understood the properties of rocks for making stone tools



Research suggests that Paleolithic humans in the Middle East selected flint for their cutting tools based on differences in the mechanical properties of the rock. They seem to have purposefully selected the most suitable rocks for fashioning into tools, even being able to distinguish rocks that were unsuitable.
Published Harvesting more solar energy with supercrystals



Hydrogen is a building block for the energy transition. To obtain it with the help of solar energy, researchers have developed new high-performance nanostructures. The material holds a world record for green hydrogen production with sunlight.
Published Control over friction, from small to large scales



Friction is hard to predict and control, especially since surfaces that come in contact are rarely perfectly flat. New experiments demonstrate that the amount of friction between two silicon surfaces, even at large scales, is determined by the forming and rupturing of microscopic chemical bonds between them. This makes it possible to control the amount of friction using surface chemistry techniques.
Published Researchers show an old law still holds for quirky quantum materials



Long before researchers discovered the electron and its role in generating electrical current, they knew about electricity and were exploring its potential. One thing they learned early on was that metals were great conductors of both electricity and heat. And in 1853, two scientists showed that those two admirable properties of metals were somehow related: At any given temperature, the ratio of electronic conductivity to thermal conductivity was roughly the same in any metal they tested. This so-called Wiedemann-Franz law has held ever since -- except in quantum materials. Now, a theoretical argument put forth by physicists suggests that the law should, in fact, approximately hold for one type of quantum material, the cuprate superconductors.
Published Study of ancient British oral microbiomes reveals shift following Black Death



The Second Plague Pandemic of the mid-14th century, also known as the Black Death, killed 30-60 percent of the European population and profoundly changed the course of European history. New research suggests that this plague, potentially through resulting changes in diet and hygiene, may also be associated with a shift in the composition of the human oral microbiome toward one that contributes to chronic diseases in modern-day humans.
Published What was thought of as noise, points to new type of ultrafast magnetic switching



Researchers discover a new type of ultrafast magnetic switching by investigating fluctuations that normally tend to interfere with experiments as noise.
Published The secret life of an electromagnon



Scientists have revealed how lattice vibrations and spins talk to each other in a hybrid excitation known as an electromagnon. To achieve this, they used a unique combination of experiments on an X-ray free electron laser. Understanding this fundamental process at the atomic level opens the door to ultrafast control of magnetism with light.
Published Nextgen computing: Hard-to-move quasiparticles glide up pyramid edges



A new kind of 'wire' for moving excitons could help enable a new class of devices, perhaps including room temperature quantum computers.
Published Compact accelerator technology achieves major energy milestone



Researchers have demonstrated a compact particle accelerator less than 20 meters long that produces an electron beam with an energy of 10 billion electron volts (10 GeV). There are only two other accelerators currently operating in the U.S. that can reach such high electron energies, but both are approximately 3 kilometers long. This type of accelerator is called a wakefield laser accelerator.
Published New way of searching for dark matter



Wondering whether whether Dark Matter particles actually are produced inside a jet of standard model particles, led researchers to explore a new detector signature known as semi-visible jets, which scientists never looked at before.
Published 'Strange metal' is strangely quiet in noise experiment



Experiments have provided the first direct evidence that electricity seems to flow through 'strange metals' in an unusual liquid-like form.
Published First experimental evidence of hopfions in crystals opens up new dimension for future technology



Hopfions, magnetic spin structures predicted decades ago, have become a hot and challenging research topic in recent years. New findings open up new fields in experimental physics: identifying other crystals in which hopfions are stable, studying how hopfions interact with electric and spin currents, hopfion dynamics, and more.
Published Neanderthals were the world's first artists, research reveals



Recent research has shown that engravings in a cave in La Roche-Cotard (France), which has been sealed for thousands of years, were actually made by Neanderthals. The findings reveal that the Neanderthals were the first humans with an appreciation of art.
Published 'Woman the hunter': Studies aim to correct history



New research combined both physiological and archaeological evidence to argue that not only did prehistoric women engage in the practice of hunting, but their female anatomy and biology would have made them intrinsically better suited for it.
Published Research reveals rare metal could offer revolutionary switch for future quantum devices



Quantum scientists have discovered a rare phenomenon that could hold the key to creating a 'perfect switch' in quantum devices which flips between being an insulator and superconductor.
Published New computer code for mechanics of tissues and cells in three dimensions



Biological materials are made of individual components, including tiny motors that convert fuel into motion. This creates patterns of movement, and the material shapes itself with coherent flows by constant consumption of energy. Such continuously driven materials are called 'active matter'. The mechanics of cells and tissues can be described by active matter theory, a scientific framework to understand shape, flows, and form of living materials. The active matter theory consists of many challenging mathematical equations. Scientists have now developed an algorithm, implemented in an open-source supercomputer code, that can for the first time solve the equations of active matter theory in realistic scenarios. These solutions bring us a big step closer to solving the century-old riddle of how cells and tissues attain their shape and to designing artificial biological machines.