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Categories: Chemistry: Thermodynamics, Mathematics: General
Published What really matters in multi-story building design?


The impact of multi-story building design considerations on embodied carbon emissions, cost, and operational energy has been revealed.
Published Robot caterpillar demonstrates new approach to locomotion for soft robotics


Researchers have demonstrated a caterpillar-like soft robot that can move forward, backward and dip under narrow spaces. The caterpillar-bot's movement is driven by a novel pattern of silver nanowires that use heat to control the way the robot bends, allowing users to steer the robot in either direction.
Published Molecular teamwork makes the organic dream work


Molecular engineers have triggered a domino-like structural transition in an organic semiconductor. The energy- and time-saving phenomenon may enhance the performance of smartwatches, solar cells, and other organic electronics.
Published Bushfire safe rooms may save lives


Researchers have built and tested a bushfire safe room that exceeds current Australian standards and could keep people alive or protect valuables when evacuation is no longer an option.
Published Activity deep in Earth affects the global magnetic field


Compass readings that do not show the direction of true north and interference with the operations of satellites are a few of the problems caused by peculiarities of the Earth's magnetic field. The magnetic field radiates around the world and far into space, but it is set by processes that happen deep within the Earth's core, where temperatures exceed 5,000-degrees C. New research from geophysicists suggests that the way this super-hot core is cooled is key to understanding the causes of the peculiarities -- or anomalies, as scientists call them -- of the Earth's magnetic field.
Published Researcher solves nearly 60-year-old game theory dilemma


A researcher has solved a nearly 60-year-old game theory dilemma called the wall pursuit game, with implications for better reasoning about autonomous systems such as driver-less vehicles.
Published Game-changing high-performance semiconductor material could help slash heat emissions


Researchers have engineered a material with the potential to dramatically cut the amount of heat power plants release into the atmosphere.
Published Thermal conductivity of metal organic frameworks


Metal organic frameworks, or MOFs, are kind of like plastic building block toys. The pieces are simple to connect, yet they're capable of building highly sophisticated structures.
Published New 'camera' with shutter speed of 1 trillionth of a second sees through dynamic disorder of atoms


Researchers have developed a new 'camera' that sees the local disorder in materials. Its key feature is a variable shutter speed: because the disordered atomic clusters are moving, when the team used a slow shutter, the dynamic disorder blurred out, but when they used a fast shutter, they could see it. The method uses neutrons to measure atomic positions with a shutter speed of around one picosecond, a trillion times faster than normal camera shutters.
Published Stick to your lane: Hidden order in chaotic crowds


Mathematical research brings new understanding of crowd formation and behavior.
Published Think you're good at math? Study shows it may be because you had equitable math teachers


A new study finds that high school students identify more with math if they see their math teacher treating everyone in the class equitably, especially in racially diverse schools. While the relationship between teacher equity and math identity was evident across races, there was an interesting exception. Black students, in general, had strong math identities, regardless of their teacher's actions. Learning about the factors that affect student math identity is important because a student's attitude towards the subject influences the courses that they take as well as their future career selections. This study suggests that teachers may have a larger role to play in helping students develop a positive math identity than previously recognized.
Published Researchers propose a simple, inexpensive approach to fabricating carbon nanotube wiring on plastic films


Researchers have developed an inexpensive method for fabricating multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) on a plastic film. The proposed method is simple, can be applied under ambient conditions, reuses MWNTs, and produces flexible wires of tunable resistances without requiring additional steps. It eliminates several drawbacks of current fabrication methods, making it useful for large-scale manufacturing of carbon wiring for flexible all-carbon devices.
Published Artificial Intelligence from a psychologist's point of view


Researchers test cognitive abilities of the language model GPT-3.
Published New method creates material that could create the next generation of solar cells


Perovskites, a family of materials with unique electric properties, show promise for use in a variety fields, including next-generation solar cells. A team of scientists has now created a new process to fabricate large perovskite devices that is more cost- and time-effective than previously possible and that they said may accelerate future materials discovery.
Published Reaching like an octopus: A biology-inspired model opens the door to soft robot control


Octopus arms coordinate nearly infinite degrees of freedom to perform complex movements such as reaching, grasping, fetching, crawling, and swimming. How these animals achieve such a wide range of activities remains a source of mystery, amazement, and inspiration. Part of the challenge comes from the intricate organization and biomechanics of the internal muscles.
Published Theory can sort order from chaos in complex quantum systems


Theoretical chemists have developed a theory that can predict the threshold at which quantum dynamics switches from 'orderly' to 'random,' as shown through research using large-scale computations on photosynthesis models.
Published Neutrons reveal key to extraordinary heat transport


Warming a crystal of the mineral fresnoite, scientists discovered that excitations called phasons carried heat three times farther and faster than phonons, the excitations that usually carry heat through a material.
Published Physicists give the first law of thermodynamics a makeover


Physicists at West Virginia University have made a breakthrough on an age-old limitation of the first law of thermodynamics.
Published Study offers details on using electric fields to tune thermal properties of ferroelectric materials


New research sheds light on how electric fields can be used to alter the thermal properties of ferroelectric materials, allowing engineers to manipulate the flow of heat through the materials. Ferroelectric materials are used in a wide variety of applications, from ultrasound devices to memory storage technologies.
Published Reactive fabrics respond to changes in temperature


New textiles change shape when they heat up, giving designers a wide range of new options. In addition to offering adjustable aesthetics, responsive smart fabrics could also help monitor people’s health, improve thermal insulation, and provide new tools for managing room acoustics and interior design.