Browsing Tag
materials science
50 posts
Scientists flip quantum switch for terahertz-speed electronics
Scientists have discovered a way to switch a quantum material between an insulator and a conductor on demand, a breakthrough that could lead to electronics 1,000 times faster.
A ‘printing press’ for optics: Researchers create lenses that shift light’s color
For the first time, researchers have created a single flat lens that can focus light to a sharp point and change its color, converting invisible infrared light into a visible beam.
A new spin on memory: Physicists find magnet that could slash computing energy use
Researchers have demonstrated a new form of magnetism that can be switched with a small voltage, a key breakthrough for developing ultra-efficient spintronic memory.
Aluminium foil that can clean water: we’ve developed a coating which attracts and traps dangerous microbes
John Fredricks/NurPhoto Taufiq Ihsan, Universitas Andalas More than 2 billion people around the world do not have access…
Squid have tiny teeth in their suckers – scientists could use their unique properties to make self-healing materials
An electron-microscopy image of the teeth inside a squid sucker. Abdon Pena-Francesch Abdon Pena-Francesch, University of Michigan When…
How a futuristic material is able to change its properties from soft to rigid, and back again
Materials that can change their physical properties would be suitable for many purposes. (Shutterstock) Damiano Pasini, McGill University…
‘Everywhere we looked we found evidence’: the godfather of microplastics on 20 years of pollution research and the fight for global action
University of Plymouth, CC BY-ND Richard Thompson, University of Plymouth Thirty years ago, while counting barnacles, limpets and…
Chemists Uncover New Insights into Light-Matter Interaction in Silicon
At a Glance A team of chemists at the University of California, Irvine, has made a groundbreaking discovery…
What are nanoplastics? An engineer explains concerns about particles too small to see
You can’t see them, but there likely are nanoplastics in this Mediterranean seawater. Lisa Schaetzle, Moment, via Getty…
Body armour made from silk is being developed – but this apparently cutting-edge idea is centuries old
FeyginFoto / Shutterstock Lloyd Strickland, Manchester Metropolitan University Separate teams of Chinese and American scientists are reported to…