ScienceDaily: Matter & Energy News |
| Machine learning for morphable materials Posted: 12 Jan 2022 12:49 PM PST Flat materials that can morph into three-dimensional shapes have potential applications in architecture, medicine, robotics, space travel, and much more. But programming these shape changes requires complex and time-consuming computations. Now, researchers have developed a platform that uses machine learning to program the transformation of 2D stretchable surfaces into specific 3D shapes. |
| Listening to the leaves: Adding bioinspired veins to foamed polymers Posted: 12 Jan 2022 11:51 AM PST Vascular systems found in trees transport vital nutrients from root, to branch, to leaf. In a new study, researchers have developed a chemical process to mimic this arboreal architecture in foamed polymers, enabling directional fluid transport and adding structure throughout the material. |
| Face masks cut distance airborne pathogens could travel in half, new study finds Posted: 12 Jan 2022 09:15 AM PST The effectiveness of face masks has been a hotly debated topic since the emergence of COVID-19. However, a new study offers more evidence that they work. Researchers found that face masks reduce the distance airborne pathogens could travel, when speaking or coughing, by more than half compared to not wearing a mask. |
| Newly discovered type of 'strange metal' could lead to deep insights Posted: 12 Jan 2022 09:14 AM PST A new discovery could help scientists to understand 'strange metals,' a class of materials that are related to high-temperature superconductors and share fundamental quantum attributes with black holes. |
| Rubber material holds key to long-lasting, safer EV batteries Posted: 12 Jan 2022 09:14 AM PST For electric vehicles (EVs) to become mainstream, they need cost-effective, safer, longer-lasting batteries that won't explode during use or harm the environment. Researchers may have found a promising alternative to conventional lithium-ion batteries made from a common material: rubber. |
| Recycling already considered in the development of new battery materials Posted: 12 Jan 2022 07:56 AM PST Enormous potential consists in the circular value chain of batteries. A review article on battery recycling provides an overview of the challenges of new material concepts for battery recycling and 'Design for Recycling' as a promising approach of a sustainable battery economy. |
| Thaw of permafrost has vast impact on built environment Posted: 12 Jan 2022 07:56 AM PST Permafrost has a central role in the sustainable development of the Arctic region. The thaw of permafrost is set to damage buildings and roads, leading to tens of billions of euros in additional costs in the near future, according to an international review. |
| Photon pairs are more sensitive to rotations than single photons Posted: 12 Jan 2022 07:56 AM PST Quantum states of light have enabled novel optical sensing schemes, e.g., for measuring distance or position, with precisions impossible to achieve with classical light sources such as lasers. The field of quantum metrology has now been pushed even further as a team of researchers showed that photons that are engineered to be entangled in complex spatial structures have, due to quantum phenomena, an advantage for sensing the smallest rotations. The new method allows for more precise measurement than what could be achieved by conventional means. |
| Clothes dryers are an underappreciated source of airborne microfibers Posted: 12 Jan 2022 06:39 AM PST No one likes when their favorite clothes develop holes or unravel after many laundry cycles. But what happens to the fragments of fabric and stitching that come off? Although it's known that washing clothes releases microfibers into wastewater, it's unclear how drying impacts the environment. Now, a pilot study reports that a single dryer could discharge up to 120 million microfibers annually -- considerably more than from washing machines. |
| Molecular paddlewheels propel sodium ions through next-generation batteries Posted: 11 Jan 2022 04:30 PM PST Materials scientists have revealed paddlewheel-like molecular dynamics that help push sodium ions through a quickly evolving class of solid-state batteries. The insights should guide researchers in their pursuit of a new generation of sodium-ion batteries to replace lithium-ion technology in a wide range of applications such as data centers and home energy storage. |
| Common household cleaner can boost effort to harvest fusion energy on Earth Posted: 11 Jan 2022 04:30 PM PST Path-setting findings demonstrate for the first time a novel regime for confining heat in stellarators. The demonstration could advance the twisty design as a blueprint for future fusion power plants. |
| Wearable air sampler assesses personal exposure to SARS-CoV-2 Posted: 11 Jan 2022 09:04 AM PST Researchers have developed a passive air sampler clip that can help assess personal exposure to SARS-CoV-2, which could be especially helpful for workers in high-risk settings, such as restaurants or health care facilities. |
| Terahertz radiation source: Compact and simple Posted: 11 Jan 2022 08:20 AM PST Researchers have now succeeded in producing an extremely simple and compact source of terahertz radiation: An oscillator with double resonant-tunneling diodes. Its radiation power significantly outperforms similar devices. |
| Researchers develop new method to increase effectiveness of nanomedicines Posted: 11 Jan 2022 08:20 AM PST Researchers have discovered a new, more effective method of preventing the body's own proteins from treating nanomedicines like foreign invaders, by covering the nanoparticles with a coating to suppress the immune response that dampens the therapy's effectiveness. |
| Overcoming a bottleneck in carbon dioxide conversion Posted: 11 Jan 2022 08:19 AM PST A new study reveals why some attempts to convert carbon dioxide into fuel have failed, and offers possible solutions. |
| Ions in the machine: How simple liquids like water can perform complex calculations Posted: 11 Jan 2022 07:00 AM PST To demonstrate the potential of chemical dynamics as a computing resource, researchers developed a method for building physical reservoirs based on the electrochemical reactions of solutions placed on electrodes. Polyoxometalate in solution was found to predict periodic signals well. In contrast, distilled water was suitable for solving a second-order nonlinear problem. These findings demonstrate the potential for electrochemical ion reactions in low-cost and energy efficient reservoir computing systems. |
| Hidden order in windswept sand Posted: 11 Jan 2022 07:00 AM PST Researchers have analyzed an extensive collection of sand samples from so-called megaripple fields around the world and gained new insights into the composition of these sand waves. These could help settle debates about the mechanistic origin of some recently discovered enigmatic extraterrestrial sand structures and improve our ability to infer information about past weather and climate events from sediment records. |
| Physicists detect a hybrid particle held together by uniquely intense 'glue' Posted: 10 Jan 2022 03:49 PM PST Physicists detected a hybrid particle that is a mashup of an electron and a phonon, 'glued' together with an exceptionally strong bond. It may be possible to tune the two components in tandem, enabling scientists to apply voltage or light to a material to tune not just its electrical properties but also its magnetism. |
| Migrating holes help catalysts be productive Posted: 10 Jan 2022 03:48 PM PST A theoretical model suggests electron holes that propagate at active sites on a catalyst migrate, triggering other sites that continue the process. |
| Personalizing treatment for severe limb injuries Posted: 10 Jan 2022 11:53 AM PST Scientists have developed an innovative technique using small wearable sensors to gather data on how people -- who have suffered from a traumatic hand amputation -- use a prosthesis versus a transplanted hand in everyday life. So far, the data shows people with a transplanted hand demonstrate a more balanced use of their hands than those who use a prosthesis. |
| Water scarcity may spur improvements at manufacturing facilities Posted: 10 Jan 2022 08:41 AM PST As climate change continues and the incidences of drought rise, water is increasingly becoming scarce for manufacturing. But a new study suggests that there is a silver lining -- companies that use water may pivot to become efficient and more eco-friendly during periods of water scarcity. |
| Scientists reduce all-solid-state battery resistance by heating Posted: 07 Jan 2022 05:44 AM PST All-solid-state batteries are now one step closer to becoming the powerhouse of next-generation electronics as researchers introduce a strategy to restore their low electrical resistance. They also explore the underlying reduction mechanism, paving the way for a more fundamental understanding of the workings of all-solid-state lithium batteries. |
| New color-coded test quickly reveals if medical nanoparticles deliver their payload Posted: 05 Jan 2022 12:13 PM PST Researchers have developed a color-coded test that quickly signals whether newly developed nanoparticles -- ultra small compartments designed to ferry medicines, vaccines and other therapies -- deliver their cargo into target cells. The new testing tool could advance the search for next-generation biological medicines. The technology builds upon nanoparticles currently used against cancer and eye disease, and in vaccines for viruses including SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. |
| High levels of PFAS found in anti-fogging sprays and cloths, study finds Posted: 05 Jan 2022 06:45 AM PST The anti-fogging sprays and cloths many people use to prevent condensation on their eyeglasses when wearing a mask or face shield may contain high levels of per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS), a new study finds. |
| Coughing downward reduces spread of respiratory droplets, study finds Posted: 04 Jan 2022 08:58 AM PST Researchers show models driving how respiratory droplets fell from a mannequin inside a water tunnel, which was inclined at different angles to mimic a person going up and down stairs. Using glass microspheres and lasers, they could visualize the flow motion behind the mannequins. |
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