ScienceDaily: Top Technology News

Enabling the 'imagination' of artificial intelligence

Posted: 16 Jul 2021 12:07 PM PDT

Despite advances in deep neural networks, computers still struggle with the very human skill of 'imagination.' Now, a research team has developed an AI that uses human-like capabilities to imagine a never-before-seen object with different attributes.

Air-powered computer memory helps soft robot control movements

Posted: 16 Jul 2021 12:07 PM PDT

Engineers made a pneumatic RAM chip using microfluidic valves instead of electronic transistors. The valves remain sealed against a pressure differential even when disconnected from an air supply line, creating trapped pressure differentials that function as memories and maintain the states of a robot's actuators. Dense arrays of these valves can perform advanced operations and reduce the expensive, bulky, and power-consuming electronic hardware typically used to control pneumatic robots.

Engineers 3D printed a soft robotic hand that can play Nintendo

Posted: 16 Jul 2021 10:15 AM PDT

A team of researchers has 3D printed a soft robotic hand that is agile enough to play Nintendo's Super Mario Bros. -- and win!

First 3D simulation of rat's complete whisker system acts as a tactile 'camera'

Posted: 16 Jul 2021 08:25 AM PDT

Engineers have developed the first full, three-dimensional (3D), dynamic simulation of a rat's complete whisker system, offering rare, realistic insight into how rats obtain tactile information.

New discoveries and insights into the glass transition

Posted: 16 Jul 2021 08:24 AM PDT

When a liquid is cooled rapidly, it gains viscosity and eventually becomes a rigid solid glass. The point at which it does so is known as the glass transition. A collaborative research group has furthered our understanding of this phenomenon through the use of high entropy metallic glasses.

The paradox of a free-electron laser without the laser

Posted: 16 Jul 2021 08:24 AM PDT

A new way of producing coherent light in the ultra-violet spectral region, which points the way to developing brilliant table-top x-ray sources.

Simplified method for calibrating optical tweezers

Posted: 16 Jul 2021 08:24 AM PDT

A team of researchers has developed a simplified method to perform the necessary calibration of optical tweezers. Shortening the measurement time helps to reduce the risk of damage to biological samples due to light-induced heating.

Future information technologies: Topological materials for ultrafast spintronics

Posted: 16 Jul 2021 08:24 AM PDT

Using time- and spin-resolved methods at BESSY II, the physicists explored how, after optical excitation, the complex interplay in the behavior of excited electrons in the bulk and on the surface results in unusual spin dynamics. The work is an important step on the way to spintronic devices based on topological materials for ultrafast information processing.

Galactic fireworks: New ESO images reveal stunning features of nearby galaxies

Posted: 16 Jul 2021 06:10 AM PDT

A team of astronomers has released new observations of nearby galaxies that resemble colourful cosmic fireworks. The images, obtained with the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope (ESO's VLT), show different components of the galaxies in distinct colours, allowing astronomers to pinpoint the locations of young stars and the gas they warm up around them.

Physicists discover simple propulsion mechanism for bodies in dense fluids

Posted: 16 Jul 2021 06:10 AM PDT

Researchers have developed a microswimmer that appears to defy the laws of fluid dynamics: their model, consisting of two beads that are connected by a linear spring, is propelled by completely symmetrical oscillations.

Chemical reactions break free from energy barriers using flyby trajectories

Posted: 15 Jul 2021 04:36 PM PDT

A new study shows that it is possible to use mechanical force to deliberately alter chemical reactions and increase chemical selectivity - a grand challenge of the field.

Unconventional superconductor acts the part of a promising quantum computing platform

Posted: 15 Jul 2021 04:36 PM PDT

Scientists on the hunt for an unconventional kind of superconductor have produced the most compelling evidence to date that they've found one. Researchers have shown that uranium ditelluride displays many of the hallmarks of a topological superconductor -- a material that may unlock new ways to build quantum computers and other futuristic devices.

Researchers discover a new inorganic material with lowest thermal conductivity ever reported

Posted: 15 Jul 2021 11:23 AM PDT

A collaborative research team has discovered a new inorganic material with the lowest thermal conductivity ever reported. This discovery paves the way for the development of new thermoelectric materials that will be critical for a sustainable society.

Extraordinary carbon emissions from El Nino-induced biomass burning estimated

Posted: 15 Jul 2021 11:23 AM PDT

In 2015, massive biomass burning events occurred in Equatorial Asia which released a large amount of carbon into the atmosphere, whose signals were captured by in-situ high-precision measurements onboard commercial passenger aircraft and a cargo ship. A simulation-based analysis with those observations estimated the fire-induced carbon emissions to be 273 Tg C for September - October 2015.

Scientists create rechargeable swimming microrobots using oil and water

Posted: 15 Jul 2021 09:45 AM PDT

A new study has shown that it is possible to create tiny, self-powered swimming robots from three simple ingredients.

Removing the lead hazard from perovskite solar cells

Posted: 15 Jul 2021 06:08 AM PDT

Although a very promising solution for capturing solar energy, perovskite solar cells contain lead, which is toxic to the environment and a serious health hazard. Scientists have now found a very elegant and efficient solution by adding a transparent phosphate salt that doesn't interfere with light-conversion efficiency while preventing lead from seeping into the soil in cases of solar panel failure.

Floating into summer with more buoyant, liquid-proof life jackets, swimsuits

Posted: 14 Jul 2021 10:19 AM PDT

Summertime is here, and that often means long, lazy days at the beach, water skiing and swimming. Life jackets and swimsuits are essential gear for these activities, but if not dried thoroughly, they can develop a gross, musty smell. Now, researchers have developed a one-step method to create a buoyant cotton fabric for these applications that is also oil- and water-repellent.

Lean and mean: Building a multifunctional pressure sensor with 3D printing technology

Posted: 14 Jul 2021 08:06 AM PDT

Pressure sensors are important tools for accurate sensing of applied forces. However, they can mostly sense forces along only a single direction. In a new study, scientists take things to the next level with a multi-directional pressure sensor fabricated using 3D-printed conductive polymer composites and paired with a temperature sensor for resistance calibration. The low cost of such 3D-printed sensors could enable large-scale production of robotic grippers and tactile sensors.

Quantum physics helps destroy cancer cells

Posted: 14 Jul 2021 08:04 AM PDT

Cancer cell death is triggered within three days when X-rays are shone onto tumor tissue containing iodine-carrying nanoparticles. The iodine releases electrons that break the tumor's DNA, leading to cell death.