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Category: materials – Page 5

For the first time, scientists have observed a collection of particles, also known as a quasiparticle, that’s massless when moving one direction but has mass in the other direction. The quasiparticle, called a semi-Dirac fermion, was first theorized 16 years ago, but was only recently spotted inside a crystal of semi-metal material called ZrSiS. The observation of the quasiparticle opens the door to future advances in a range of emerging technologies from batteries to sensors, according to the researchers.

The team, led by scientists at Penn State and Columbia University, recently published their discovery in the journal Physical Review X.

“This was totally unexpected,” said Yinming Shao, assistant professor of physics at Penn State and lead author on the paper. “We weren’t even looking for a semi-Dirac fermion when we started working with this material, but we were seeing signatures we didn’t understand—and it turns out we had made the first observation of these wild quasiparticles that sometimes move like they have mass and sometimes move like they have none.”

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Scientists are exploring 2D materials — sheets just one atom thick — with unique and promising electronic properties.

When two of these sheets are layered at specific angles, they can exhibit remarkable behaviors, such as superconductivity. Antonija Grubišić-Čabo, a materials scientist at the University of Groningen, and her colleagues investigated one such “twisted” material and found that it behaved in ways that defied existing theoretical predictions.

2D Materials and Superconductivity.

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Conventional photonic devices exhibit static optical properties that are design-dependent, including the material’s refractive index and geometrical parameters. However, they still possess attractive optical responses for applications and are already exploited in devices across various fields. Hydrogel photonics has emerged as a promising solution in the field of active photonics by providing primarily deformable geometric parameters in response to external stimuli. Over the past few years, various studies have been undertaken to attain stimuli-responsive photonic devices with tunable optical properties. Herein, we focus on the recent advancements in hydrogel-based photonics and micro/nanofabrication techniques for hydrogels. In particular, fabrication techniques for hydrogel photonic devices are categorized into film growth, photolithography (PL), electron-beam lithography (EBL), and nanoimprint lithography (NIL). Furthermore, we provide insights into future directions and prospects for deformable hydrogel photonics, along with their potential practical applications.

Microsystems & Nanoengineering volume 10, Article number: 1 (2024) Cite this article.

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The geometry or shape of a quantum system is mathematically expressed by a tool called the quantum geometric tensor (QGT). It also explains how a quantum system’s state changes when we tweak certain parameters such as magnetic field or temperature.

For the first time, researchers at MIT have successfully measured the QGT of electrons in solid materials. Scientists have been well aware of the methods to calculate the energy and motion of electrons, but understanding their quantum shape was only possible in theory until now.

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Researchers have discovered magnetic fields deep within the merging galaxy Arp 220, suggesting these fields might be crucial for efficient star formation, acting like a cosmic lid that prevents the “boiling over” of star-forming materials.

This breakthrough, observed using the Submillimeter Array in Hawaii, could explain why some galaxies produce stars more effectively than others.

Star Formation Secrets Unveiled

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Scientists from the National University of Singapore (NUS) have developed a highly effective and general molecular design that enables an enhancement in radioluminescence within organometallic scintillators by more than three orders of magnitude. This enhancement harnesses X-ray-induced triplet exciton recycling within lanthanide metal complexes.

Detection of ionizing radiation is crucial in diverse fields, such as medical radiography, and astronomy. As a result, significant efforts have been dedicated to the development of luminescent materials that respond to X-rays.

However, current high-performance scintillators are almost exclusively limited to ceramic and perovskite materials, which face issues such as complex manufacturing processes, environmental toxicity, self-absorption and stability problems.

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Astronomers have made a startling discovery. Using data from the eRosita X-ray instrument, researchers say they’ve discovered a “cosmic tunnel” that connects our solar system to other stars.

Scientists have long known that our solar system exists in a Local Hot Bubble. This bubble is believed to have formed following several supernovas over the past several million years and is estimated to be around 300 light-years across.

Using data from the eRosita, researchers from the Max Planck Institute say they found evidence of a cosmic tunnel stretching from our solar system out toward the Centaurus constellation. The tunnel appears to move through the material that makes up the Local Hot Bubble.

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