Category Physics

A High-Performance Semiconductor Material could help Slash Heat Emissions

A game-changing, high-performance semiconductor material could help slash heat emissions
WVU researchers Sergio Andres Paredes Navia, Cesar Octavio Romo de la Cruz, Liang Liang and Ellena Gemmen use an electron microscope to study the nanostructure of a new oxide ceramic material with the potential to make thermoelectric generators efficient enough to capture a significant portion of the waste heat that industrial systems like power plants emit. Credit: West Virginia Universit

Researchers at West Virginia University have engineered a material with the potential to dramatically cut the amount of heat power plants release into the atmosphere.

A team led by Xueyan Song, professor and George B. Berry Chair of Engineering at the Benjamin M...

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New Ultrasound Method could lead to Easier Disease Diagnosis

A doctor conducting an ultrasound on a patient's kidneys

University of Sheffield researchers have developed a new ultrasound method that could help to more easily diagnose abnormal tissue, scarring and cancer. A new ultrasound method that can measure the level of tension in human tissue for the first time – a key indicator of disease – has been developed by researchers from the University of Sheffield.

The breakthrough, made by Dr Artur Gower from the University’s Department of Mechanical Engineering, together with researchers from Harvard, Tsinghua University, and the University of Galway, could be used to build new ultrasound machines that are able to better diagnose abnormal tissue, scarring, and cancer.

Ultrasounds use sound waves to create images of organs inside the human body...

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Scientists Transform Algae into Unique Functional Perovskites with Tunable Properties

Calcitic shells of the dinoflagellate L. granifera. A) The calcitic shells of L. granifera exhibiting a porous ultrastructure. B) A single shell of L. granifera. C) Raman spectrum from a single shell confirming its calcitic nature. D) Electron back-scattering diffraction (EBSD) map and E) a corresponding (0001) pole figure of a single polished shell demonstrating that it consists of single crystalline domains where the c-axis of calcite is pointing radially from the center of the shell outwards. The colors in (E) correlate with similarly colored areas in (D). Scale bars: (A) 50 µm, (B) 5 µm and (D) is 5 µm.

Perovskites are materials that are increasingly popular for a wide range of applications because of their remarkable electrical, optical, and photonic properties...

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New Material provides Breakthrough in ‘Softbotics’

Engineering breakthrough in softbotics
Robotic snail powered by breakthrough self-healing, electrically conductive material. Credit: Carnegie Mellon University College of Engineering

Carnegie Mellon University engineers have developed a soft material with metal-like conductivity and self-healing properties that is the first to maintain enough electrical adhesion to support digital electronics and motors. This advance, published in Nature Electronics, marks a breakthrough in softbotics and the fields of robotics, electronics, and medicine.

At Carnegie Mellon University, softbotics represents a new generation of soft machines and robots manufactured by multi-functional materials that have integrated sensing, actuation, and intelligence.

The research team introduced the material, a liquid-metal filled organogel composite...

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