Category Physics

‘Lego-like’ Universal Connector makes Assembling Stretchable Devices a snap

'Lego-like' universal connector developed by NTU Singapore scientists makes assembling stretchable devices a snap
The BIND interface (biphasic, nano-dispersed interface) makes assembly of stretchable devices simple while offering excellent mechanical and electrical performance. Credit: NTU Singapore

An international team led by researchers from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) has developed a universal connector to assemble stretchable devices simply and quickly, in a “Lego-like” manner.

Stretchable devices including soft robots and wearable healthcare devices are assembled using several different modules with different material characteristics—some soft, some rigid, and some encapsulated.

However, the commercial pastes (glue), currently used to connect the modules often either fail to transmit mechanical and electrical signals reliably when deformed or break eas...

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Atom-thin Walls could Smash Size, Memory Barriers in Next-gen Devices

Evgeny Tsymbal
Nebraska’s Evgeny Tsymbal and an international team have demonstrated how to construct, control and explain nanoscopic walls that could yield multiple technological benefits. Craig Chandler | University Communication and Marketing

Nanomaterial feature could help electronic circuits adopt benefits of human memory. For all of the unparalleled, parallel-processing, still-indistinguishable-from-magic wizardry packed into the three pounds of the adult human brain, it obeys the same rule as the other living tissue it controls: Oxygen is a must.

So it was with a touch of irony that Evgeny Tsymbal offered his explanation for a technological wonder — movable, data-covered walls mere atoms wide — that may eventually help computers behave more like a brain.

“There was unambiguous evidence...

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Chiral Phonons Create Spin Current Without needing Magnetic Materials

 Spin Seebeck effect, chiral-phonon-activated spin Seebeck effect (CPASS) and experimental setup

Researchers from North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill used chiral phonons to convert wasted heat into spin information – without needing magnetic materials. The finding could lead to new classes of less expensive, energy-efficient spintronic devices for use in applications ranging from computational memory to powergrids.

Spintronic devices are electronic devices that harness the spin of an electron, rather than its charge, to create current used for data storage, communication, and computing...

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Creating 3D Objects with Sound

Creating 3D objects with sound
The use of sound waves to create a pressure field to print particles. Credit: Kai Melde, MPI für medizinische Forschung

Scientists from the Micro, Nano and Molecular Systems Lab at the Max Planck Institute for Medical Research and the Institute for Molecular Systems Engineering and Advanced Materials at Heidelberg University have created a new technology to assemble matter in 3D. Their concept uses multiple acoustic holograms to generate pressure fields with which solid particles, gel beads and even biological cells can be printed.

These results pave the way for novel 3D cell culture techniques with applications in biomedical engineering. The results of the study were published in the journal Science Advances.

Additive manufacturing or 3D printing enables the fabrication of comp...

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