Category Physics

Imagine a future in which you could 3D-print an entire robot or stretchy, electronic medical device with the press of a button – no tedious hours spent assembling parts by hand.

That possibility may be closer than ever thanks to a recent advancement in 3D-printing technology led by engineers at the University of Colorado Boulder. In a new study, the team lays out a strategy for using currently-available printers to create materials that meld solid and liquid components – a tricky feat if you don’t want your robot to collapse.

“I think...

Turmeric, a spice found in most kitchens, has an extract that could lead to safer, more efficient fuel cells.

Researchers at the Clemson Nanomaterials Institute (CNI) and their collaborators from the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning (SSSIHL) in India discovered a novel way to combine curcumin—the substance in turmeric—and gold nanoparticles to create an electrode that requires 100 times less energy to efficiently convert ethanol into electricity.

While the research...

Researchers at UC Berkeley have developed a new way to 3D-print glass microstructures that is faster and produces objects with higher optical quality, design flexibility and strength, according to a new study published in the April 15 issue of Science.

Working with scientists from the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg, Germany, the researchers expanded the capabilities of a 3D-printing process they developed three years ago—computed axial lithography (CAL)—to print much finer features and to print in glass. They dubbed this new system “micro-CAL.”

Glass is the preferred material for creating complex microscopic objects, including lenses in compact, high-quality cameras used in sm...

With their superior properties, topological qubits could help achieve a breakthrough in the development of a quantum computer designed for universal applications. So far, no one has yet succeeded in unambiguously demonstrating a quantum bit, or qubit for short, of this kind in a lab. However, scientists from Forschungszentrum Jülich have now gone some way to making this a reality. For the first time, they succeeded in integrating a topological insulator into a conventional superconducting qubit. Just in time for “World Quantum Day” on 14 April, their novel hybrid qubit made it to the cover of the latest issue of the journal Nano Letters.

Quantum computers are regarded as the computers of the future...