Category Physics

‘Giant flexoelectricity’ breakthrough in soft elastomers paves way for improved robots and self-powered pacemakers. Researchers have demonstrated “giant flexoelectricity” in soft elastomers that could improve robot movement range and make self-powered pacemakers a real possibility. In a paper published this month in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, scientists from the University of Houston and Air Force Research Laboratory explain how to engineer ostensibly ordinary substances like silicone rubber into an electric powerhouse.

What do the following have in common: a self-powered implanted medical device, a soft human-li...

Quantum computing and quantum sensing have the potential to be vastly more powerful than their classical counterparts. Not only could a fully realized quantum computer take just seconds to solve equations that would take a classical computer thousands of years, but it could have incalculable impacts on areas ranging from biomedical imaging to autonomous driving.

However, the technology isn’t quite there yet.

In fact, desp...

Researchers have discovered that engineering one-dimensional line defects into certain materials can increase their electrical performance. Materials engineers don’t like to see line defects in functional materials.

The structural flaws along a one-dimensional line of atoms generally degrades performance of electrical materials. So, as a research paper published today by the journal Science reports, these linear defects, or dislocations, “are usually avoided at all costs.”

But sometimes, a team of researchers from Europe, Iowa St...

A novel technology for cooperative analysis of big data. Researchers have used ‘swarm learning’ – a novel, artificial intelligence technology – to detect blood cancer, lung diseases and COVID-19 in data stored in a decentralized fashion.

Communities benefit from sharing knowledge and experience among their members. This approach has advantage over conventional methods since it inherently provides privacy preservation technologies, which facilitates cross-site analysis of scientific data. Swarm learning could thus significantly promote and accelerate collaboration and information exchange in research, especially in the field of medicine...