Category Physics

This is a schematic of the first-ever plasmomechanical oscillator (PMO), developed by NIST researchers. The orange-white ovals represent the localized plasmon oscillations. The cantilever, containing the gold cuboid nanoparticle, lies dead center. The series of white curves represents the electrical field applied to the cantilever. Data at right indicates that the device can lock onto and greatly amplify weak signals that oscillate at frequencies close to those of the PMO. Credit: B. Roxworthy/NIST

Researchers have for the first time created a plasmomechanical oscillator, a nanometer-scale device that is no bigger than a red blood cell but has myriad technological applications...

This is Cristiano Nisoli. Credit: Los Alamos National Laboratory

‘Spindoctors’ note that topological order, associated with quantum mechanics, also applies to classical material called artificial spin ice. Physicists have identified a new state of matter whose structural order operates by rules more aligned with quantum mechanics than standard thermodynamic theory. In a classical material called artificial spin ice, which in certain phases appears disordered, the material is actually ordered, but in a “topological” form.

“Our research shows for the first time that classical systems such as artificial spin ice can be designed to demonstrate topological ordered phases, which previously have been found only in quantum conditions,” said Los Alamos National Laboratory physicist Cristiano Nisoli...

Researchers created a nanofilm that can store data holographically and is environmentally stable. Here, Shencheng Fu carries out experiments with the new film. Credit: Northeast Normal University

New holographic data storage medium could enable wearable technology that captures and stores detailed 3D images. New nanoparticle-based films that are more than 80 times thinner than a human hair may provide materials that can holographically archive more than 1,000 times more data than a DVD in a 10-by-10-centimeter piece of film...

Gif of the device in action. Probes inject positive and negative charges in the light emitting device, which is transparent under the campanile outline, producing bright light. Credit: Javey lab

UC Berkeley engineers have built a bright-light emitting device that is millimeters wide and fully transparent when turned off. The light emitting material in this device is a monolayer semiconductor, just 3 atoms thick. The device opens the door to invisible displays on walls and windows – displays that would be bright when turned on but see-through when turned off – or in futuristic applications such as light-emitting tattoos, according to the researchers...