Category Physics

Structure of the hollow Eu(III)-benzoate nanotubes. a) SEM image; scale bar = 400 nm. b) TEM image; scale bar = 100 nm. A magnified image is given in Figure S2 in the Supporting Information. c) PXRD data. (‘) indicates signals corresponding to the lamellar substructure. Black curve = experiment pattern obtained from the hybrid material. Blue curve = simulated pattern with the structure model presented in (d). Blue = Eu; red = oxygen; dark gray = carbon; light gray = hydrogen; yellow = cell edges of monoclinic Eu2O3.

University of Konstanz has developed a method for synthesising Europium (II) oxide nanoparticles – a ferromagnetic semiconductor that is relevant for data storage and data transport...

Tim Potteiger, a Ph.D. student in electrical engineering, tests his battery-switching device on a levitating electric vehicle in the School of Engineering. Credit: Joe Howell/Vanderbilt University

Nissan Leafs, which go about 107 miles on a charge, sometimes end up relegated to commuter cars due to battery-range worries. The mass-market, standard Tesla Model 3 can go double that but still can be disconcerting on long road trips. Both batteries could work up to 50% longer with a device provisionally patented by Vanderbilt University’s Ken Pence, professor of the practice of engineering management, and Tim Potteiger, a Ph.D. student in electrical engineering...

“What we are doing technically,” Han explains, “is installing a new energy barrier, so the stored heat cannot be released immediately.” In its chemically stored form, the energy can remain for long periods until the optical trigger is activated

A new phase-change material stores heat in a stable chemical form, then releases it later on demand using light as a trigger. In large parts of the developing world, people have abundant heat from the sun during the day, but most cooking takes place later in the evening when the sun is down, using fuel – such as wood, brush or dung – that is collected with significant time and effort.

Now, a new chemical composite developed by researchers at MIT could provide an alternative...

Breakthrough could launch organic electronics beyond cell phone screens Researchers used ultraviolet light to excite molecules in a semiconductor, triggering reactions that split up and activated a dopant Credit: Jing Wang and Xin Lin

A discovery by Princeton University, Georgia Institute of Technology and Humboldt University in Berlin points the way to more widespread use of an advanced technology known as organic electronics. The research focuses on organic semiconductors, a class of materials prized for their applications in emerging technologies such as flexible electronics, solar energy conversion, and high-quality color displays for smartphones and televisions...