Category Physics

This shows the synthetic purple membrane assembly developed by Elena Rozhkova and fellow Argonne researchers. The assembly, which includes nanodiscs, titanium dioxide and platinum nanoparticles, can transform sunlight into hydrogen fuel. Credit: Argonne National Laboratory

A new way has been found to produce solar fuels by developing “synthetic purple membranes.” These membranes involve an assembly of lipid nanodiscs, man-made proteins, and semiconducting nanoparticles that, when taken together, can transform sunlight into hydrogen fuel...

This is ultrasonic imaging of the forearm.
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New research has shown future wearable devices, such as smartwatches, could use ultrasound imaging to sense hand gestures. Computers are growing in number and wearable computers, such as smartwatches, are gaining popularity. Devices around the home, such as WiFi light bulbs and smart thermostats, are also on the increase. However, current technology limits the capability to interact with these devices. Hand gestures have been suggested as an intuitive and easy way of interacting with and controlling smart devices in different surroundings. For instance, a gesture could be used to dim the lights in the living room, or to open or close a window...

This image shows an energy diagram of the WSe2-MoSe2 device. When a photon (1) strikes the WSe2 layer, it knocks loose an electron (2), freeing it to conduct through the WSe2 (3). At the junction between the two materials, the electron drops down into MoSe2 (4). The energy given off in the drop catapults a second electron from the WSe2 (5) into the MoSe2 (6), where both electrons are free to move and generate electricity. Credit: University Communications, UC Riverside

New research invokes quantum mechanical processes that occur when two atomically thin materials are stacked together...

Literal flexibility may bring the power of a new transistor developed at UW–Madison to digital devices that bend and move. PHOTO COURTESY OF JUNG-HUN SEO, UNIVERSITY AT BUFFALO, STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK

A team of UW-M engineers has created the most functional flexible transistor in the world – and with it, a fast, simple and inexpensive fabrication process that’s easily scalable to the commercial level. It’s an advance that could open the door to an increasingly interconnected world, enabling manufacturers to add “smart,” wireless capabilities to any number of large or small products or objects – like wearable sensors and computers for people and animals – that curve, bend, stretch and move.

Transistors are ubiquitous building blocks of modern electronics...