Category Physics

Purdue University graduate student Katherine Fowee and postdoctoral research associate Anthony Cofer work on a new micropropulsion system for miniature satellites called CubeSats. Credit: Purdue University photo/Erin Easterling

A new type of micropropulsion system for miniature satellites called CubeSats uses an innovative design of tiny nozzles that release precise bursts of water vapor to maneuver the spacecraft. Low-cost “microsatellites” and “nanosatellites” far smaller than conventional spacecraft, have become increasingly prevalent. Thousands of the miniature satellites might be launched to perform a variety of tasks, from high-resolution imaging and internet services, to disaster response, environmental monitoring and military surveillance...

The folds of 3-D graphene make mesopore channels that work with the surface’s micropores to increase the material’s supercapacitive properties.

Tiny dents in the surface of graphene greatly enhances its potential as a supercapacitor. Even better, it can be made from CO2. A material scientist at Michigan Technological University invented a novel approach to take carbon dioxide and turn it into 3D graphene with micropores across its surface. The conversion of carbon dioxide to useful materials usually requires high energy input due to its ultrahigh stability. However, materials science professor Yun Hang Hu and his research team created a heat-releasing reaction between carbon dioxide and sodium to synthesize 3D surface-microporous graphene.

“3D surface-microporous graphene is a brand-new ma...

University of Central Florida Professor Zenghu Chang broke the record for the fastest light pulse. Credit: University of Central Florida

The 53-attosecond light pulse breaks the record set by the same team in 2012. The group led by Professor Zenghu Chang beat its own record set in 2012: a 67-attosecond extreme UV light pulse. In 53 attoseconds, light travels < 1/1000 of the diameter of a human hair. Attosecond light pulses allow scientists to capture images of fast-moving electrons in atoms and molecules with unprecedented sharpness.

As reported Aug. 4 in Nature Communications, the pulses Chang has now demonstrated are not just shorter in duration, but also in wavelength...

Magnetic microbot capturing, dragging and releasing a live cell. Credit: Koohee Han and Dr. Wyatt Shields, provided by Prof. Orlin D. Velev, NC State University.

Researchers at North Carolina State University and Duke University have developed a way to assemble and pre-program tiny structures made from microscopic cubes – “microbot origami” – to change their shape when actuated by a magnetic field and then, using the magnetic energy from their environment, perform a variety of tasks – including capturing and transporting single cells.

The findings pave the way for microbots and micro-origami assemblies that can serve as cell characterization tools, fluid micromixers, and components of artificial muscles and soft biomimetic devices...