Category Physics

CWRU chemists developed a space-saving method to store digital data optically, using four-symbol, or quaternary code. The four symbols are the absence of color and three colors — fluorescent green, ultramarine and cyan — produced when dyes contained in a common polymer are exposed to heat, ultraviolet light or both. Credit: Emily Pentzer

Chemists at Case Western Reserve University have found a way to possibly store digital data in half the space current systems require. From supercomputers to smartphones, the amount of data people generate and collect continues to grow exponentially, and the need to store all that information grows with it. To reduce storage space, engineers have traditionally used existing technology but made it smaller...

Biomimetic Architectured Graphene Aerogel with Exceptional Strength and Resilience

Versatile, light-weight materials that are both strong and resilient are crucial for the development of flexible electronics, such as bendable tablets and wearable sensors. Aerogels are good candidates for such applications, but until now, it’s been difficult to make them with both properties. Now, researchers report in ACS Nano that mimicking the structure of the “powdery alligator-flag” plant has enabled them to make a graphene-based aerogel that meets these needs.

Aerogels are light, porous materials that are already used in many applications, such as pollution control and insulation...

An origami pattern known as the Miura fold can help dissipate energy inside explosive-proof structural panels. Credit: Swinburne University of Technology

Lightweight structural panels that can stop bullets or withstand bombs are the goal of a team of researchers working at Swinburne. A team led by Professor Guoxing Lu from Swinburne’s School of Engineering has put a modern twist on this ancient science by replacing solid metal panels with super-tough and light aluminium ‘sandwich’ structures inspired by Japanese origami patterns. A typical sandwich panel inserts a soft, semi-hollow inner core between 2 thin and strong outer skins. Spacing the skins a small distance apart makes the panels much stiffer than the sheet would otherwise be while dramatically decreasing overall bulk...

Two drones work in tandem to discovered what is behind a brick wall. Credit: Image courtesy of University of California – Santa Barbara

Researchers at UC Santa Barbara Prof. Yasamin Mostofi’s lab have given the 1st demonstration of 3D imaging of objects through walls using ordinary wireless signal. The technique, which involves 2 drones working in tandem, could have a variety of applications, such as search-and-rescue, archaeological discovery and structural monitoring. “Our proposed approach has enabled unmanned aerial vehicles to image details through walls in 3D with only WiFi signals,” said Mostofi, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at UCSB...