Category Physics

Duke University researchers have developed a new ‘spray-on’ digital memory (upper left) that could be used to build programmable electronic devices on flexible materials like paper, plastic or fabric. To demonstrate a simple application of their device, they used their memory to program different patterns of four LED lights in a simple circuit. Credit: Matthew Catenacci ==

USB flash drives are already common accessories in offices and college campuses. But thanks to the rise in printable electronics, digital storage devices like these may soon be everywhere—including on our groceries, pill bottles and even clothing...

Nanomagnets for Future Data Storage

The idea is intriguing: if only a single atom or small molecule was needed for a single unit of data (a 0 or a 1 in the case of binary digital technology), massive volumes of data could be stored in the tiniest amount of space. This is theoretically possible, as certain atoms can be magnetised in only one of two possible directions: “spin up” or “spin down.” Information could then be stored and read by the sequence of the molecules’ magnetisation directions.

However, several obstacles still need to be overcome before single-molecule magnet data storage becomes a reality...

Crystal formation within a 50 millimeter loop, taken on Expedition 6. Crystal growth investigations have been occurring on the station since before humans lived there because of the unique environment microgravity provides. Credit: NASA

Crew members aboard the ISS will begin conducting research this week to improve the way we grow crystals on Earth. The information gained from the experiments could speed up the process for drug development, benefiting humans around the world. Many proteins are too small to be studied even under a microscope, and must be crystallized in order to determine their 3D structures. These structures tell researchers how a single protein functions and its involvement in the development of disease...

1. The breakthrough electrode prototype (right) can be combined with a solar cell (left) for on-chip energy harvesting and storage.
2. A western swordfern leaf magnified 400 times, showing the self-repeating fractal pattern of its veins.

Graphene-based electrode prototype, inspired by fern leaves, could be the answer to solar energy storage challenge. Inspired by an American fern, researchers have developed a groundbreaking prototype that could be the answer to the storage challenge still holding solar back as a total energy solution. The new type of electrode created by researchers from RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia, could boost the capacity of existing integrable storage technologies by 3000%.

But the graphene-based prototype also opens a new path to the development of flexible ...