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    Category Physics

    Researchers find 1st compelling evidence of new property known as ‘Ferroelasticity’ in Perovskites

    May 23, 2017, Categories  Chemistry/Nanotechnology, Physics, Technology/Electronics

    1, Schematic shows a perovskite sample (black) examined by the photothermal induced resonance technique. When the sample absorbs pulses of light (depicted as disks in purple cones), the sample expands rapidly, causing the cantilever of an atomic force microscope (AFM) to vibrate like a struck tuning fork. The cantilever’s motion, which is detected by reflecting the AFM laser light (red) off the AFM detector, provides a sensitive measure of the amount of light absorbed. Credit: NIST 2. Image recorded by an atomic force microscope reveals the topography of a polycrystalline sample of the perovskite, including the boundaries between crystals. Credit: NIST 3. Illustration shows that in response to an applied stress, such as bending, the boundaries of the ferroelastic domains (red and blue regions depict domains oriented in different directions) become bigger or smaller. Credit: NIST

    1, Schematic shows a perovskite sample (black) examined by the photothermal induced resonance technique. When the sample absorbs pulses of light (depicted as disks in purple cones), the sample expands rapidly, causing the cantilever of an atomic force microscope (AFM) to vibrate like a struck tuning fork. The cantilever’s motion, which is detected by reflecting the AFM laser light (red) off the AFM detector, provides a sensitive measure of the amount of light absorbed.  2. Image recorded by an atomic force microscope reveals the topography of a polycrystalline sample of the perovskite, including the boundaries between crystals. 3...

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    Magnetic Order in a 2D Molecular Chessboard

    May 22, 2017, Categories  Physics, Technology/Electronics

    Assessing competing fundamental magnetic interactions. From: Long-range ferrimagnetic order in a two-dimensional supramolecular Kondo lattice

    Assessing competing fundamental magnetic interactions. From: Long-range ferrimagnetic order in a two-dimensional supramolecular Kondo lattice

    Achieving magnetic order in low-dimensional systems consisting of only 1 or 2 dimensions has been a research goal for some time. In a new study published in the journal Nature Communications, Uppsala researchers show that magnetic order can be created in a two-dimensional chessboard lattice consisting of organometallic molecules that are only one atomic layer thick.

    Magnetic order is a common phenomenon in 3D materials, such as ferromagnetic order in iron bar magnets, where the magnetic moments on all iron atoms point in the same direction...

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    Self-Ventilating Workout Suit keeps Athletes Cool and Dry

    May 21, 2017, Categories  Physics, Technology/Electronics, Health/Medical, Biology/Biotechnology

    Self-Ventilating Workout Suit keeps Athletes Cool and Dry

    Self-Ventilating Workout Suit keeps Athletes Cool and Dry

    Ventilating flaps lined with live cells open and close in response to an athlete’s sweat. MIT team has designed a breathable workout suit with ventilating flaps that open and close in response to an athlete’s body heat and sweat. These flaps, which range from thumbnail- to finger-sized, are lined with live microbial cells that shrink and expand in response to changes in humidity. The cells act as tiny sensors and actuators, driving the flaps to open when an athlete works up a sweat, and pulling them closed when the body has cooled.

    They have also fashioned a running shoe with an inner layer of similar cell-lined flaps to air out and wick away moisture...

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    New Water-based, Recyclable Membrane Filters all types of Nanoparticles

    May 19, 2017, Categories  Physics, Technology/Electronics, Chemistry/Nanotechnology

    A self-assembling membrane for water purification. Credit: Image courtesy of Weizmann Institute of Science

    A self-assembling membrane for water purification. Credit: Image courtesy of Weizmann Institute of Science

    Separation technology is at the heart of water purification, sewage treatment, and materials reclamation, as well as numerous basic industrial processes. Membranes are used to separate out the smallest nanoscale particles, and even molecules and metal ions. Prof. Boris Rybtchinski and his group of the Weizmann Institute of Science’s Department of Organic Chemistry have developed a new type of membrane that could extend the life of a separation system, lower its cost and, in some cases, increase its efficiency as well.

    The membranes Prof...

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