Category Physics

“Say hello to your personal courier. I’m here to deliver anything you need. Just tell me what, when and where and I’ll do the rest.”

“Say hello to your personal courier. I’m here to deliver anything you need. Just tell me what, when and where and I’ll do the rest.” “Your tireless delivery bot will always be on hand to lighten your load.” Wait, when did life become so comfortable? Wasn’t there luxury convenience in something called UPS? And what about wonderful Amazon? Well, some people are excited about a robot revolution in the wings, in a new era of instant, unscheduled delivery (think small orders and think local).

Starship Technologies was launched in 2014 by Ahti Heinla and Janus Friis. Its “engineering expertise, combined with our experience of co-founding Skype...

This is Assistant Professor Shawn Putnam of the University of Central Florida’s College of Engineering & Computer Science. Credit: Courtesy University of Central Florida

Nanoparticles and Faraday rotation allow faster diagnoses. A UCF researcher has combined cutting-edge nanoscience with a magnetic phenomenon discovered more than 170 years ago to create a method for speedy medical tests. The discovery, if commercialized, could lead to faster test results for HIV, Lyme disease, syphilis, rotavirus and other infectious conditions. “I see no reason why a variation of this technique couldn’t be in every hospital throughout the world,” said Shawn Putnam, an assistant professor in the University of Central Florida’s College of Engineering & Computer Science.

At the core of the research are nanop...

Schematic representation of the crack propagation in 2D MoS2 at the atomic level. Dislocations shown with red and purple dots are visible at the crack tip zone. Internal tensile stresses are represented by red arrows.

Cracks sank the ‘unsinkable’ Titanic; decrease the performance of touchscreens and erode teeth. We are familiar with cracks in 3D objects, but how do thin 2D materials crack? 2D materials, like molybdenum disulfide (MoS2), have emerged as an important asset for future electronic and photoelectric devices. However, the mechanical properties of 2D materials are expected to differ greatly from 3D materials...

Orange luminous OLED on a graphene electrode. The two-euro coin serves as a comparison of sizes. Credit: © Fraunhofer FEP

New OLEDs can, for example, be integrated into touch displays, and graphene promises many other applications for the future. The graphene electrodes have an area of 2 × 1 sq cm. “This was a real breakthrough in research and integration of extremely demanding materials,” says FEP’s project leader Dr. Beatrice Beyer. The process was developed and optimized in the EU-funded project “Gladiator” (Graphene Layers: Production, Characterization and Integration) together with partners from industry and research.

Graphene is light, transparent and extremely hard and has more tensile strength than steel. It is flexible, conductive for heat or electricity. It is only 0...