Category Physics

A new type of LED is made with crystalline substances known as perovskites. CREDIT Sameer A. Khan/Fotobuddy

Princeton engineers have refined the manufacturing of light sources made with crystalline substances, perovskites, a moreefficient and potentially lower-cost alternative to materials used in LEDs found on store shelves. The researchers developed a technique in which nanoscale perovskite particles self-assemble to produce more efficient, stable and durable perovskite-based LEDs. The advance, reported January 16 in Nature Photonics, could speed the use of perovskite technologies in commercial applications such as lighting, lasers and television and computer screens.

LEDs emit light when voltage is applied across the LED...

Unlocking the secrets of gold. Credit: Massey University

Gold is prized for its preciousness and as a conductor in electronics, but it is also important in scientific experimentation. Ernest Rutherford utilised it when mapping the atom, in an experiment, which needed a thin metal foil made of gold. However, despite its usefulness in experimentation, scientists found gold would not always perform how they theorised it would at the atomic level. Scientists do not like what they cannot explain, so debate grew amongst the communities best minds to explain this why gold is special, which until now remained unsolved even for the most basic atomic properties.

Acting Head of Institute of the New Zealand Institute for Advanced Study, Distinguished Professor Peter Schwerdtfeger, alongside internatio...

Trapped Ytterbium ions were used as one of the most advanced laboratory quantum systems for this study. Professor Biercuk’s research laboratories are now located in the Sydney Nanoscience Hub, after six years as a visiting scientist at the National Measurement Institute.
Credit: University of Sydney

What if big data could help you see the future and prevent your mobile phone from breaking before it happened? Scientists at the University of Sydney have demonstrated the ability to “see” the future of quantum systems, and used that knowledge to preempt their demise, in a major achievement that could help bring the strange and powerful world of quantum technology closer to reality...

A cathode containing nanoparticles made from cobalt, cobalt oxide and a carbon-based outer shell improved the performance of a zinc-air battery. Credit: © 2016 A*STAR Institute of Materials Research and Engineering

Nanoparticles containing 3 different layers of material can help to boost the performance of a zinc-air battery, A*STAR researchers have found. Zinc-air batteries are cheap, have a high energy density, and last for a very long time. Their use of a water-based electrolyte makes them safer than other batteries, so they’re often found in medical applications, such as hearing aids and heart monitoring devices.

The battery’s negative electrode contains zinc metal, which gives up electrons when it reacts with hydroxide ions in the electrolyte...