Category Physics

Scientists have developed a solar smart window that could power itself and other devices. Credit: American Chemical Society

Regular Smart windows get darker to filter out the sun’s rays on bright days, and turn clear on cloudy days to let more light in. This feature can help control indoor temperatures and offers some privacy without resorting to blinds. Now scientists report a new development in this growing niche: solar smart windows that can turn opaque on demand and even power other devices. The study appears in ACS Photonics.

Most existing solar-powered smart windows are designed to respond automatically to changing conditions, such as light or heat. But this means that on cool or cloudy days, consumers can’t flip a switch and tint the windows for privacy...

Schematic explanation of the world’s fastest quantum simulator. Credit: NINS/IMS

Scientists have developed the world’s fastest simulator that can simulate quantum mechanical dynamics of a large number of particles interacting with each other within 1 billionths of a second. The dynamics of many electrons interacting with each other governs a variety of important physical and chemical phenomena such as superconductivity, magnetism, and chemical reactions. An ensemble of many particles thus interacting with each other is referred to as a “strongly correlated system.” Understanding the properties of strongly correlated systems is thus one of the central goals of modern sciences...

Schematic illustration and charge transfer mechanism of ENHANS ribbons.

Marty McFly’s self-lacing Nikes in Back to the Future Part II inspired a UCF scientist who has developed filaments that harvest and store the sun’s energy—and can be woven into textiles. The breakthrough would essentially turn jackets and other clothing into wearable, solar-powered batteries. It could one day revolutionize wearable technology, helping everyone from soldiers who now carry heavy loads of batteries to a texting-addicted teen who could charge his smartphone by simply slipping it in a pocket. “That movie was the motivation,” A/Professor Jayan Thomas, University of Central Florida’s NanoScience Technology Center, said of the film released 1989...

Electron microscope image of a chromium dioxide devices based on wires. The green wire is the chromium dioxide ferromagnet. The orange wires are superconductors and are necessary to produce a superconducting current through the green wire.

Electrons that spin synchronously around their axis, turn out to stay superconductive across large distances within magnetic chrome dioxide. Electric current from these electrons can flip small magnets, and its superconductive version could form the basis for a hard drive without energy loss...