Category Physics

HoloFlex (2016): Holographic 3D Editor with Teapot

Researchers at the Human Media Lab at Queen’s University have developed the world’s first holographic flexible smartphone. The device, dubbed HoloFlex, is capable of rendering 3D images with motion parallax and stereoscopy to multiple simultaneous users without head tracking or glasses.”HoloFlex offers a completely new way of interacting with your smartphone. It allows for glasses-free interactions with 3D video and images in a way that does not encumber the user.” says Dr. Vertegaal.

HoloFlex features a 1920×1080 full high-definition Flexible Organic Light Emitting Diode (FOLED) touchscreen display. Images are rendered into 12-pixel wide circular blocks rendering the full view of the 3D object from a particular viewpoint...

Using a layer of molybdenum disulfide less than one nanometer thick, researchers in Rice University’s Thomann lab were able to design a system that absorbed more than 35 percent of incident light in the 400- to 700-nanometer wavelength range. Credit: Thomann Group/Rice University

Mechanics know molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) as a useful lubricant in aircraft and motorcycle engines and in the CV and universal joints of trucks and automobiles. Rice University researcher Isabell Thomann knows it as a remarkably light-absorbent substance that holds promise for the development of energy-efficient optoelectronic and photocatalytic devices.

“Basically, we want to understand how much light can be confined in an atomically thin semiconductor monolayer of MoS2,” said Assitant/Prof Thomann...

Researchers at Oregon State University use new technology to control the formation and release of bubbles. Here that technology is illustrated with the letters “OSU” printed on a substrate. Credit: Image courtesy of Oregon State University

Engineers at Oregon State University have found a new way to induce and control boiling bubble formation, that may allow everything from industrial-sized boilers to advanced electronics to work better and last longer. The concept could be useful to either to boil water and create steam more readily, like in a boiler or a clothing iron; or with a product such as an electronics device to release heat more readily while working at a cooler temperature.

“One of the key limitations for electronic devices is the heat they generate, and something that helps dis...

Atomically thin TaS2 devices. (a) Ball and stick model of the crystal structure of the 2H polytype of TaS2. The dashed prism encloses the content of a single unit cell and the metal coordination geometry is highlighted by the red polyhedron. (b) Atomic force microscopy image of two devices fabricated on a 3.5-nm 2H-TaS2 flake. The scale bar is 4 μm in length. The full colour scale of the topograph corresponds to a height of 100 nm. (c) Line profile of the flake taken at the location of the white dotted line in b.

Uni of Valencia researchers show superconducting state can be maintained even when the material in question is reduced from 3 to 2 dimensions, making the efficiency gains needed for technologies like those underlying the frictionless train possible...