Category Physics

Discovery of van Hove Singularities could Lead to Novel Materials with Desirable Quantum Properties

Discovery could lead to novel materials with desirable quantum properties
The electronic topology in the chiral fermion conductors RhSi and CoSi. Credit: Nature Physics (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41567-022-01892-6

Strong interactions between subatomic particles like electrons occur when they are at a specific energy level known as the van Hove singularity. These interactions give rise to unusual properties in quantum materials, such as superconductivity at high temperatures, potentially ushering in exciting technologies of tomorrow.

Research suggests topological materials that allow electrons to flow only on their surface to be promising quantum materials. However, the quantum properties of these materials remain relatively unexplored.

A study co-led by Nanyang Asst Prof Chang Guoqing of NTU’s School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences identified two ty...

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Innovative Device could Power Electronics using Body Movements

Charge your phone just by moving your body
The new generator contains materials that are flexible, energy-efficient and relatively less expensive. Credit: University of Waterloo

A new technology that can generate electricity from vibrations or even small body movements means you could charge your laptop by typing or power your smartphone’s battery on your morning run.

Researchers at the University of Waterloo have developed a tiny, wearable generator in response to the urgent need for sustainable, clean energy. It is also scalable for larger machines. Their paper, “Breaking Dielectric Dilemma: Polymer Functionalized Perovskite Piezocomposite with Large Current Density Output,” is published in the November edition of Nature Communications.

“This is a real game changer,” said Dr...

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Adobe announces development of SLM that can Run Locally on a Phone with No Cloud Connection

app
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

A small team of AI researchers at Adobe Inc., working with a colleague from Auburn University and another from Georgia Tech, has developed a small language model (SLM) that they claim can be run locally on a smart phone with no access to the cloud. The group has written a paper describing their new app, which they call SlimLM, and have posted it to the arXiv preprint server.

As LLM technology continues to mature, researchers across the globe continue to find new ways to improve it. In this new effort, the research team has found a way to cut the cord for a specific type of AI application—processing documents locally.

As LLMs such as ChatGPT become more popular, users have become more worried about privacy...

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New method of Generating Eco-Friendly Energy uses Piezoelectricity

crystals
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

Researchers at University of Limerick in Ireland have developed a new method of growing organic crystals that can be used for energy-harvesting applications.

The energy that is being harvested as part of this research is being generated by squeezing amino acid molecules, the building blocks of proteins that exist in the human body.

Piezoelectricity, which translates from Greek to mean pressing electricity, usually found in ceramics or polymers, is also present in human biomolecules.

The research team from the Actuate Lab in the Department of Chemical Sciences and Bernal Institute at UL has previously utilized predictive computer models that allow them to identify how much electricity a biological material will generate when you squeeze it—maki...

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