Category Physics

The vial contains liquid-metal particles suspended in ethanol. The particles were used to demonstrate heat-free soldering. Credit: Christopher Gannon/Iowa State University

One of the latest innovations from Thuo’s lab is finding a way to make micro-scale, liquid-metal particles that can be used for heat-free soldering plus the fabricating, repairing and processing of metals – all at room temperature. He’s worked with Tevis to launch SAFI-Tech which plans to locate to the Iowa State Economic Development StartUp Factory when it opens in the ISU Research Park later this year. The project started as a search for a way to stop liquid metal from returning to a solid – even below the metal’s melting point...

Development of a low-cost, high-performance ferromagnetic alloy and significant improvement in thermoelectric conversion efficiency. Conventionally, expensive platinum was used as the electrode material to extract electric power in a spin Seebeck thermoelectric device. This time, new cobalt alloys were developed to replace the platinum. As a result, the cost was significantly reduced. Furthermore, the combination of the thermoelectric effect termed the “Anomalous Nernst Effect,” appearing due to the ferromagnetic properties added to the cobalt alloys and the spin Seebeck effect, have improved the thermoelectric conversion efficiency by more than 10 times. Credit: NEC Corporation

A thermoelectric (TE) device using cutting edge thermoelectric conversion technology has been created by a team ...

Solar Impulse 2 flies over San Francisco on Saturday, April 23, 2016. The solar-powered airplane, which is attempting to circumnavigate the globe to promote clean energy and the spirit of innovation, arrived from Hawaii after a three-day journey across the Pacific Ocean. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

A solar-powered airplane landed in CA on Saturday, completing a risky, 3-day flight across the Pacific Ocean as part of its journey around the world. Pilot Bertrand Piccard landed the Solar Impulse 2 in Mountain View, in the Silicon Valley south of San Francisco, at 11:45 p.m. following a 62-hr, nonstop solo flight without fuel.

The landing came several hours after the Piccard performed a fly-by over the Golden Gate Bridge as spectators watched the narrow aircraft with extra wide wings from below...

Pulses of electrons (green, coming from the left) impinge on a micro-structured antenna which is powered by laser-generated terahertz radiation (red). The interaction compresses the duration of the electron pulses to a few femtoseconds. Graphics: Christian Hackenberger

With the aid of terahertz radiation, Munich physicists have developed a method for generating and controlling ultrashort electron pulses. With further improvements, this technique should be capable of capturing even electrons in motion. Seeing how atoms and electrons in a material respond to external stimuli can give scientists insight into unsolved problems in solid-state physics, such as the basis for high-temperature superconductivity and the many intriguing properties of other exotic materials.

Short pulses of electrons ...