Category Physics

Shear jamming image. Credit: Image courtesy of University of Southampton

Liquid-like materials with particles in, known as dense suspensions, are found in the food industry (eg molten chocolate) and clay deposits on the bottom of oceans or rivers. Understanding the ‘jamming transition’ – when such a system behaves like a solid (if you want to build something on it) or when it flows (important if you want to process it) – could help in the design of new materials that actively use this transition from fluid-like to solid-like behaviour.

Ivo Peters, Lecturer in Aerodynamics and Flight Mechanics Research Group at the Uni of Southampton...

Chunks of this sodium-based compound (Na2B12H12) (left) would function well in a battery only at elevated temperatures, but when they are milled into far smaller pieces (right), they can potentially perform even in extreme cold, making them even more promising as the basis for safer, cheaper rechargeables. Credit: Tohoku University, Japan

By chemically modifying and pulverizing a promising group of compounds, scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have potentially brought safer, solid-state rechargeable batteries 2 steps closer to reality. These compounds are stable solid materials that would not pose the risks of leaking or catching fire typical of traditional liquid battery ingredients and are made from commonly available substances.

The first advance cam...

Gurpreet Singh, Kansas State University associate professor of mechanical and nuclear engineering, and his research team have developed a paperlike battery electrode using silicon oxycarbide glass and graphene. Credit: Kansas State University

It may improve tools for space exploration or unmanned aerial vehicles. A/Prof Gurpreet Singh of mechanical and nuclear engineering, and his research team created the battery electrode using silicon oxycarbide-glass and graphene.

The battery electrode has all the right characteristics. It is >10% lighter than other battery electrodes. It has close to 100% cycling efficiency for >1000 charge discharge cycles. It is made of low-cost materials that are byproducts of the silicone industry...

Artist’s impression of a high critical temperature superconductor immersed in a magnetic field. The magnetic field generates whirls of current called vortices. These allow to better perceive an ordered electronic structure that coexists with the superconducting state. Credit: © UNIGE – Xavier Ravinet

New research shows electronic densities measured in these superconductors are a combination of 2 separate effects. As a result, a new model suggests the existence of 2 coexisting states, rather than competing ones as was postulated for the past 30 years. A small revolution in the world of superconductivity.

A superconducting material is a material that, below a certain temperature, loses all electrical resistance...