Category Technology/Electronics

Schematic of the structure and the fabrication process of a spine-like battery. (a) Schematic illustration of bio-inspired design, the vertebrae correspond to thick stacks of electrodes and soft marrow corresponds to unwound part that interconnects all the stacks. (b) the process to fabricate the spine-like battery, multilayers of electrodes were first cut into designed shape, then strips extending out were wound around the backbone to form spine-like structure. Credit: Yuan Yang/Columbia Engineering

Shaped like a spine, new design enables remarkable flexibility, high energy density, and stable voltage no matter how it is flexed or twisted...

Jean-Phillipe MacLean works in his lab. Credit: Image courtesy of University of Waterloo

Scientists at the Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC) at the University of Waterloo have captured the first images of ultrafast photons that are energy-time entangled. The new technique will have direct applications for quantum cryptography and communication protocols, including the possibility for establishing highly secure communication channels over long distances. “This technique will allow us to explore all sorts of quantum effects that were inaccessible because the detectors were simply too slow,” said Jean-Philippe MacLean, lead author of the study and a PhD candidate in the Department of Physics and Astronomy in the Faculty of Science.

To capture one of the shortest quantum events possible, t...

This is MIT professor Stefanie Mueller, pictured in her lab. Credit: Jason Dorfman, MIT CSAIL

3D printing has come a long way since the first “rapid prototyping” patent was rejected in 1980. Still, there’s a big issue: once objects are printed, they’re final. But imagine if, for example, you could recolor your iPhone case or earrings to match whatever outfit you’re wearing. Researchers from MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) have gotten closer to making that a reality. In a new paper, they present “ColorFab,” a method for repeatedly changing the colors of 3D printed objects after fabrication.

Using their own 3D printable ink that changes color when exposed to UV light, the team can recolor a multi-colored object in just over 20 minutes – and they say they...

Nanoscale chiral valley-photon interface through optical spin-orbit coupling. Researchers from TU Delft combine spintronics and nanophotonics in 2D material Delft University of Technology

Spintronics is an emerging field in which the spin of electrons, rather than the charge, is used to process data. Unfortunately, the spin only lasts for a very short time, making it difficult to exploit in electronics. Researchers from the Kavli Institute of Nanoscience at TU Delft, working with the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research’s AMOLF institute, have now found a way to convert spin information into a predictable light signal at room temperature...