Category Technology/Electronics

Juniorprof. Dr Alexander Szameit (r.) and Dr Marco Ornigotti from University of Jena (Germany)with models of the USS Enterprise. The physicists have now for the first demonstrated in an experiment that the concept of teleportation does not only persist in the world of quantum particles, but also in our classical world. Credit: Jan-Peter Kasper/FSU

The team of scientists lead by sci-fi fan Prof. Szameit has now for the first demonstrated in an experiment that the concept of teleportation does not only persist in the world of quantum particles, but also in our classical world. “Elementary particles such as electrons and light particles exist per se in a spatially delocalized state,” says Szameit...

A computer in the lab of Miguel Nicolelis, M.D., Ph.D., monitors brain signals from a rhesus macaque. Nicolelis and Duke researchers record signals from hundreds of neurons in two regions of the monkeys’ brains that are involved in movement and sensation. As the animals think about moving toward their goal — in this case, a bowl containing fresh grapes — computers translate their brain activity into real-time operation of a wheelchair. Credit: Shawn Rocco/ Duke Health

Neuroscientists have developed a brain-machine interface (BMI) that allows primates to use only their thoughts to navigate a robotic wheelchair. The BMI uses signals from hundreds of neurons recorded simultaneously in 2 regions of the monkeys’ brains that are involved in movement and sensation...

Mutual rotation of two monolayers of a semiconducting material creates a variety of bilayer stacking patterns, depending on the twist angle. Fast and efficient characterization of these stacking patterns may aid exploration of potential applications in electronics and optoelectronics. Credit: Image credit: Oak Ridge National Laboratory, US Dept. of Energy

Recently a team measured vibrations between 2 layers to decipher their stacking patterns with low-frequency Raman spectroscopy. This will allow for 2D materials with optical and electronic properties that strongly depend on stacking configurations eg energy-efficient transistors and solar cells.

The atoms in each layer are arranged in hexagonal arrays...

The Solar Thermal Electrochemical Process (STEP) converts atmospheric carbon dioxide into carbon nanotubes that can be used in advanced batteries. Credit: Julie Turner, Vanderbilt University

s can be replaced with carbon recovered from the atmosphere. The team adapted a solar-powered process that converts carbon dioxide into carbon so that it produces carbon nanotubes that can be incorporated into both lithium-ion batteries like those used in electric vehicles and electronic devices and low-cost sodium-ion batteries under development for large-scale applications, such as the electric grid.

“This approach not only produces better batteries but it also establishes a value for carbon dioxide recovered from the atmosphere that is associated with the end-user battery cost unlike most efforts to...