Researchers in the UK have developed a way to coax microscopic particles and droplets into precise patterns by harnessing the power of sound in air. The implications for printing, especially in the fields of medicine and electronics, are far-reaching.

The scientists from the Universities of Bath and Bristol have shown that it’s possible to create precise, pre-determined patterns on surfaces from aerosol droplets or particles, using computer-controlled ultrasound. A paper describing the entirely new technique, called ‘sonolithography’, is published in Advanced Materials Technologies.

Professor Mike Fraser from the Department of Computer Science at the University of Bath, explained: “The power of ultrasound h...

The source of potentially hazardous solar particles, released from the Sun at high speed during storms in its outer atmosphere, has been located for the first time by researchers at UCL and George Mason University, Virginia, USA.

These particles are highly charged and, if they reach Earth’s atmosphere, can potentially disrupt satellites and electronic infrastructure, as well as pose a radiation risk to astronauts and people in airplanes. In 1859, during what’s known as the Carrington Event, a large solar storm caused telegraphic systems across Europe and America to fail. With the modern world so reliant on electronic infrastructure, the potential for harm is much greater.

To minimise the danger, scientists are seeking to understand how these streams of particles are produced so ...

Professor Byoungwoo Kang develops a high-density cathode material through controlling local structures of the Li-rich layered materials.

Researchers in Korea have developed a high-capacity cathode material that can be stably charged and discharged for hundreds of cycles without using the expensive cobalt (Co) metal. The day is fast approaching when electric vehicles can drive long distances with Li- ion batteries.

The research team achieved this by controlling the local structure via developing the simple synthesis process for the Li-rich layered material that is attracting attention as the next-generation high-capacity cathode material...

That evidence is a set of advanced simulations based on observations of the rocky planet LHS 3844b, which is slightly larger than Earth. Importantly for this particular piece of research, it doesn’t look as though the exoplanet has an atmosphere.

That leaves half of LHS 3844b permanently exposed to its sun and could mean temperatures of up to roughly 800 degrees Celsius (1,472 degrees Fahrenheit) on the ‘daytime’ side, and about minus 250 degrees Celsius (minus 418 degrees Fahrenheit) on the ‘night-time’ side.”We thought that this severe temperature contrast might affect material flow in the planet’s interior,” says astronomer Tobias Meier, from the University of Bern in Switzerland.

Based on phase curve o...