Structure of the hollow Eu(III)-benzoate nanotubes. a) SEM image; scale bar = 400 nm. b) TEM image; scale bar = 100 nm. A magnified image is given in Figure S2 in the Supporting Information. c) PXRD data. (‘) indicates signals corresponding to the lamellar substructure. Black curve = experiment pattern obtained from the hybrid material. Blue curve = simulated pattern with the structure model presented in (d). Blue = Eu; red = oxygen; dark gray = carbon; light gray = hydrogen; yellow = cell edges of monoclinic Eu2O3.

University of Konstanz has developed a method for synthesising Europium (II) oxide nanoparticles – a ferromagnetic semiconductor that is relevant for data storage and data transport...

Composition of the solid sodium battery. © Empa

Initial prototype of a solid sodium battery with the potential to store extra energy created. Phones, laptops, electric cars – batteries are everywhere. And to meet the expectations of today’s consumers, these batteries are increasingly light, more powerful and designed to last longer. Researchers from Empa, the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, and the University of Geneva (UNIGE), Switzerland, have devised a new battery prototype: known as “all-solid-state,” this battery has the potential to store more energy while maintaining high safety and reliability levels. Furthermore, the battery is based on sodium, a cheap alternative to lithium.

For a battery to work, it must have the following 3 key components: an a...

Neutron star mass and radius measurements from atmospheric model fits to X-ray burst cooling tail spectra. Astronomy & Astrophysics, 2017; DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/201731082

Neutron stars are made out of cold ultra-dense matter. How this matter behaves is one of the biggest mysteries in modern nuclear physics. Researchers developed a new method for measuring the radius of neutron stars which helps them to understand what happens to the matter inside the star under extreme pressure. A new method for measuring neutron star size was developed in a study led by a high-energy astrophysics research group at the University of Turku, Finland. The method relies on modelling how thermonuclear explosions taking place in the uppermost layers of the star emit X-rays to us...

A Kyoto University-based team has unraveled the mystery of gamma-ray emission cascades caused by lightning strikes. Credit: Kyoto University/Teruaki Enoto

Researchers find that lightning strikes causes photonuclear reactions in the atmosphere, creating antimatter. Researchers from Japan describe how gamma rays from lightning react with the air to produce radioisotopes and even positrons – the antimatter equivalent of electrons. “We already knew that thunderclouds and lightning emit gamma rays, and hypothesized that they would react in some way with the nuclei of environmental elements in the atmosphere,” explains Teruaki Enoto from Kyoto University.

“In winter, Japan’s western coastal area is ideal for observing powerful lightning and thunderstorms...