Though the presence of water on the moon is a well-confirmed fact, the origins of this water and its distribution on the lunar surface remain largely unknown. Thanks to new lunar samples brought back by the Chinese Chang’e 5 lunar exploration mission, researchers now know that impact glass beads appear to play a significant role in the lunar surface water cycle.
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Ferroelectricity traditionally is believed to only occur in compounds. However, in the past decade, some theoretical works suggested that ferroelectricity is possible in certain elementary substances. Now researchers in China and Singapore experimentally confirmed ferroelectricity in monolayer α-phase bismuth.
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All known piezoelectric materials to date are solids. But a shocking discovery at Michigan State University turns this conventional wisdom on its head. They observed the piezoelectric effect in two room-temperature ionic liquids, and this discovery could necessitate a modification of current piezoelectric theory.
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Deviations in the atomic structure of glass can significantly affect the material’s macroscopic properties, yet most studies to date do not account for these deviations. A recent review paper led by researchers at The Pennsylvania State University comprehensively reviews various experimental and computational techniques used to characterize and evaluate the effects of these deviations on commercially relevant glass-forming oxide systems.
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The process by which a crystal nucleates and grows within a glass during heat treatments remains a conceptually ill-understood phenomenon. Researchers in Brazil developed a nuclear magnetic resonance strategy combined with atomistic computer simulations that allowed them to shed unprecedented light on the structural changes that take place in a glass during relaxation and crystal nucleation.
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As applications for carbon nanostructures flourish, the exploration for new carbon structures continues. Today’s CTT highlights three discoveries announced during the past few months.
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Understanding the underlying mechanisms of rapid and energy-efficient flash sintering is key to tailoring the materials and processes to meet a wide range of performance requirements. Four recent articles in ACerS journals characterize and quantify some of these atomic-level phenomena.
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To date, efforts to study carrier dynamics in semiconductor materials have primarily focused on narrow bandgap semiconductors. Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, propose a method that combines ultrafast nanoscale measurements and theoretical modeling to probe carrier behavior in semiconductors with wider bandgaps.
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While it is well known that packaging material can affect the flavor of food, the effect packaging has on milk has not been fully investigated. Researchers from North Carolina State University and Clemson University investigated the effect of packaging on both whole and skim milk.
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Despite the well-known susceptibility of ceramics to thermal shock, there is little experimental verification of real-time crack growth due to this phenomenon. Researchers in China used digital image correlation to conduct real-time measurements of thermal shock cracking in opaque ceramics.
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