[Image above] Credit: ACerS
NANOMATERIALS
Exotic states of matter in graphene
Florida State University researchers designed structures made from five layers of graphene sandwiched between sheets of boron nitride and found they exhibited unique electronic behavior at very low temperatures. In this configuration, electrons travel along the edges of the structure as fractions of a single charge without energy loss.
Accordion effect makes graphene stretchable
University of Vienna researchers made graphene drastically more stretchable by rippling it like an accordion. Subsequent simulations confirmed both the formation of waves and the resulting stretchability.
ENERGY
Microsoft quantifies environmental impacts of data center cooling from ‘cradle to grave’
Microsoft researchers published a paper in Nature that quantifies for the first time how much energy and water are consumed and greenhouse gas emissions are produced by four data center cooling techniques across the entire lifespan of the data centers.
Islands harness tidal currents to produce electricity
The Faroe Islands Space Program is harnessing innovative tidal kite technology to generate renewable electricity from the abundant tidal currents around the islands. During its pilot phase, Luna 12 proved its cost-effectiveness by supplying continuous electricity for four months.
Shortcut aids design of leak-proof magnetic confinement systems for fusion reactors
Researchers from The University of Texas at Austin, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and Type One Energy Group developed a new shortcut to design leak-proof magnetic confinement systems for fusion reactors that are 10 times as fast as the gold standard method, without sacrificing accuracy.
ENVIRONMENT
Scientists home in on alternatives to ‘forever chemicals’
Researchers compiled more than a decade’s worth of work from multiple labs to detail chemical principles of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, otherwise known as PFAS. The article notes that while none of the proposed substitutes outperform existing PFAS yet, the best alternatives are approaching the same performance in certain water-repelling applications.
Specialists highlight new innovations during carbon concrete symposium
At a recent educational conference in Toronto, contractors, manufacturers, consultants, and other concrete sector representatives highlighted their sustainability initiatives, products, and technologies.
How dandelions conquered concrete to bring nature back to cities
City plants cycle from eradication by concrete and asphalt to reconquest in the nooks and cracks that subsequently form. The dandelion is a pioneer of this disturbed garden: the first to arrive with its windborne seeds and the best equipped to conquer the pavement with its long taproots.
OTHER STORIES
Universal all-optical logic gate reaches 240 GHz
Researchers from Skoltech and the University of Wuppertal determined that an all-optical universal logic gate that was previously developed at Skoltech can operate at a speed of 240 GHz at room temperature.
Experimental quantum communications network
Researchers at the University of Rochester and Rochester Institute of Technology recently connected their campuses with an experimental quantum communications network using two optical fibers.
First wurtzite-structured MgSiN2 thin film unlocks promising electronic properties
Researchers at Institute of Science Tokyo fabricated the first-ever magnesium silicon nitride heterovalent nitride in a wurtzite structure with piezoelectric properties. They stabilized the wurtzite phase using reactive radio-frequency magnetron sputtering of magnesium and silicon ions at 600°C in a nitrogen-rich atmosphere.
New class of semiconductors successfully maintains two opposite electric polarizations
Researchers led by the University of Michigan discovered the reason why wurtzite ferroelectric nitrides do not tear themselves apart despite containing two opposite electric polarizations. There is an atomic-scale break in the material—but that break creates the glue that holds it together.
Sri Lanka–Germany project uncovers ancient glassmaking site in Giribawa
Excavations at a site near Giribawa village in the North Western Province of Sri Lanka unearthed compelling evidence of a sophisticated glass bead production center believed to have operated between the 7th and 11th centuries.