[Image above] Credit: ACerS
ENERGY
This frozen fiber makes light and sound interact 1,000x more strongly(opens in new tab)
Researchers led by the Max Planck Institute of the Science of Light found that freezing the liquid core of an optical fiber produced an extreme environment where light and sound interact more than 1,000 times more strongly than in ordinary fibers. They used the effect to create optoacoustic memory, potentially paving the way for lower-energy photonic computers.
Scientists identify design rules for the best thermoelectric materials(opens in new tab)
Researchers from Tokyo Metropolitan University used a theoretical framework called Boltzmann transport theory to show that there are common conditions under which thermoelectric conversion efficiency might be maximized.
Novel layered crystal for high-efficiency thermoelectric energy conversion(opens in new tab)
Institute of Science Tokyo researchers developed a layered crystal that embeds atomically thin iron selenide layers within a bulk material. The crystal combines a high thermoelectric power factor with exceptionally low thermal conductivity.
ENVIRONMENT
Water-altered clay minerals found on two of Neptune’s tiny inner moons and rings(opens in new tab)
The James Webb Space Telescope detected a spectral signature of magnesium-rich phyllosilicates on two of Neptune’s moons and its rings. The leading explanation is that the minerals formed inside much larger primordial satellites, before Neptune captured the moon Triton and the newcomer destabilized the original moon system.
Concrete slowly absorbs small amounts of carbon dioxide from the air over its lifetime, but researchers led by the University of California, Los Angeles, found that this passive absorption process is far too slow and too small in scale to meaningfully offset the emissions released when cement is made.
3D-printed concrete could bring stronger storm shelters to vulnerable communities(opens in new tab)
Researchers at Kansas State University and Iowa State University are designing 3D-printed concrete shelters to withstand tornadoes and protect manufactured home residents. The project is in the testing phase, and they are working at the scale of a single full-size, 4-by-4-foot module building block.
MANUFACTURING
Extending optical fiber’s ultralow loss performance to photonic chips(opens in new tab)
California Institute of Technology researchers developed a way to guide light on silicon wafers with low signal loss approaching that of optical fiber at visible wavelengths. To make the waveguides, they adapted germanosilicate glass through a lithography-based manufacturing process. The waveguides are laid out in a spiral geometry to extend their optical path length.
Researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory used direct ink writing to 3D print an all-ceramic waveguide that, with further development, could enable more than a tenfold increase in laser output power over glass fibers while retaining a compact footprint.
Scientists use force to ‘write’ atomically thin superconductors(opens in new tab)
Researchers at The Pennsylvania State University and Princeton University developed a technique that uses the tip of an atomic force microscope to “write” an atomically thin quantum material with nanometer precision.
Digital workflow refines mountain arch bridge construction(opens in new tab)
Researchers from Chongqing Jiaotong University and Shenzhen University outlined three interconnected technical modules covering arch-forming calculation, segment manufacturing control, and automated arch rib installation attitude adjustment, with full-scale validation on the 504-meter main span Deyu Expressway Wujiang Bridge.
OTHER STORIES
Superconducting quantum heat engine opens the path to larger quantum computers(opens in new tab)
Aalto University researchers built a nanofabricated heat engine using superconducting circuits and operated it in a cryostat near absolute zero. By connecting the transmon qubit to a quantum-circuit refrigerator, the researchers could control the flow of heat at a quantum scale and show that it can be converted into measurable work.
Quantum diamonds meet particle physics in new Argonne research initiative(opens in new tab)
A new three-year, $1 million project at Argonne National Laboratory will develop a new generation of quantum sensors based on diamond materials. The first order of business will be to tailor the diamond materials to the needs of high-energy physics experiments.
When erbium tritelluride is cooled to certain temperatures, the electrons suddenly organize into a wave-like pattern. When cooled even further, electrons coordinate again as a second wavy phase that criss-crosses the first. Massachusetts Institute of Technology physicists teased out how each phase emerges.
Researchers from Tata Institute of Fundamental Research Hyderabad and Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf showed that “lacing” glass with self-propelled particles while it is being sheared markedly reduces its brittleness.
A small squeeze reveals new clues about an unusual kind of magnet(opens in new tab)
Rice University researchers found that gently squeezing a crystal of iron sulfide can change two of its unusual properties at the same time: its tiny magnetic signal and the way electricity moves through it.