Physics
press releases.

Physics21 Jul 2023

Spallation Neutron Source accelerator achieves world-record 1.7-megawatt power level to enable more scientific discoveries

The Spallation Neutron Source at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory set a world record when its particle accelerator beam operating power reached 1.7 megawatts, substantially improving on the facility’s original design capability. The accelerator’s higher power provides more neutrons for researchers who use the facility to study and improve a wide range of materials for more efficient solar panels, longer–lasting batteries and stronger, lighter materials for transportation. The achievement marks a new operational milestone for ...

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Physics21 Jul 2023

Dark SRF experiment at Fermilab demonstrates ultra-sensitivity for dark photon searches

Scientists working on the Dark SRF experiment at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory have demonstrated unprecedented sensitivity in an experimental setup used to search for theorized particles called dark photons. Researchers trapped ordinary, massless photons in devices called superconducting radio frequency cavities to look for the transition of those photons into their hypothesized dark sector counterparts. The experiment has put the world’s best constraint on the dark photon existence in a specific mass range, as ...

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Physics21 Jul 2023

BESSY II: Surface analysis of catalyst particles in aqueous solutions

Green hydrogen can be produced directly in a photoelectrochemical cell, splitting water with solar energy. However, this requires the development of super-efficient photoelectrodes that need to combine many talents at the same time: They must be excellent at converting sunlight into electricity, remain stable in acidic or basic water, act as catalysts to promote the splitting of water into hydrogen and oxygen, and be cheap, abundant and non-toxic. The large material class of metal oxides comes into question. However, it is difficult to find out what really happens at the interfaces ...

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Physics21 Jul 2023

Two types of ultrafast mode-locking operations generation from an Er-doped fiber laser based on germanene nanosheets

Saturable absorbers as passive modulators in passively mode-locked fiber lasers play a crucial role in the generation of ultrashort pulses. Germanene, a graphene-like two-dimensional material with fast carrier relaxation time and large nonlinear absorption coefficient comparable to that of graphene, is a saturable absorber material with very fast response. Researchers led by Prof. Wei Xia at University of Jinan (UJN), are interested in modulation switches in fiber lasers, and two-dimensional material saturable absorbers have been a hot research topic in recent years. Two-dimensional materials make up for the disadvantages of ...

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Physics19 Jul 2023

Using new method, study highlights physician turnover trend

Using an innovative method for measuring doctor turnover, Weill Cornell Medicine researchers determined that between 2010 and 2018, the annual rate at which physicians left their practices increased by 43 percent, from 5.3 percent to 7.6 percent a year. The causes of this trend are not known, but warrant further investigation, according to the researchers. The study, published July 11 in the Annals of Internal Medicine, also found that the first three quarters of 2020 (the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States) were not associated with higher turnover. However, more data are needed to fully understand turnover trends related to COVID-19. Whether doctors ...

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Physics18 Jul 2023

AAA expands awards program to support students pursuing careers in anatomical sciences

ROCKVILLE, MD—JULY 13, 2023 – The American Association for Anatomy (AAA) announced the deserving recipients of the AAA Predoctoral Fellowship, the DEI Dissertation Completion Award, and the EUReka EDI Undergraduate Research Award. In 2023, AAA expanded its portfolio of awards, grants, and scholarships by an additional $100,000, now topping out at over $650,000. These opportunities provide much-needed financial support to undergraduate and graduate students, enabling them to conduct groundbreaking research and make valuable contributions to the field. AAA has continuously demonstrated ...

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Physics18 Jul 2023

First BepiColombo flyby of Mercury finds electron rain triggers X-ray auroras

BepiColombo, the joint European Space Agency (ESA) and Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) mission, has revealed how electrons raining down onto the surface of Mercury can trigger high-energy auroras. The mission, which has been enroute to the Solar System’s innermost planet since 2018, successfully carried out its first Mercury flyby on 1 October 2021. An international team of researchers analysed data from three of BepiColombo’s instruments during the encounter. The outcomes of this study have been published today in the scientific ...

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Physics17 Jul 2023

Shrinking light: Nanoscale optical breakthrough

Imagine shrinking light down to the size of a tiny water molecule, unlocking a world of quantum possibilities. This has been a long-held dream in the realms of light science and technology. Recent advancements have brought us closer to achieving this incredible feat, as researchers from Zhejiang University have made groundbreaking progress in confining light to subnanometer scales. Traditionally, there have been two approaches to localize light beyond its typical diffraction limit: dielectric confinement and plasmonic confinement. However, challenges such as precision fabrication and optical loss have hindered the confinement of optical fields to sub-10 nanometer (nm) or even ...

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Physics13 Jul 2023

Unexpected coupling with leaky mode unveils new path for dense photonic integration

Defying conventional wisdom, researchers have uncovered a novel coupling mechanism involving leaky mode, previously has been considered unsuitable for high-density integration in photonic circuits. This unexpected finding opens new possibilities for dense photonic integration, revolutionizing the scalability and application of photonic chips in optical computing, quantum communication, light detection and ranging (LiDAR), optical metrology, and biochemical sensing. In a recent Light Science & Application publication, Sangsik Kim, associate professor of electrical engineering ...

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Physics13 Jul 2023

Investigating interactions at molecular junctions for novel electronic devices

The structure of a molecular junction with noncovalent interaction plays a key role in electron transport, reveals a recent study conducted by researchers at Tokyo Tech. Through simultaneous surface-enhanced Raman scattering and current–voltage measurements, they found that a single dimer junction of naphthalenethiol molecule shows three different bondings, namely π–π intermolecular and through-π and through-space molecule–electrode interactions. The π–π interaction is a type of noncovalent interaction that occurs when the electron clouds in the π orbitals ...

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Physics12 Jul 2023

A foundation that fits just right gives superconducting nickelates a boost

Researchers at the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University say they’ve found a way to make thin films of an exciting new nickel oxide superconductor that are free of extended defects. Not only does this improve the material’s ability to conduct electricity with no loss, they said, but it also allows them to discover its true nature and properties, both in and out of the superconducting state, for the first time. Their first look at a superconducting nickel oxide, or nickelate, that does ...

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Physics12 Jul 2023

Towards crack-resistant nanoparticle-based latex films

Synthetic polymer materials, such as plastics and rubbers, have become ubiquitous in our daily lives. It is, therefore, essential to ensure that they are safe, durable, and sustainable. This is especially true for synthetic latex films, which are widely used in packaging, biomedicine, and electronics. But what exactly are synthetic latex films? Simply put, they are a type of nanoparticle-based films that are produced by drying out a mixture of polymer nanoparticles and water. As the solvent evaporates, the nanoparticles become more packed until finally the interactions between polymer chains at the boundaries of nanoparticles create a coherent film. Unfortunately, the latex films ...

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Physics12 Jul 2023

Scientists developed 180% relative bandwidth microwave absorber by ultrafast UV laser

Scientists from Chinese Academy of Sciences Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering, National Physical Laboratory (UK), The University of Manchester (UK) and National University of Singapore have developed a new approach, published in International Journal of Extreme Manufacturing (IF: 14.7), to fabricate a specifically designed wideband microwave absorption metamaterial with well-controlled electrical and magnetic characteristics on a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate using ultraviolet (UV) laser irradiation. The process involves using a UV laser to precisely control the characteristics of 2-D pattern on a specially formulated donor ...

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Physics11 Jul 2023

Photon-counting CT can evaluate lung function

OAK BROOK, Ill. – New CT technology allows for a comprehensive, simultaneous evaluation of lung structure and function, something not possible with standard CT, according to a study published in Radiology, a journal of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). Chest CT is the imaging method of choice for analyzing lung disease and tracking changes over time. However, CT studies of lung function and perfusion, or blood flow, require dedicated protocols that cannot be combined. Researchers in Germany and the Netherlands developed a chest imaging protocol that yields ...

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Physics10 Jul 2023

Making headway in precision therapeutics with novel fully organic bioelectronic device

New York, NY—July 10, 2023—As researchers make major advances in medical care, they are also discovering that the efficacy of these treatments can be enhanced by individualized approaches. Therefore, clinicians increasingly need methods that can both continuously monitor physiological signals and then personalize responsive delivery of therapeutics. Need for safe, flexible bioelectronic devices Implanted bioelectronic devices are playing a critical role in these treatments, but there are a number of challenges that have stalled their widespread adoption. These devices require specialized components for signal acquisition, processing, data transmission, and powering. ...

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Physics10 Jul 2023

Researchers make a surprising discovery about the magnetic interactions in a Kagome layered topological magnet

A team from Ames National Laboratory conducted an in-depth investigation of the magnetism of TbMn6Sn6, a Kagome layered topological magnet. They were surprised to find that the magnetic spin reorientation in TbMn6Sn6 occurs by generating increasing numbers of magnetically isotropic ions as the temperature increases. Rob McQueeney, a scientist at Ames Lab and project lead, explained that TbMn6Sn6has two different magnetic ions in the material, terbium and manganese. The direction of the manganese moments controls the topological state, “But ...

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Physics10 Jul 2023

Photonic snake states

This study has attracted the attention of the international scientific community and opens up unprecedented perspectives in the formation of frequency combs: it predicts the existence of two-dimensional optical rules, more complex than the one-dimensional ones used so far and offering unprecedented versatility in a wide range of applications. Applications in communications, spectroscopy, or computing Frequency combs have a wide range of applications, particularly in the field of communications. According to the authors of the study, these combs allow large amounts of information to be transmitted through optical fibres in a ...

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Physics7 Jul 2023

High-power optical continuous-wave waveguiding in a silica micro/nanofibre

Optical MNFs are cylindrical optical waveguides with diameter below or close to the wavelength of the light. Since its first experimental demonstration [Nature 426, 816 (2003)], low-loss silica MNF has been attracting increasing attention in wide applications from optical sensors, atom optics, nonlinear optics to optomechanics. Generally, increasing the waveguiding mode power is the most effective approach to enhance light-matter interaction, and explore new opportunities for both scientific research and technological applications. However, the highest CW mode power reported so far in a MNF is ~0.4 W [AIP Adv. 4, 067124 (2014)], with typical waveguiding ...

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Physics7 Jul 2023

Laser differential confocal Raman-Brillouin spectrum microscopy

There are obvious differences between cancerous cells and normal cells in morphology, chemical properties and mechanical properties. The detection of cytochemical and mechanical properties of tumor tissues can provide multi-dimensional information for the pathological process of cells and human tissues. Among the existing detection methods for the morphology, mechanics and chemical properties of tissue and cells, confocal Raman spectroscopy can detect the chemical properties of micro-regions of samples without contact and label, and confocal Brillouin spectroscopy can detect ...

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Physics6 Jul 2023

MIT physicists generate the first snapshots of fermion pairs

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- When your laptop or smartphone heats up, it’s due to energy that’s lost in translation. The same goes for power lines that transmit electricity between cities. In fact, around 10 percent of the generated energy is lost in the transmission of electricity. That’s because the electrons that carry electric charge do so as free agents, bumping and grazing against other electrons as they move collectively through power cords and transmission lines. All this jostling generates friction, and, ultimately, heat. But when electrons pair up, they can rise above the fray and glide through a material without ...

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Physics6 Jul 2023

Researchers demonstrate first visible wavelength femtosecond fiber laser

WASHINGTON — Researchers have developed the first fiber laser that can produce femtosecond pulses in the visible range of the electromagnetic spectrum. Fiber lasers producing ultrashort, bright visible-wavelength pulses could be useful for a variety of biomedical applications as well as other areas such as material processing. Visible femtosecond pulses are usually obtained using complex and inherently inefficient setups. Although fiber lasers represent a very promising alternative due to their ruggedness/reliability, small footprint, efficiency, lower cost and high brightness, it hasn’t been possible, until now, to produce visible pulses with durations in the femtosecond ...

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Physics6 Jul 2023

Lack of sleep lessens cognitive benefits of physical activity

Lack of sleep lessens cognitive benefits of physical activity Regular physical activity may protect against cognitive decline as we get older, but this protective effect may be diminished for people who are not getting enough sleep, according to a new study by UCL researchers. The study, published in The Lancet Healthy Longevity, looked at cognitive function over 10 years in 8,958 people aged 50 and over in England. The research team investigated how different combinations of sleep and physical activity habits might affect people’s cognitive function over time. They found that people who were more physically ...

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Physics5 Jul 2023

Lasering lava to forecast volcanic eruptions

University of Queensland researchers have optimised a new technique to help forecast how volcanoes will behave, which could save lives and property around the world. Dr Teresa Ubide from UQ’s School of the Environment and a team of international collaborators have trialled a new application of the tongue-twisting approach: laser ablation inductively coupled plasma quadruple mass spectrometry. “It’s a mouthful, but this high-resolution technique offers clearer data on what’s chemically occurring within a volcano’s magma, which is fundamental to forecasting eruption patterns and changes,” Dr Ubide said. She described magma ...

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Physics3 Jul 2023

2023 EPS Europhysics Prize

Prof. Claudia Felser is a director at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids in Germany, Prof. B. Andrei Bernevig is a Professor of Physics at Princeton University in the United States and Visiting Ikerbasque Professor at Donostia International Physics Center in Spain. The Prize will be presented on Wednesday 6th September 2023, during the Awards Session of the 30th General Conference of the EPS Condensed Matter Division (CMD30), to be held in Milan (joint organization with FisMat in Italy). This prize has been awarded since 1975 (this is the 40th edition) and is one ...

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Physics30 Jun 2023

Researchers demonstrate single-molecule electronic "switch" using ladder-like molecules

Researchers have demonstrated a new material for single-molecule electronic switches, which can effectively vary current at the nanoscale in response to external stimuli. The material for this molecular switch has a unique structure created by locking a linear molecular backbone into a ladder-type structure. A new study finds that the ladder-type molecular structure greatly enhances the stability of the material, making it highly promising for use in single-molecule electronics applications. Reported in the journal Chem, the study shows that the ladder-type molecule serves as a robust and reversible molecular switch over a wide range of conductivity levels and different molecular ...

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