A noble gas cage
Richland WA (SPX) Jul 24, 2014 -
When nuclear fuel gets recycled, the process releases radioactive krypton and xenon gases. Naturally occurring uranium in rock contaminates basements with the related gas radon. A new porous material called CC3 effectively traps these gases, and research appearing in Nature Materials shows how: by breathing enough to let the gases in but not out.
The CC3 material could be helpful in removi ...
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Understanding Graphene's Electrical Properties on an Atomic Level
University Park PA (SPX) Jul 24, 2014 -
Graphene, a material that consists of a lattice of carbon atoms, one atom thick, is widely touted as being the most electrically conductive material ever studied. However, not all graphene is the same. With so few atoms comprising the entirety of the material, the arrangement of each one has an impact on its overall function.
Now, for the first time, researchers from the University of Penn ...
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Oregon chemists eye improved thin films with metal substitution
Eugene OR (SPX) Jul 24, 2014 -
The yield so far is small, but chemists at the University of Oregon have developed a low-energy, solution-based mineral substitution process to make a precursor to transparent thin films that could find use in electronics and alternative energy devices.
A paper describing the approach is highlighted on the cover of the journal Inorganic Chemistry, which draws the most citations of research ...
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Quantum leap in lasers brightens future of quantum computing
Hanover NH (SPX) Jul 24, 2014 -
Dartmouth scientists and their colleagues have devised a breakthrough laser that uses a single artificial atom to generate and emit particles of light. The laser may play a crucial role in the development of quantum computers, which are predicted to eventually outperform today's most powerful supercomputers.
The study appears in the journal Physical Review B.
The new laser is the fir ...
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Scientists Find Way to Maintain Quantum Entanglement in Amplified Signals
Moscow, Russia (SPX) Jul 24, 2014 -
Physicists Sergei Filippov (MIPT and Russian Quantum Center at Skolkovo) and Mario Ziman (Masaryk University in Brno, Czech Republic, and the Institute of Physics in Bratislava, Slovakia) have found a way to preserve quantum entanglement of particles passing through an amplifier and, conversely, when transmitting a signal over long distances. Details are provided in an article published in the j ...
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Spinach could lead to alternative energy more powerful than Popeye
West Lafayette IN (SPX) Jul 24, 2014 -
Spinach gave Popeye super strength, but it also holds the promise of a different power for a group of scientists: the ability to convert sunlight into a clean, efficient alternative fuel.
Purdue University physicists are part of an international group using spinach to study the proteins involved in photosynthesis, the process by which plants convert the sun's energy into carbohydrates used ...
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McDonald's earnings edge lower on tepid gobal sales
New York (AFP) July 22, 2014 -
McDonald's Tuesday said profit slipped in the second quarter amid fairly flat global sales as it pledged to take action against any wrongdoing in an Asian food safety scare.
McDonald's posted net earnings for the second quarter of $1.39 billion, down 0.7 percent from the year-ago period.
That translated into adjusted earnings per share of $1.40, four cents below expectations.
The US ...
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