A new way to control light, critical for next-gen of super fast computing
Orlando FL (SPX) Mar 23, 2015 -
A device resembling a plastic honeycomb yet infinitely smaller than a bee's stinger can steer light beams around tighter curves than ever before possible, while keeping the integrity and intensity of the beam intact.
The work, conducted by researchers at the University of Texas El Paso (UTEP) and at the University of Central Florida (UCF) and published in the journal Optics Express, introd ...
more
Nano piano's lullaby could mean storage breakthrough
Champaign IL (SPX) Mar 23, 2015 -
Researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have demonstrated the first-ever recording of optically encoded audio onto a non-magnetic plasmonic nanostructure, opening the door to multiple uses in informational processing and archival storage.
"The chip's dimensions are roughly equivalent to the thickness of human hair," explained Kimani Toussaint, an associate professor ...
more
Fukushima reactor test offers detailed look inside
Tokyo (AFP) March 20, 2015 -
Confirmation this week that all the fuel inside one of Fukushima's broken reactors has long-since melted leaves the site's Japanese operator with the tricky task of eventually scooping it all out, experts say.
Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO) said Thursday it had performed a sophisticated scan of the reactor core, giving the most detailed picture so far of what is going on in the high-radiation ...
more
Many plastics labeled 'biodegradable' don't break down as expected
Washington DC (SPX) Mar 23, 2015 -
Plastic products advertised as biodegradable have recently emerged, but they sound almost too good to be true. Scientists have now found out that, at least for now, consumers have good reason to doubt these claims.
In a new study appearing in the ACS journal Environmental Science and Technology, plastics designed to degrade didn't break down any faster than their more conventional counterp ...
more
Hidden benefits of electric vehicles revealed
East Lansing, MI (SPX) Mar 23, 2015 -
Electric vehicles are cool, research shows. Literally. A study in this week's Scientific Reports by researchers at Michigan State University (MSU) and in China add more fuel to the already hot debate about whether electric vehicles are more environmentally friendly than conventional vehicles by uncovering two hidden benefits.
They show that the cool factor is real - in that electric vehicl ...
more
Click! That's how modern chemistry bonds nanoparticles to a substrate
Warsaw, Poland (SPX) Mar 23, 2015 -
Nanoparticles of various types can be quickly and permanently bonded to a solid substrate, if one of the most effective methods of synthesis, click chemistry, is used for this purpose. The novel method has been presented by a team of researchers from the Institute of Physical Chemistry of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland.
A small movement of the hand, the characteristic 'clic ...
more
Robotic materials: Changing with the world around them
Boulder CO (SPX) Mar 23, 2015 -
Prosthetics with a realistic sense of touch. Bridges that detect and repair their own damage. Vehicles with camouflaging capabilities.
Advances in materials science, distributed algorithms and manufacturing processes are bringing all of these things closer to reality every day, says a review published in the journal Science by Nikolaus Correll, assistant professor of computer science, and ...
more
