News by Subject Chemistry & Physics

A team of researchers from Nagoya University, Japan, and Technical University of Darmstadt have developed a technique for quantitatively studying the effect of light on nanoscale mechanical properties of thin wafers of semiconductors or any other crystalline material. The group has found clear evidence that propagation of dislocations - slippages of crystal planes - in semiconductors is suppressed by light. The likely cause is interaction between dislocations and electrons and holes excited by the light.

Synthetically created melanin can be used as a toxin adsorbent when applied to fabric. New material protected fabric from nerve gas penetration. Examples in nature lead researchers to believe these materials "exist out there".

As light as possible and as strong as possible at the same time. These are the requirements for modern lightweight materials, such as those used in aircraft construction and the automotive industry. A research team from Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht (HZG) and Hamburg University of Technology (TUHH) has now developed a new materials' design approach for future ultralight materials: Nanometer-sized metal struts that form nested networks on separate hierarchical levels provide amazing strength.

Scientists in China present a new nanoscale AI optical circuit trained to perform unpowered all-optical inference at the speed of light for enhanced authentication solutions. By combining smart optical devices with imaging sensors, the scientists empower the sensors to perform complex functions as simply as putting glasses on them, achieving a neural density equal to 1/400 that of human brain and a computational power more than ten orders of magnitude larger than electronic processors.