Studying physics can be very useful – even when it comes to machine learning. A digital ‘super-brain’ with built-in knowledge of the fundamental laws of nature can speed up the development of optical components for everything from quantum computers to eyeglass or camera lenses according to a new study from Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden.

“When we fed the super-brain information about the laws of physics, it immediately got much smarter. Our calculations now take one tenth of the time previously required,” says Philippe Tassin, professor at the Department of Physics and Astronomy, Chalmers University of Technology.

Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS), the global leader in fusion energy, today announced the publishing of five peer-reviewed physics basis papers on the company’s ARC fusion power plant in a special edition of Journal of Plasma Physics, published by Cambridge University Press.

A study co-led by an SUTD researcher has developed an AI-powered deep-learning framework trained on experimental data rather than simulations, enabling faster and more accurate design of light-controlling nanostructures.

We have developed a method for making simultaneous soft X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) measurements of solid-liquid interfaces and bulk liquids. By controlling the thickness of the liquid layer, we obtained the O K-edge XAS spectrum of bulk H₂O from a liquid H₂O layer on a thin Au film using the transmission method, and we used the electron-yield method to obtain the XAS spectrum of the H₂O/Au interface by measuring the drain currents from the Au surface following soft X-ray absorption. This method for obtaining simultaneous XAS measurements of solid-liquid interfaces and bulk liquids can be utilized to investigate the mechanisms of a variety of catalytic, electrochemical, and biological reactions involving solid-liquid interfaces.

A research team led by University of Tsukuba has revealed that the severity of Japanese winters is strongly influenced by the combined behavior of two distant climate systems: atmospheric circulation over the North Atlantic-European region and convective activity in the tropical Indo-Pacific. When these systems align, they reinforce each other and intensify cold conditions in Japan; when they are misaligned, their influence weakens, leading to milder impacts.

For the first time, researchers, including those from the University of Tokyo, found out how to determine how much carbon dioxide (CO2) from either natural or anthropogenic sources can be absorbed by special concrete production methods. This can be useful for economic tools such as carbon trading and carbon accounting, and the work could lead to similar measurement techniques for other gases of concern. 

Biochar, a charcoal-like material made from plant waste, has been widely promoted as a promising tool for improving soil health and storing carbon in farmland. But a new long-term study suggests that its effects are more complex than previously understood.