Posts

New techniques efficiently accelerate sparse tensors for massive AI models

https://techxplore.com/news/2023-10-techniques-efficiently-sparse-tensors-massive.html "improved performance and energy-efficiency of massive machine-learning models that drive generative AI... skips over 0's, saves computation and memory... finds non-0's for wider variety of sparsity patterns, and handle case where data doesn't fit memory... still maintain flexibility and adaptability while being specialized and efficient... divides tensor values into smaller blocks, with own simple, sparsity pattern, then combining blocks into eve larger levels, remaining simple at each step" Related: Tiny AI model beats massive LLMs at logic test https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-03379-9 How a simple game of 20 questions could help make AI fit for the future https://phys.org/news/2026-09-simple-game-ai-future.html

Underwriters Laboratories independently verified 2.4 thermal or 5 electrical COP generated from only H2O as fuel

https://eng8.energy/energicell/ "ENG8 EnergiCells to be deployed as early as next year... primary fuel H2O creates plasma containing ionized atoms, the high temperature and pressure of which releases heat, light, electrons and other charged particles... catalysed fusion of protons and neutrons into new elements... COP (Q factor) 2.4 thermal or 5 electrical, independently verified by Underwriters Laboratories" YouTube: ENG8 EnergiCell Q-value 5 validation at Culham Science Park  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVy3IExRhI8 See also: Startup using water as nuclear fuel claims net energy gain milestone https://interestingengineering.com/innovation/fusion-energy-company-claims-milestone  Catalyzed fusion system produces electricity, runs indefinitely  https://interestingengineering.com/energy/catalyzed-fusion-system-eng8-produces-electricity Simon Derricutt commented: "anyone working on this type of "heretical" science is in a Catch-22 situation. To do the developm...

Researchers develop solid-state thermal transistor for better heat management

https://techxplore.com/news/2023-11-solid-state-thermal-transistor.html "on-off switching of electric field controls device's heat movement... incorporates field effect on charge dynamics at atomic interface allowing high performance using negligible power to switch and amplify heat flux continuously... switching speed of more than 1 MHz, or 1 M cycles/ sec... 1,300% tunability in thermal conductance and reliable performance for more than 1 M switching cycles... self-assembled molecular interface...switching on-off through third-terminal gate controls the thermal resistance" Related: Researchers show electrical pulses can control thermal resistance in devices https://techxplore.com/news/2024-04-electrical-pulses-thermal-resistance-devices.html

Combining ceramic and polymer into a solid-state electrolyte for a better lithium-ion battery

https://techxplore.com/news/2023-11-bridging-electrolyte-worlds-lithium-ion-battery.html "Inorganic ceramic electrolytes offer high conductivity, and polymer electrolytes are easier to produce, more flexible and work better with electrodes... combined they produce a highly conductive, flexible electrolyte that is easier to synthesize... lithium tantalate filler mitigates separation—called a space-charge layer—between their constituent parts that otherwise limits their conductivity, and also provides an extra lithium-ion transport pathway... result: high conductivity and long-cycling life even at low temperatures" Related: Research demonstrates surface diffusion enhanced ion transport through two-dimensional channels https://phys.org/news/2023-11-surface-diffusion-ion-two-dimensional-channels.html Using photoelasticity in the quest for dendrite-resistant solid electrolytes https://techxplore.com/news/2023-11-photoelasticity-quest-dendrite-resistant-solid-electrolytes.html Inve...

A startup called Airloom designed a totally new turbine to shrink both the size and cost of wind power.

https://www.fastcompany.com/90977098/this-wind-turbine-looks-like-nothing-youve-ever-seen-before "82-foot-high poles hold up track with 33 ft. vertical wings that travel around track and generate power... less material, 1/10th capital cost, less expensive to install... all components fit on standard tractor-trailer... produce more energy on same amount of land, since turbines can to spaced closer to each other... energy cost 1/3.. safer for birds and bats, lower profile makes less visible... funding in round led by Breakthrough Energy Ventures to build pilot project by 2025" Related: Gorlov Helical Turbine: A Breakthrough in Renewable Energy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9e-NDrnvOw Rethinking wind power's towers and turbines https://techxplore.com/news/2024-03-rethinking-power-towers-turbines.html ProTecBird enables defence for the detection of protected bird species (wind turbines) https://www.rheinmetall.com/en/media/news-watch/news/2024/08/2024-08-22-rheinmetall-exp...

Promising electrolytes for solid-state batteries based on viscoelastic inorganic glass

https://phys.org/news/2023-11-electrolytes-solid-state-batteries-based-viscoelastic.html "characteristics of both inorganic and organic electrolytes improve stability... introducing O atoms to vitrify LiAlCl4/NaAlCl4, ionic conductivity at room temperature improved 3 orders magnitude (~1 mS cm-1 at 30°C) for both Li+ and Na+... polymer-like mechanical properties enable pressure-less Li- and Na-based solid-state batteries (< 0.1 MPa), low-melting-temperature (< 160°C) allows electrolytes infiltrate electrode materials with 4.3 V cathodes...  electrolyte deformability facilitates scale-up thin films via rolling process" Related: Study unveils new extrusion-induced instabilities in viscoelastic materials https://phys.org/news/2025-02-unveils-extrusion-instabilities-viscoelastic-materials.html

Bartering light for light: Scientists discover new system to control the chaotic behavior of light

https://phys.org/news/2023-11-bartering-scientists-chaotic-behavior.html "opposing channels cause light beams to interfere with each other in stadium cavity... adjusting relative intensity and delay of light beams entering the 2 channels altered radiation pattern outside cavity... certain frequencies can support 2 independent, overlapping RSMs, which cause all light to enter stadium cavity without reflections back to channel ports, enabling better storage, routing, and control of light signals... energy harvesting, computation, communications, and biomedical sensing"

Optical fiber–based, single-photon light source at room temperature for next-generation quantum processing

https://phys.org/news/2023-11-optical-fiberbased-single-photon-source-room.html "cheap, faster computing and stronger encryption... create entangled photon pairs... excited ytterbium ion has long fluorescence 1 ms lifetime... single ytterbium ion in doped filter in amorphous silica optical fiber at room temperature.... single-photon light source with selectable wavelength... quantum true random number generators, free-space and fiber telecommunication, quantum logic operations, high-resolution image analysis beyond diffraction limit, and high-resolution image analysis" Related: Quantum random number generator combines small size and high speed https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1099785 Lying mirror uses structured surfaces to conceal optical information https://phys.org/news/2026-08-mirror-surfaces-conceal-optical.html

Team develops a dual metalens that can switch between shooting modes based on light condition

  https://phys.org/news/2023-10-team-dual-metalens-modes-based.html "dual-mode imaging metalens transitions between normal and edge modes based on direction of light polarization rotation fine-tunes size, shape, and rotational orientation... focus by adjusting voltage applied to liquid crystal layer, allowing for rapid mode-switching in milliseconds... hydrogenated amorphous silicon lens efficiency 32.3%, 31.7%, and 20.4% for red, green, and blue...swiftly capture high-resolution images (bio-imaging, cellular reactions, drug screening), smartphones, VR and AR, and fixed LiDAR" Related: Smart droplets: Elevating tiny tech with a liquid metal signal-switching mechanism https://techxplore.com/news/2024-04-smart-droplets-elevating-tiny-tech.html

Strange magnetic material could make computing energy-efficient

https://phys.org/news/2023-11-strange-magnetic-material-energy-efficient.html "computers that need < 1/M of energy required to switch single bit... Mn-doped GeTe sensitive to both magnetic and electric fields... small, constantly fluctuating (AC) electrical current, followed by a tiny current nudge at just the right moment, forcing one spin to change its orientation in effect creates a wave through the sample and cause the other magnetic moments to also switch... more efficient, compact, energy-saving... enhancing switching magnetization direction efficiency 6 orders magnitude"

The future of AI hardware: Scientists unveil all-analog photoelectronic chip

https://techxplore.com/news/2023-10-future-ai-hardware-scientists-unveil.html "visual data processing combining optical and electronic analog computing in single chip... diffractive neural network extracts information and reduce data dimensionality in parallel received by photodiode array generating light-induced photocurrents,.... classify high-resolution images within 72 ns... consumes 4M times less energy (6 orders magnitude improvement), 3 orders faster... industry and autonomous driving (image recognition, object detection, scene understanding), large language models, wearable health monitoring"

Imperfect timekeeping to eventually fundamentally limit quantum computers and any large-scale algorithms they run

https://phys.org/news/2023-10-late-greatimperfect-timekeeping-significant-limit.html "with quantum computers, precise timing is more essential than with conventional computers, as they exploit bizarre behavior of tiny particles such as atoms, electrons, and photons to process information... changing quantum state in quantum computer corresponds to rotation in abstract high-dimensional space... to achieve desired state, rotation must be applied for a very specific period of time—otherwise you turn the state either too little or too far... could be mitigated by designing clever error correction protocols"

Researchers devise cleaner, more efficient production of key input for detergents

https://phys.org/news/2023-10-cleaner-efficient-production-key-detergents.html "more efficient, cheaper and cleaner manufacturing process... simple alkanes as alkylating agent for alkylbenzenes synthesis... sole byproduct harmless hydrogen gas... palladium nanoparticle catalyst for direct alkylation when situated on the outer surface of H-ZSM-5 zeolites primes alkane for addition of benzene producing alkylbenzene... 95.6% selectivity for desired alkylated products... soap, toothpaste, laundry detergent and industrial cleaners" Related: Next Wave and Lummus Produce World’s First Renewable Alkylate https://renewable-carbon.eu/news/next-wave-and-lummus-produce-worlds-first-renewable-alkylate/ Researchers create eco-friendly detergent from wood fiber and corn protein https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1077795 Micro-Nano Bubbles: A New Field of Eco-Friendly Cleaning https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/15/7/480

Scientists manipulate quantum fluids of light, bringing us closer to next-generation unconventional computing

https://phys.org/news/2023-10-scientists-quantum-fluids-closer-next-generation.html "spatial control of room-temperature, high-speed, all-optical polariton condensates... without relying on excitation profiles of polaritons, introducing additional copolymer layer (remaining nonresonant) within weakly coupled cavity... partially saturating optical absorption using 2-color beam excitation enabled ultrafast modulation of effective refractive index simultaneously with formation of polariton condensate dissipation... control over spatial profile, density, and energy... lateral design photonic chip"

Innovative battery design delivers high energy density and sustainability

https://techxplore.com/news/2023-10-battery-high-energy-density-sustainability.html "quasi-solid-state water-in-salt magnesium-ion (also zinc-ion and aluminum-ion) batteries... polymer-enhanced electrolyte to control the competition between protons and metal ions... 2.4 V plateau, energy density 264 W·h kg–1... high voltage of non-aqueous systems and safety and cost-effectiveness of aqueous systems... even at –22°C they retained 90% capacity after 900 cycles... non-flammable and resistant to pressure over 40 atm" Related: HKU Engineering team unveils innovative battery design that promises high energy density and sustainability https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1006269 3D-printed decoupled structural lithium-ion batteries that are stable, robust and customizable https://techxplore.com/news/2024-08-3d-decoupled-lithium-ion-batteries.html Safe and energy-efficient quasi-solid battery for electric vehicles and devices https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1070066 Chine...

Researchers demonstrate solution for long-term challenge, bringing benefits to spintronics and data storage technologies

https://phys.org/news/2023-10-solution-long-term-benefits-spintronics-storage.html "magnetic materials with robust perpendicular (out-of-plane) magnetic anisotropy cost-effective for spintronics in high-density memories... anomalous Hall effect sign can be feasibly tuned in NCO films independent of their thicknesses which has never been reported for other single-phase materials.... skew-scattering in a low-conductivity material, NCO films, in quantum transport in magnetic materials... novel spintronic applications, high-density memories"

First-ever wireless device developed to make magnetism appear in non-magnetic materials

https://phys.org/news/2023-10-first-ever-wireless-device-magnetism-non-magnetic.html "cobalt nitride layers (initially non-magnetic) in liquid with ionic conductivity and applied voltage wirelessly via 2 platinum plates causing nitrogen ions to leave CoN... runs cooler with improved efficiency... applicable also to other materials and to control other physical properties (superconductivity, memristor control, catalysis or transitions between insulator and metal, wireless electrodes for neuronal electrostimulation)... biomedical magnetic nanorobots and wireless computer information managemen"

Making high-quality crystals that resonate strongly with infrared light

https://phys.org/news/2023-10-high-quality-crystals-resonate-strongly-infrared.html "flame vapor deposition synthesized MoO3 nanoribbons with high spatial and spectral resolution, detecting resonance modes beyond 10th order... smooth, parallel edges function as reflecting surfaces... fast, inexpensive, scalable, and doesn't require extra treatments that can damage and contaminate the crystals... controlled sizes and shapes of synthesized samples by varying temperature, molybdenum concentration, and time... molecular level infrared sensing, imaging, and signaling"

Iodine improves liquid lithium thionyl chloride battery discharge performance and rechargeability

https://techxplore.com/news/2023-10-iodine-lithium-thionyl-chloride-battery.html "superior energy density and stability, long life and low levels of energy loss during storage... but now, (1) by improving kinetics of energy charge and discharge rates with I2, improved energy release rate and (2) made Li-SOCl2 batteries rechargeable when they previously could not be recharged... wide temperature operating range... dual-function molecular catalyst saving Li-SOCl2 system from its primary deficiencies by generating new redox couples as intermediates for both discharge and charge processes" Related: Ampace C5 Transforms Commercial and Industrial Energy Storage https://www.prnewswire.com/ae/news-releases/ampace-c5-transforms-commercial-and-industrial-energy-storage-302122002.html Ampace Announces the Global Launch of the JP30 Cylindrical Lithium Battery  https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ampace-announces-the-global-launch-of-the-jp30-cylindrical-lithium-battery-302331217...

New parallel hybrid network achieves better performance through quantum-classical collaboration

https://techxplore.com/news/2023-10-parallel-hybrid-network-quantum-classical-collaboration.html "sequential networks' information bottleneck, overcome adding high-frequency noise, powerful quantum machine learning tool... lower training loss, better predictions, more adaptable to complex problems and new datasets... variational quantum circuit layer smooths periodical parts, while classical multi-layered perceptron fills in irregular additions of noise... both layers considered universal approximators... success rides on setting and tuning learning rate, number of layers and neurons in each layer" Related: Redefining quantum machine learning https://techxplore.com/news/2024-03-redefining-quantum-machine.html From specialized to adaptable AI systems https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1124497

New quantum computing architecture achieves electron charge qubit with 0.1 millisecond coherence time

https://phys.org/news/2023-10-quantum-architecture-electron-qubit-millisecond.html "extended coherence time 1.000X... qubits perform 10,000 operations over coherence time with high precision and speed... encode quantum information in the electron's motional (charge) states. Because of that, they are called charge qubits... low cost building and running large-scale quantum computers... small footprint of single electrons on solid neon (reduces disruptive signals) enables more compact qubits... 2-qubit entanglement coupled to same superconducting circuit: a critical aspect of quantum computing" Related: Diamond quantum memory with Germanium vacancy exceeds coherence time of 20 ms https://phys.org/news/2024-02-diamond-quantum-memory-germanium-vacancy.html Superconducting qubit that lasts for over 1 millisecond is primed for industrial scaling https://phys.org/news/2025-11-superconducting-qubit-millisecond-primed-industrial.html

Scientists demonstrate electric control of atomic spin transitions

https://phys.org/news/2023-10-scientists-electric-atomic-transitions.html "quantum computing: electron spins used as qubits, speed critical to prevent information loss due to decoherence, and spintronics: enhancing data processing and storage... bias voltage induced electric field within tunnel junction affecting single titanium hydride molecule position, subsequently modifying g-factor... Zeeman effect: electron spin state energy levels in individual molecules split in presence of a magnetic field, enabling electron spin resonance... sensors to detect local electric fields within complex molecules" Related: Research overcomes major obstacle for quantum sensor development https://phys.org/news/2023-11-major-obstacle-quantum-sensor.html Unlocking the secrets of spin with high-harmonic probes https://phys.org/news/2023-11-secrets-high-harmonic-probes.html Researchers achieve chemically controlled, reversible magnetic phase transition https://phys.org/news/2023-11-chemically-rev...

Exploring the details of an energy-saving AI chip

https://techxplore.com/news/2023-10-exploring-energy-saving-ai-chip.html "2X power of comparable AI chips... simultaneous storage and processing of data within ferroelectric field effect transistors saves time and energy... millions of transistors each 28 nanometers placed on each AI chip... cannot heat up as quickly... 885 trillion operations/ second using 1 watt... generative AI, deep learning algorithms and robotics, recognize objects in space or process data from drones in flight with no time lag... but first must meet security requirements, for example, those for the automotive industry" Related: The Breakthrough AI Chip That Moves Beyond Transistors https://medium.com/technicity/the-breakthrough-ai-chip-that-moves-beyond-transistors-c698a2dc00e0 Engineers develop magnetic tunnel junction–based device to make AI more energy efficient https://techxplore.com/news/2024-07-magnetic-tunnel-junctionbased-device-ai.html Tiny graphene-based magnetic devices could lead to muc...

Crescendo promotes efficient, real-time and secure wireless access

https://techxplore.com/news/2023-10-device-efficient-real-time-wireless-access.html "filter out interference from other radio signals while sweeping underutilized spectrum frequency bands for high-traffic periods... helps distribute wireless access at affordable cost during low-traffic periods... low-complexity, advanced algorithms... secure connection, cyberattacks identified in real-time... commercial off-the-shelf parts and attached to existing radio units... monitor spectrum's activity through color-coded graphs showing hot spots of activity in red... future: reduce number of components to decrease cost"

Controlling waves in magnets with superconductors for the first time

https://phys.org/news/2023-10-magnets-superconductors.html "thin layer yttrium iron garnet magnet, on top add superconducting electrode and another electrode which when cooled to -268° into superconducting state slows spins... varying temperature tunes this... reflects magnetic field back to spin wave causing spin waves to move up and down more slowly, enabling deflecting, reflecting, resonating... produce little heat or sound waves... energy-efficient spin-wave circuits, cell phones, quantum computer.s"

HERO generates steady 700°C heat in under three minutes from hydrogen and oxygen without combustion or fuel cells

https://www.hydrogeninsight.com/innovation/profound-breakthrough-new-technology-generates-steady-high-temperature-heat-from-hydrogen-without-combustion-or-fuel-cells/2-1-1542599 "water  the only output... globally patented catalyst that quickly heats up in the presence of H2 and O2 and then reverts to its original state with zero degradation... patented non-toxic catalyst, a trade secret, from relatively common elements... uses only tiny amounts of electricity to power switches, pumps and gauges... food giant Mars and packaging company TrendPac are running pilot projects... can use with green air-cooled supercritical CO2 turbines... one-tenth size of equivalent steam turbine" Simon Derricutt commented: "they're trying to make this out as something new, but the real news here is that they've got a cheap catalyst that starts working at room temperature and is OK up to 700°C (doesn't degrade too much at high temperature). Otherwise, you could do much the same th...

Design improvements boost efficiency of III-V solar cells

https://techxplore.com/news/2023-10-boost-efficiency-iii-v-solar-cells.html "grew gallium arsenide heterojunction solar cell using dynamic hydride vapor phase epitaxy with 27% efficiency... makes III-V solar cells more affordable for terrestrial applications... optimizes emitter doping and bandgap to minimize impact of defects on efficiency... also applicable to heterojunctions such as silicon, cadmium telluride, or perovskites... powerful tool for solar cell design" Related: Unlocking Solar Power Excellence: Halead SUNPLUS Achieves PR Exceeding 93% https://solarquarter.com/2023/11/06/unlocking-solar-power-excellence-halead-sunplus-achieves-pr-exceeding-93/ Scientists propose parallel planar heterojunction strategy for efficient solar cells https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-technology-news/scientists-propose-parallel-planar-heterojunction-strategy-for-efficient-solar-cells Shedding light on perovskite hydrides using a new deposition technique https://phys.o...

Printable circularly polarized luminescence materials enable flexible, stereoscopic displaying

https://phys.org/news/2023-10-printable-circularly-polarized-luminescence-materials.html "Printing flexible 3D displays with 2 sets moving, deformable and free-form full-color pixel arrays based on orthogonal circularly polarized luminescence (CPL)... considerable contrast ratio and wide viewing angle... directly write customized graphics on substrates (polypropylene, cotton and polyester fabrics... meter-long luminous coatings... virtual reality, medical imaging, scientific visualization, information security, spintronics, quantum computing, biological detection, wearable devices (smartwatches)" Related: Advancements make laser-based imaging simpler and three-dimensional https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-12-advancements-laser-based-imaging-simpler-three-dimensional.html Researchers develop highly fluorescent helical quinolizinium salts via rhodium-catalyzed synthesis https://phys.org/news/2025-10-highly-fluorescent-helical-quinolizinium-salts.html Tiny magnetic 'flower...

Room-temperature continuous-wave topological Dirac-vortex microcavity lasers on silicon

https://phys.org/news/2023-10-room-temperature-continuous-wave-topological-dirac-vortex-microcavity.html "InAs/InGaAs QD materials monolithically grown... harnessing an auxiliary orbital degree of freedom in topological insulators. By doing so, they were able to control the near-field of the Dirac-vortex cavities to obtain linearly polarized far-field emission... on-chip light source silicon-based photonic integrated circuits... non-Hermiticity, bosonic nonlinearity, and quantum electrodynamics... optoelectronics, communications, and silicon-based PICs with topological robustness" Related: Room-temperature laser hits record stability with 68-cm optical cavity https://phys.org/news/2026-06-room-temperature-laser-stability-cm.html Integrate vortex and corner states in fractals https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1138536

A medium-voltage string inverter for photovoltaics

https://techxplore.com/news/2023-10-medium-voltage-inverter-photovoltaics.html "medium-voltage range (1,500 V) at 250 kVA... higher blocking voltage of silicon carbide semiconductors... cooling heat pipe cooling reduces amount of aluminum... high 1,500 VAC enables cable cross section reducttion to 35 mm², reducing copper consumption 700 kg/ km cable... fed power into medium-voltage grid successfully... large-scale PV power plants, wind turbines, charging infrastructure for large electric vehicles and vehicle fleets, and for industrial grids" Related: Wolfspeed Unveils Cutting-Edge Silicon Carbide Module Solution to Boost Clean Energy Capacity https://www.epicos.com/article/867101/wolfspeed-unveils-cutting-edge-silicon-carbide-module-solution-boost-clean-energy

Harnessing molecular power: Electricity generation on the nanoscale

https://phys.org/news/2023-10-harnessing-molecular-power-electricity-generation.html "natural motion of molecules in liquid...zinc oxide strands (nano whiskers) are piezoelectric... implantable medical devices, can scale to kW-scale generators... working to improve energy density of the device by testing different liquids, high-performing piezoelectric materials, and new device architectures and by enlarging the device" Simon Derricutt commented: "yep, this works, but the efficiency of conversion is only somewhere around 1.5e-12 when you look at the actual power available. 1.5pW per cm² or 15nW per m². Thus you'd need a pretty huge device (66.7 million m²) to get a kW, and that's quite a bit of Gold needed. The ZnO is of course pretty cheap material, but you still need to grow the nanorods so the end result isn't cheap. Sure, you can stack these devices provided you have enough heat-transfer between the layers, so you don't need 66.7 square kilometres of ...

Scientists develop highest-resolution single-photon superconducting camera

https://phys.org/news/2023-10-scientists-highest-resolution-single-photon-superconducting-camera.html "400,000 pixels, a 400X increase... near absolute 0 ultra thin electrical wire grid... no resistance until wire struck by single photon when superconductivity shuts down at particular pixel... locations and intensities of all photons makes image... measure signals from all pixels at a time rather than from each individual pixel, reducing number of readout wires... discern arrival time difference of signals as short as 50 trillionths of a second, count up to 100k photons/ second striking grid... capture very weak light signals from space brain" Related:  Scientists amplify superconducting sensor array signals near the quantum limit https://phys.org/news/2023-10-scientists-amplify-superconducting-sensor-array.html

New ammonia reaction could offer a sustainable source of nitrogen

https://phys.org/news/2023-10-ammonia-reaction-sustainable-source-nitrogen.html "simple way to produce amines from ammonia and unsaturated hydrocarbons... for the first time, not based on transition metals, but on main group elements without waste... so far, have converted activated substrates only and no unsaturated hydrocarbons, but now much closer to be major breakthrough, which would facilitate building blocks of agricultural and pharmaceutical chemicals, detergents, dyes, lubricants, coatings, catalysts in production of polyurethanes, applied in gas scrubbers at refineries and power plants" Related:  Circular low-carbon catalytic technology enabling the co-production of gluconic acid and sorbitol at room temperature via internal hydrogen transfer from glucose without external hydrogen input https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1121022

Researchers create magnetic microrobots that work together to assemble objects in 3D environments

https://techxplore.com/news/2023-10-magnetic-microrobots-3d-environments.html " 1-mm  custom-made controller remotely moves individual robots to interact with each other... aims to develop an innovative set of AI-powered, microsized, untethered, stimuli-responsive swarms of robots... biomedical (operations)" Related: Honeybee behavior as a model for decision-making in a kilobot swarm https://techxplore.com/news/2023-11-honeybee-behavior-decision-making-kilobot-swarm.html New system allows acoustic robots to co-operatively transport objects https://techxplore.com/news/2025-06-acoustic-robots.html

Layered lithium cobalt oxide cathode synthesized at relatively low 300°C in as little as 30 minutes

https://techxplore.com/news/2023-10-scientists-cathode-materials-lithium-ion-batteries.html "key component of lithium-ion batteries... hydroflux process adds sodium or potassium hydroxide to cobalt hydroxide and lithium hydroxide... presence of water molecules in the starting materials significantly improved crystallinity... electrochemical properties only marginally inferior to that of commercially available LiCoO2 synthesized by traditional high temperature (>800°C) and more time consuming (10 to 20 hours) method" Related: 24M’s Electrode-To-Pack Battery Doesn’t Have Individual Cells And Modules https://insideevs.com/news/693300/24m-electrode-to-pack-battery-technology/ Enhancing thermo-electrochemical cell efficiency https://techxplore.com/news/2023-11-thermo-electrochemical-cell-efficiency.html A strategy to reduce the rapid capacity deterioration of Ni-rich cathodes https://techxplore.com/news/2023-12-strategy-rapid-capacity-deterioration-ni-rich.html 24M Technologies...

Chemists, engineers craft adjustable arrays of microscopic lenses

https://phys.org/news/2023-10-chemists-craft-adjustable-arrays-microscopic.html "carving aqueduct equivalents into polydimethylsiloxane, expanding or contracting lenses using fluids, modifying magnification, focal length... projecting signals onto embedded sensors...  silicone, strategic molecular groups and lithium-based compound, hydrogel, applying UV propagating chains protruding up from silicone and across, stabilizing it... control size, patterning and composition of hydrogel lenses, orientation and tension of silicone... biomaterial and biomedical culturing, micro-projection, robotic skins" Related: Build better biomedical hydrogels from molecular building blocks to high-order structures https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1140964

Adaptive optical neural network connects thousands of artificial neurons

https://techxplore.com/news/2023-10-optical-neural-network-thousands-artificial.html "artificial neurons activated by event-based photonics... waveguide-coupled phase-change... become stronger or weaker (synaptic plasticity)... synapses not hardware elements but coded as a result using optical pulses... integrate several thousand neurons on single chip and connect optically... higher bandwidth, less energy... nonvolatile, phase-change material switched between amorphous and crystalline structures with highly ordered atomic lattice enabling permanent data storage even without energy supply... AI" Related: Implementing artificial neural network hardware systems by stacking them like 'neuron-synapse-neuron' structural blocks https://techxplore.com/news/2024-01-artificial-neural-network-hardware-stacking.html

Photoncycle says it can store solar energy from summer to winter cheaper than batteries

https://sifted.eu/articles/solar-energy-breakthrough-solid-hydrogen "for heat and electricity in winter using solid hydrogen in a 3 cubic m copper cylinder with thick Styrofoam wrapping... more efficient storage than batteries or liquid hydrogen, doesn’t lose much energy in conversion... losses are mostly heat (captured), 70% house energy heating related... non-flammable... store electricity 20X more dense than a lithium battery does... produces hydrogen and electricity in same high-temperature fuel cell... goal of selling 10k units in Denmark in 2025, and to have them installed in 2027"

Wireless, battery-free electronic 'stickers' gauge forces between touching objects

https://techxplore.com/news/2023-10-wireless-battery-free-electronic-stickers-gauge.html "polymer compresses drawing copper strips closer increasing electric charge in millimeters thin soft polymer sheet capacitor... low power, transmitting radio signals from RFID reader via backscattering... attached under box measure weight.. withstood >1K force applications... each sticker <$2 fabricated cost.. future: smartphone readable stickers eliminating need for RFID readers... robots, VR and AR, warehouse inventory management accuracy and efficiency (miniature scales), biomedical: implant's (knee) fit, wear and tear"

Changing electron flow direction could improve future electronic devices and quantum computers

https://phys.org/news/2023-10-electrical-quantum-phenomenon-future-electronic.html " "quantum anomalous Hall (QAH) effect... no energy loss as electrons flow along materials's edges and can make immediate U-turn... 5-millisecond current pulse to QAH insulator impacts internal magnetism and causes electrons change directions... electronic faster than magnetic switch... narrowing QAH insulator devices increased applied current's density... future: pause electrons en route and QAH effect at higher temperatures (currently near absolute zero)... information transfer, storage, and retrieval" Related: Quantum computer simulates spontaneous symmetry breaking at zero temperature https://phys.org/news/2025-07-quantum-simulates-spontaneous-symmetry-temperature.html

Catalyst selectively and sequentially deconstructs multiple polymers in mixed plastics into pristine monomers

https://phys.org/news/2023-10-scientists-recycling-plastics.html "requires 94% less energy and 96% less fossil fuel... works for >30% of all plastics including composites and multilayer packaging... synthetic organocatalyst deconstructs at different temperatures: Polycarbonates at 266° F, polyurethanes at 320° F, polyethylene terephthalates at 356° F and polyamides at 410° F... works in 2 hours... other plastics, additives and associated materials such as cotton and plastic bags left intact and subsequently recovered... filtration removes impurities (pigments), then monomers, then catalyst, reused" Related: Scientists create artificial protein capable of degrading microplastics in bottles https://phys.org/news/2023-10-scientists-artificial-protein-capable-degrading.html Scientists find hundreds of toxic chemicals in recycled plastics https://phys.org/news/2023-11-scientists-hundreds-toxic-chemicals-recycled.html Polyethylene waste could be a thing of the past https://phys....

New technique accomplishes precise control of photonic angular momentum

https://phys.org/news/2023-10-technique-precise-photonic-angular-momentum.html "symmetrical cascading 2 analogous units: TAM (total spin angular and orbital angular momentum)... separator and reverser using unwrappers and correctors... extracting up to 42 TAM modes from photon beam, spatial filter determines which TAM modes to keep and which to block, TAM reverser brings back separated beams to spatial domain... high-speed large-capacity data transmission and high-security photonic encryption systems, high-fidelity photonic computation and processing quantum radar signals"

A strategy for the spin-acoustic control of silicon vacancies in a 4H silicon carbide-based bulk acoustic resonator

https://phys.org/news/2023-10-strategy-spin-acoustic-silicon-vacancies-4h.html "characterize acoustic properties microelectromechanical systems, also enabling greater control over quantum memory devices based on spin defects use acoustic vibrations a quantum resource... common, easily measurable defect in silicon carbide mechanically sensitive and robustly controlled to make non-invasive strain sensor... future:  strain imaging in silicon carbide based devices, like MRI... use feedback between resonator and spins to control both systems simultaneously... quantum technologies, imaging"

Revolutionizing radar: Integrated THz vortex beam emitter for precise rotating target detection

https://phys.org/news/2023-10-revolutionizing-radar-thz-emitter-precise.html "cost-effective, scalable... spiraling (not just linear) electromagnetic waves with orbital angular momentum... helical twist introducing signature rotational Doppler effect when encountering spinning object... manipulating frequency generates radar measuring rotating object speed, 2% maximum margin error... beam emitter cavity access resonances enable vortex beams ±1 topological charges, illuminating rotating object, and resulting echo received by linearly polarized antenna... tactical military defense" Related: Researchers 3D print compact, low-cost vortex beam generators https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1068045

Researchers demonstrate a high-speed electrical readout method for graphene nanodevices

https://phys.org/news/2023-10-high-speed-electrical-readout-method-graphene.html "faster, more sensitive electronic measurements and insights into rapid dynamics of electronic states... improvements to radio-frequency (rf) reflectometry to achieve a high-speed readout technique. Remarkably, the breakthrough involves the use of graphene itself... microscale graphite back-gate and an undoped silicon substrate... observe Coulomb diamonds through rf reflectometry... quantum computers, physical property exploration using 2D materials such as graphene"

Brighter, bolder, world-record-breaking green laser based on coherent beam combining

https://www.laserfocusworld.com/lasers-sources/article/14300426/brighter-bolder-worldrecordbreaking-laser-signals-a-paradigm-shift "paradigm shift... 500 W, single-mode, continuous-wave 532 nm... eliminates risk to integrity of single crystal by combining seven lasers... copper additive manufacturing... chip-to-wafer welding, combines power and modulation capabilities... future: coupling frequency-doubled, single-mode-infrared laser modules with coherent beam combining enabling high CW power in laser machining processes for the first time" Related: New approach enables independent lasers to cooperate for unified light emission https://phys.org/news/2025-07-approach-enables-independent-lasers-cooperate.html Gradient-doped crystal design enhances laser performance in dual-end pumping configuration https://phys.org/news/2025-09-gradient-doped-crystal-laser-dual.html

US patented kinematic charger reduces solar panel size by half, to debut at Asia clean energy summit in Singapore

https://www.mywabashvalley.com/business/press-releases/ein-presswire/663089922/us-patented-kinematic-charger-reduces-solar-panel-size-by-half-to-debut-at-asia-clean-energy-summit-in-singapore/ "reduces electricity consumption by an 30-70%... optimizes energy flow by harnessing redundancy states within energy systems. This ensures that every watt produced serves a purpose, minimizing waste and maximizing efficiency. The technology ingeniously employs batteries as intermediaries, bridging the gap between intermittent solar energy and variable load demands... reliable and affordable"

Scientists propose super-bright light sources powered by quasiparticles

https://phys.org/news/2023-10-scientists-super-bright-sources-powered-quasiparticles.html "as powerful as the most advanced ones in existence today, but much smaller with tiny travel distance.... non-destructive imaging to scan for viruses, understanding biological processes like photosynthesis, manufacturing computer chips, and exploring the behavior of matter in planets and stars... each electron performing relatively simple movements, but total radiation from all electrons mimics particle moving faster than light or oscillating particle... laboratories, hospitals, and businesses" Related: Non-destructive image sensor goes beyond bulkiness https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1074777

From square to cube: Hardware processing for AI goes 3D, boosting processing power

https://techxplore.com/news/2023-10-square-cube-hardware-ai-3d.html "using different wavelengths to represent different sets of data... added extra parallel dimension to photonic matrix-vector multiplier chips exploiting multiple different radio frequencies encoding data... analyze 100 electrocardiogram signals simultaneously, 93.5% accuracy identifying sudden death risk... scaling of inputs × 6 outputs 100X energy efficiency and compute density enhancement... using radio frequencies to represent data... future: exploiting more degrees of freedom of light, such as polarization and mode multiplexing"

Automatically manufacturing and depositing organic semiconductor thin films with high molecular precision

https://techxplore.com/news/2023-10-method-tailor-made-semiconductor-thin.html "rolling transferred Langmuir layer technique produces organic semiconductor molecule monolayers at air-water interfaces and transferred to solid substrate... reduced surface defects... can vary packing density via surface pressure during deposition... number of stacked molecular layers precisely adjusted... thin-film opto-electronics... organic photovoltaics generating electricity from sunlight, thin films converting sunlight into chemical energy, transistors, sensitive sensors" Related: Simulating how electrons move through biological nanowires https://phys.org/news/2023-11-simulating-electrons-biological-nanowires.html Pressure-cooking birch leaves to produce raw material for organic semiconductors https://phys.org/news/2023-11-pressure-cooking-birch-raw-material-semiconductors.html

Scientists develop thin film phototransistor for bioinspired visual adaptation

https://phys.org/news/2023-10-scientists-thin-phototransistor-bioinspired-visual.html "InP quantum dot/oxide thin-film phototransistor vision sensor... embed discrete InP QDs with strong visible-light absorbance, InSnZnO thin film constructing hybrid phototransistor, efficient carrier transmission between source and drain... superior electrical transport property of oxide semiconductors... excellent gate and visible light response controllability unde varying ambient light intensity... >93% handwritten pattern recognition accuracy... image processing, artificial vision, security, medical care" Related: Researchers discover new ultra strong material for microchip sensors https://phys.org/news/2023-11-ultra-strong-material-microchip-sensors.html Vision sensing for intelligent driving: technical challenges and innovative solutions https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1119389

From a five-layer graphene sandwich, a rare electronic state emerges

https://phys.org/news/2023-10-five-layer-graphene-sandwich-rare-electronic.html "high-capacity data storage... increase speed and lower energy cost hard drives... domains of multiferroic storage device could be switched by faster, much lower-power electric field... rhombohedral stacking slows down electrons... of 2 possible valleys in graphene. electrons coordinate settling in only one valley... control both ferro-valleytronics and unconventional ferro-magnet at same time using electric field... double memory of chips... magnetic and valleytronic devices" Related: Memory principle enables information to be written/ erased electrically stacking 2D graphene https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1114932

Physicists create new form of antenna for radio waves

https://phys.org/news/2023-10-physicists-antenna-radio.html "small glass bulb containing an atomic vapor to demonstrate a new form of antenna for radio waves. The bulb was "wired  with laser beams and could therefore be placed far from any receiver electronics... highly sensitive, broad tunability, small, no metal parts, atomic sensor accessed via laser light instead of electric cables... 30m distance using a free-space laser link adding flexibility to Rydberg-atom based sensing... robust and cost-effective quantum sensors, satellites, defense" Related: Rydberg-atom detector conquers a new spectral frontier https://phys.org/news/2025-12-rydberg-atom-detector-conquers-spectral.html

Morpho butterfly nanostructure inspires technology for bright, balanced lighting

  https://phys.org/news/2023-10-morpho-butterfly-nanostructure-technology-bright.html "cheap, water-repelling, high transmittance >93%... Morpho butterflies randomly arranged multilayer enables selective reflection blue light over ≥±40° angle from illumination direction... range of colors without dispersion, self-clean simple water rinse, shaped with standard nanofabrication tools... 2D nanopatterns transparent polydimethylsiloxane elastomer... llight diffusion controlled into anisotropic shape: 78° x- and 16° y-direction... daylight-harvesting windows, visual displays, optical diffusers"

Miniaturized free-space optical breakthrough unlocks high-speed wireless communication anywhere

https://techxplore.com/news/2023-10-miniaturized-free-space-optical-breakthrough-high-speed.html "pair of FSO devices. Each FSO 45 cm × 40 cm × 35 cm, 9.5 kg, 10 W, each houses optical transceiver, acquisition, pointing, and tracking device, and control... low-diffraction, efficient 4-stage closed-loop feedback control... tracking through integrating multiple sensors and algorithms, 10 minute tracking, tracking error >=3 μrad, link loss 13.7 dB over the 1-km link... bidirectional data rates 9.27 Gbps... 1 km effective distance, also tested 4 km, where average loss increased to 18 dB, but due to a foggy test environment"

Ushering in the era of light-powered 'multi-level memories'

https://phys.org/news/2023-10-ushering-era-light-powered-multi-level-memories.html "0 and 2D semiconductor artificial junction... increased processing speed... joining quantum dots in a core-shell structure with zinc sulfide on surface of cadmium selenide and molybdenum sulfide semiconductor enabling storage and manipulation of electronic states within quantum dots measuring <=10 nm... ienables more states than 0 and 1... zinc sulfide shell prevents charge leakage between neighboring quantum dots, allowing each to function as memory... quantum dot structure perfectly mimics floating gate memory.... AI" Related: Polarized hetero-structured luminant: The 'marriage' of 2D materials and 0D quantum dots https://phys.org/news/2023-12-polarized-hetero-structured-luminant-marriage-2d.html Boosting UV light absorption in 2D semiconductor with quantum dot hybrids for enhanced light emission https://phys.org/news/2024-07-boosting-uv-absorption-2d-semiconductor.html

Research team demonstrates coherent ultrafast photoemission from carbon nanotube emitter

https://phys.org/news/2023-10-team-coherent-ultrafast-photoemission-carbon.html "2 nm single-walled carbon nanotubes achieved ultrafast resonant tunneling single-electron emission... double barrier enabling 0-dimensional cap as electron resonant cavity... splitting 2 degenerate quantum states caused by static field and laser field,controls electron emission... electron emission energy spread 57meV, order magnitude lower than that of metals... close to time-energy uncertainty principle limit... electron probes with sub-angstrom spatial resolution and femtosecond time resolution... attosecond electron microscopy"

Creating a broadband diffractive graphene orbital angular momentum metalens by ultrafast laser nanoprinting

https://phys.org/news/2023-10-broadband-diffractive-graphene-orbital-angular.html "200nm... high-resolution focusing... periodically arranged 2D metasurfaces for high-quality OAM beams.... 1-step laser nanoprinting... graphene manipulates light beam's amplitude and phase  for highly flexible and accurate lens... detour phase technique and unique graphene properties independently control focusing and topological charge at same time... simple and cost-effective... optical data storage, quantum information processing, super-resolution imaging, and optical trapping and manipulation, photonic communications" Related: Intelligent nanophotonics: When machine learning sheds light https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1080509 Tape-Assisted Residual Layer-Free One-Step Nanoimprinting of High-Index Hybrid Polymer for Optical Loss-Suppressed Metasurfaces https://advanced.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/advs.202570061 Cavity-assisted nonlocal metasurfaces for momentum-space...

Tiny memory cell withstands extreme temperatures, enables smaller and better semiconductors for microelectronics

https://techxplore.com/news/2023-10-tiny-memory-cell-extreme-temperatures.html "ferroelectric aluminum scandium nitride stores different states, suitable as nanoswitch... stable and powerful semiconductor material works with silicon, silicon carbide and gallium nitride... withstands 1,000°C... 4 to 5 nm thick, reducing from >100 to 1 volt... easily integrated into existing semiconductors... neuromorphic computers, actuators in loudspeakers, transistors, information storage/ sensors for combustion processes in engines/ turbines, steel industry, medical diagnostics" Related: Low-power vertical neurotransistors emulate dendritic computing of neurons https://techxplore.com/news/2023-11-low-power-vertical-neurotransistors-emulate-dendritic.html Neuromorphic computing research: Team proposes hardware that mimics the human brain https://techxplore.com/news/2023-11-neuromorphic-team-hardware-mimics-human.html Twisted magnets make brain-inspired computing more adaptable https://tec...

An electrical switch to control chemical reactions

https://phys.org/news/2023-10-electrical-chemical-reactions.html "development of new molecules using simple external control, enabling more environmentally friendly synthesis... small box where reaction mixture circulate between 2 electrodes separated by quarter-millimeter-thick sheet containing flow channel for circulating molecules between electrodes... as molecules flow through reactor, reactants interact weakly with carbon nanotube electrodes, exposing them to electric field inducing electronic polarization activating chemical transformation... organic chemistry, drugs, plastics"

Whispering gallery microprobe opens up new opportunities for optical spectroscopy

https://phys.org/news/2023-10-gallery-microprobe-opportunities-optical-spectroscopy.html "Nano-plasmonic hotspots coupled with WGMs via phase-matched cavity-antenna coupling... 2 orders magnitude enhancement... sub-milliwatt continuous-wave pump power... Raman-based material analysis and chemical imaging... combination of WGM microresonators and nanoplasmonic SERS structures... phase-matching manifests due to WGMs' guided-wave nature... enhancing conventional SERS and 2D scanned Raman imaging using microprobe configuration... better and potentially more compact SERS test platform" Related: Unbreakable barrier broken: new superlens technique will finally allow scientists to see the infinitesimal https://thedebrief.org/unbreakable-barrier-broken-new-superlens-technique-will-finally-allow-scientists-to-see-the-infinitesimal/