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Microwaves could be as bad for the environment as cars, suggests new research Summary: Microwaves usage across the EU alone emits as much carbon dioxide as nearly seven million cars according to a new study. Researchers have carried out the first ever comprehensive study of the environmental impacts of microwaves, considering their whole life cycle, from 'cradle to grave.' Microwaves usage across the EU alone emits as much carbon dioxide as nearly seven million cars according to a new study by The University of Manchester. Researchers at the University have carried out the first ever comprehensive study of the environmental impacts of microwaves, considering their whole life cycle, from 'cradle to grave'. The study found: Microwaves emit 7.7 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent per year in the EU. This is equivalent to the annual emissions of 6.8 million cars. Microwaves across the EU consume an estimated 9.4 terawatts per hour (TWh) of e...

Summary: Scientists have now unveiled the long-mysterious inner workings of these semiconductor elements, which can act like the short-term memory of nerve cells. Illustration shows an electron beam impinging on a section of a memristor, a device whose resistance depends on the memory of past current flow. As the beam strikes different parts of the memristor, it induces different currents, yielding a complete image of variations in the current throughout the device. Some of these variations in current indicate places where defects may occur, indicated by overlapping circles in the filament (titanium dioxide), where memory is stored. In the race to build a computer that mimics the massive computational power of the human brain, researchers are increasingly turning to memristors, which can vary their electrical resistance based on the memory of past activity. Scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have now unveiled the long-mysterious inner...

International research team develops electronic 'skin' Summary: The success of Pokémon GO made many people familiar with the concept of 'augmented reality': computer-generated perception blends into the real and virtual worlds. So far, these apps largely used optical methods for motion detection. Physicists have now developed an ultrathin electronic magnetic sensor that can be worn on skin. Just by interacting with magnetic fields, the device enables a touchless manipulation of virtual and physical objects. Controlling virtual light bulbs without touching them -- HZDR's ultrathin electronic magnetic sensor makes it possible. Depending on the fields of a permanent magnet, the movement and the position of the hand, on which the sensor is attached like a second skin, are translated onto a virtual scale that then controls light intensity. The recent success of Pokémon GO made many people very familiar with the concept of "augmented reality...

Butterfly wing inspires photovoltaics: Light absorption can be enhanced by up to 200 percent SUMMARY: Sunlight reflected by solar cells is lost as unused energy. The wings of the butterfly Pachliopta aristolochiae are drilled by nanostructures (nanoholes) that help absorbing light over a wide spectrum far better than smooth surfaces. Researchers have now succeeded in transferring these nanostructures to solar cells and, thus, enhancing their light absorption rate by up to 200 percent. Nanostructures of the wing of Pachliopta aristolochiae can be transferred to solar cells and enhance their absorption rates by up to 200 percent Sunlight reflected by solar cells is lost as unused energy. The wings of the butterfly  Pachliopta aristolochiae  are drilled by nanostructures (nanoholes) that help absorbing light over a wide spectrum far better than smooth surfaces. Researchers of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have now succeeded in transferring these nanostr...

Summary: Researchers have devised new methods to create interesting input states for quantum computations and simulations. The new methods can be used to simulate certain electronic systems to arbitrarily high accuracy. The quantum circuits that were designed in this research can be depicted in tree-like diagrams such as the one shown here. An international group of researchers, including UvA physicist Michael Walter, have devised new methods to create interesting input states for quantum computations and simulations. The new methods can be used to simulate certain electronic systems to arbitrarily high accuracy. The results were published in the journal  Physical Review X this week. When we think of information, we often think of classical computer bits: devices that can store either a '0' or a '1' and that can be manipulated to do computations. Recently, however, physicists are becoming more and more interested in quantum information theory, where the ...

Summary: A team of electrical engineers has developed the thinnest memory storage device with dense memory capacity, paving the way for faster, smaller and smarter computer chips for everything from consumer electronics to big data to brain-inspired computing. Engineers worldwide have been developing alternative ways to provide greater memory storage capacity on even smaller computer chips. Previous research into two-dimensional atomic sheets for memory storage has failed to uncover their potential -- until now. A team of electrical engineers at The University of Texas at Austin, in collaboration with Peking University scientists, has developed the thinnest memory storage device with dense memory capacity, paving the way for faster, smaller and smarter computer chips for everything from consumer electronics to big data to brain-inspired computing. "For a long time, the consensus was that it wasn't possible to make memory devices from materials that were only one atom...

Summary: In an advance that could push cheap, ubiquitous solar power closer to reality, researchers have found a way to coax electrons to travel much further than was previously thought possible in the materials often used for organic solar cells and other organic semiconductors. An organic solar cell testing inside the Randall Lab. University of Michigan researchers have found a way to coax electrons to travel much further than was previously thought possible in the materials often used for organic solar cells and other organic semiconductors. In an advance that could push cheap, ubiquitous solar power closer to reality, University of Michigan researchers have found a way to coax electrons to travel much further than was previously thought possible in the materials often used for organic solar cells and other organic semiconductors. "For years, people had treated the poor conductivity of organics as an unavoidable fact, and this shows that that's not always the c...

Summary: Researchers have found a simple way to construct and deconstruct molecular metal chains, atom-by-atom. The structure of the longest EMAC reported in the literature, confirmed by X-ray crystallography. It contains 11 nickel atoms arranged in a linear chain. Electronic devices are getting smaller and smaller. Early computers filled entire rooms. Today you can hold one in the palm of your hand. Now the field of molecular electronics is taking miniaturization to the next level. Researchers are creating electronic components so tiny they can't be seen with the naked eye. Molecular electronics is a branch of nanotechnology that uses single molecules, or nanoscale collections of molecules, as electronic components. The purpose is to create miniature computing devices, replacing bulk materials with molecular blocks. For instance, metal atoms can be made into nanoscale 'molecular wires.' Also known as Extended Metal Atom Chains (EMACs), molecular wires are o...

Summary: Engineers have created a biodegradable pressure sensor that could help doctors monitor chronic lung disease, swelling of the brain, and other medical conditions before dissolving harmlessly in a patient's body. This biodegradable piezoelectric pressure sensor developed by the University of Connecticut's Nguyen Research Group could be used by doctors to monitor chronic lung disease, brain swelling, and other medical conditions before dissolving safely in a patient's body. UConn engineers have created a biodegradable pressure sensor that could help doctors monitor chronic lung disease, swelling of the brain, and other medical conditions before dissolving harmlessly in a patient's body. The UConn research is featured in the current online issue of the  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences . The small, flexible sensor is made of medically safe materials already approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for use in surgical sutur...

Nickel oxide holds promise for spintronic devices Summary: Researchers have used an unconventional approach to determine the strength of the electron spin interactions with the optical phonons in antiferromagnetic nickel oxide (NiO) crystals. Researchers at UC Riverside used an unconventional approach to determine the strength of the electron spin interactions with the optical phonons in antiferromagnetic nickel oxide (NiO) crystals. NiO is a promising material for spintronic devices, where signals are transmitted not by electrical currents but rather by spin waves, consisting of propagating disturbances in the ordering of magnetic materials, in a domino-like fashion. The interdisciplinary team of researchers, led by Alexander Balandin, distinguished professor of electrical and computer engineering, used ultraviolet Raman spectroscopy to investigate how spin ordering affects the energies of phonons in these materials. Phonons are quanta of vibrations of ions, which con...

Summary: While human-made devices inspired by gecko feet have emerged in recent years, enabling their wearers to slowly scale a glass wall, the possible applications of gecko-adhesion technology go far beyond Spiderman-esque antics. A researcher is looking into how the technology could be applied in a high-precision industrial setting, such as in robot arms used in manufacturing computer chips. This is a microscopic image showing the walls formed to mimic the adhesion characteristics of gecko feet. A gecko scampering up a wall or across a ceiling has long fascinated scientists and encouraged them to investigate how to harness lizard's mysterious ability to defy gravity. While human-made devices inspired by gecko feet have emerged in recent years, enabling their wearers to slowly scale a glass wall, the possible applications of gecko-adhesion technology go far beyond Spiderman-esque antics. A Georgia Institute of Technology researcher is looking into how the tec...

Quantum leap: Computational approach launches new paradigm in electronic structure theory A group of Michigan State University researchers specializing in quantum calculations has proposed a radically new computational approach to solving the complex many-particle Schrödinger equation, which holds the key to explaining the motion of electrons in atoms and molecules. By understanding the details of this motion, one can determine the amount of energy needed to transform reactants into products in a chemical reaction, or the color of light absorbed by a molecule, and ultimately accelerate the design of new drugs and materials, better catalysts and more efficient energy sources. The work, led by Piotr Piecuch, university distinguished professor in the Department of Chemistry and adjunct professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy in the College of Natural Science, was published recently in  Physical Review Letters . Also involved in the work are fourth-year gr...

Complementary logic circuits based on high-performance n-type organic electrochemical transistor Summary: Researchers have developed the world's first complementary electrochemical logic circuits that can function stably for long periods in water. This is a highly significant breakthrough in the development of bioelectronics. These are the worlds first complementary electrochemical logic circuits. Researchers at the Laboratory of Organic Electronics, Linköping University, have developed the world's first complementary electrochemical logic circuits that can function stably for long periods in water. This is a highly significant breakthrough in the development of bioelectronics. The first printable organic electrochemical transistors were presented by researchers at LiU as early as 2002, and research since then has progressed rapidly. Several organic electronic components, such as light-emitting diodes and electrochromic displays, are already comme...

Improved design uses a nanostructured gate dielectric A nanostructured gate dielectric may have addressed the most significant obstacle to expanding the use of organic semiconductors for thin-film transistors. The structure, composed of a fluoropolymer layer followed by a nanolaminate made from two metal oxide materials, serves as gate dielectric and simultaneously protects the organic semiconductor -- which had previously been vulnerable to damage from the ambient environment -- and enables the transistors to operate with unprecedented stability. The new structure gives thin-film transistors stability comparable to those made with inorganic materials, allowing them to operate in ambient conditions -- even underwater. Organic thin-film transistors can be made inexpensively at low temperature on a variety of flexible substrates using techniques such as inkjet printing, potentially opening new applications that take advantage of simple, additive fabrication processes. ...