New ferroelectric material could give robots muscles

A new type of ferroelectric polymer that is exceptionally good at converting electrical energy into mechanical strain holds promise as a high-performance motion controller or "actuator" with great potential for applications ...

Physicists discover a new switch for superconductivity

Under certain conditions—usually exceedingly cold ones—some materials shift their structure to unlock new, superconducting behavior. This structural shift is known as a "nematic transition," and physicists suspect that ...

Using electric fields to control the movement of defects in crystals

An international team of researchers, led by University of Toronto Engineering Professor Yu Zou, is using electric fields to control the motion of material defects. This work has important implications for improving the properties ...

Exploring the properties of very thin hafnium dioxide

The chemistry of hafnium dioxide (known as hafina) is rather boring. Yet, the behavior of ultrathin layers that are based on this material is very interesting: they can be used as non-volatile computer memory through the ...

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