(Phys.org) -- Ferroelectricity, which was first observed in the 1940s, is an interesting phenomenon involving the spontaneous (non-induced) formation of charge polarization (separation of charge) in certain materials. This ...
Condensed Matter
May 18, 2012
7
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- Just as water, ice, and steam are all phases of the same material that are influenced by temperature and pressure, new research shows how transitions of state work in very simple lattices primarily composed ...
Condensed Matter
Mar 28, 2012
1
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- Imagine dropping your phone on the hard concrete sidewalk—but when you pick it up, you find its battery has already healed itself.
Condensed Matter
Jan 11, 2012
8
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- A breakthrough in components for next-generation batteries could come from special materials that transform their structure to perform better over time.
Nanomaterials
Nov 3, 2011
24
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- A team of researchers from the University of Chicago and the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory has demonstrated a method that could produce cheaper semiconductor layers for solar ...
Nanomaterials
Jun 2, 2011
1
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- The humble alga, hated by boaters and pool owners, may someday help provide us with the raw machinery to power our appliances.
Materials Science
May 19, 2011
2
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- A material’s properties are a critical factor in the way that material can be used for practical applications. Magnetism is one such property, and magnetic switches are key components for advances in ...
General Physics
Dec 3, 2010
1
0
DNA can do more than direct how bodies our made -- it can also direct the composition of many kinds of materials, according to a new study from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory.
Nanomaterials
Nov 18, 2010
0
0
The fastest "movies" ever made of electron motion have been captured by researchers using the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Photon Source (APS) at Argonne and the Frederick Seitz Materials Research Laboratory ...
Nanomaterials
Nov 10, 2010
0
0
Sometimes size does matter, such as when certain nanomaterials exhibit different behaviors under varying extreme conditions. An example is yttrium oxide (Y2O3), a compound employed in industrial coatings and many other applications, ...
Condensed Matter
Nov 3, 2010
0
0
