http://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. By means of special metamaterials, light and sound can be passed around objects. KIT researchers now succeeded in demonstrating that the same materials can also be used to specifically influence the propagation of heat. A structured plate of copper and silicon conducts heat around a central area without the edge being affected. The results are presented in the Physical Review Letters journal. http://phys.org/news287235676.html Physics Wed, 08 May 2013 12:41:25 EST news287235676 (Phys.org) —Rice University physicists on the hunt for the origins of high-temperature superconductivity have published new findings this week about a material that becomes "schizophrenic"—simultaneously exhibiting the characteristics of both a metallic conductor and an insulator. http://phys.org/news284361515.html Physics Fri, 05 Apr 2013 06:18:44 EST news284361515 (AP)—Two workers for a company that launches spacecraft for the U.S. government were seriously injured in an electrical explosion at Vandenberg Air Force Base on the California coast. http://phys.org/news282285167.html Space & Earth Tue, 12 Mar 2013 05:45:04 EST news282285167 US ITER and its vendors are moving into a new fabrication phase for the toroidal field magnet system in the international ITER fusion reactor. Cabling and conductor fabrication are now underway in New Hampshire and Florida for the niobium-tin wire produced in the US. All of this fabrication effort is in preparation for delivering the final product in 2015 to the European Union. http://phys.org/news280487872.html Physics Tue, 19 Feb 2013 09:40:01 EST news280487872 A team of researchers from Russia, Spain, Belgium, the U.K. and the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory announced findings last week that may represent a breakthrough in applications of superconductivity. http://phys.org/news279966080.html Physics Wed, 13 Feb 2013 08:30:07 EST news279966080 (Phys.org)—After an intensive effort to improve the capability of ITER's central solenoid conductor, the ITER Organization has concluded that a technically reliable and economically viable solution has been found. This successful result was obtained through a concerted collaborative effort on the part of the ITER Organization, especially with the Domestic Agencies of Japan and the US, and the international superconductivity research community. The key element of the solution was designing the conductor using a "short twist pitch."  The Japanese strands using this technology confirmed the excellent results obtained during a preceding R&D phase and even enabled the qualification of two additional Japanese strand suppliers for the central solenoid conductor production. http://phys.org/news279270411.html Physics Tue, 05 Feb 2013 07:08:30 EST news279270411 Research by Victoria University Professor Uli Zuelicke is contributing to the global race to unlock the potential of graphene, a new material taken from graphite that scientists say could be a game changer for new electronic applications. http://phys.org/news269156998.html Nanotechnology Thu, 11 Oct 2012 06:50:07 EST news269156998 The Office of Naval Research's (ONR) Electromagnetic (EM) Railgun program is evaluating the second of two industry railgun prototype launchers at a facility in Dahlgren, Va., officials announced today. http://phys.org/news269081575.html Technology Wed, 10 Oct 2012 09:53:16 EST news269081575 Scientists are reporting development of a new transparent solar cell, an advance toward giving windows in homes and other buildings the ability to generate electricity while still allowing people to see outside. Their report appears in the journal ACS Nano. http://phys.org/news263050702.html Nanotechnology Wed, 01 Aug 2012 14:39:51 EST news263050702 (Phys.org) -- Engineers from several research organizations working together in Japan have developed a working prototype of a Mott transistor, a possible alternative to the standard silicon based field-effect transistor (FET). The prototype, as the team describes in their paper published in the journal Nature, used a new type of material, called a Mott insulator that changes from a resistor to a metal when an electric charge is introduced. http://phys.org/news262502312.html Nanotechnology Thu, 26 Jul 2012 06:19:15 EST news262502312 (AP) -- A London museum is putting the conductor's baton in visitors' hands, allowing guests to direct a virtual orchestra using three-dimensional motion sensors. http://phys.org/news256902642.html Technology Tue, 22 May 2012 11:00:04 EST news256902642 If you are not a condensed matter physicist, vanadium oxide (VO2) may be the coolest material you've never heard of. It's a metal. It's an insulator. It's a window coating and an optical switch. And thanks to a new study by physicists at Rice University, scientists have a new way to reversibly alter VO2's electronic properties by treating it with one of the simplest substances -- hydrogen. http://phys.org/news256818609.html Physics Mon, 21 May 2012 11:30:15 EST news256818609 Musicians execute their performances better when the non-verbal sensorimotor communication between conductor and musician is maximized, according to research published May 9 in the open access journal PLoS ONE. http://phys.org/news255783774.html Other Sciences Wed, 09 May 2012 17:00:02 EST news255783774 (Phys.org) -- Researchers working out of Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands have constructed a device that appears to offer some evidence of the existence of Majorana fermions; the elusive particles that are thought to be their own antiparticles. The team, as they describe in their paper published in Science, created a device with a topological superconductor that was also able to measure the relationship between current and voltage at significant points on a nanowire which when in the presence of a magnetic field or electrical current, indicated the existence of Majorana fermions. http://phys.org/news253519905.html Physics Fri, 13 Apr 2012 07:12:18 EST news253519905 The displays on flat-screen TVs and smartphones, as well as the panels on solar cells, all require materials that not only conduct electricity but are also highly transparent to visible light. One transparent electrical conductor that is typically used in the industry is indium tin oxide (ITO). Unfortunately, ITO is not only expensive but also toxic to the environment. http://phys.org/news253430157.html Chemistry Thu, 12 Apr 2012 06:16:34 EST news253430157 Individual atoms can make or break electronic properties in one of the world's smallest known conductors—quantum nanowires. Microscopic analysis at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory is delivering a rare glimpse into how the atomic structure of the conducting nanowires affects their electronic behavior. http://phys.org/news248362557.html Nanotechnology Mon, 13 Feb 2012 13:36:06 EST news248362557 Researchers at the Nano-Science Center at the University of Copenhagen have developed a new nano-technology platform for the development of molecule-based electronic components using the wonder material graphene. At the same time, they have solved a problem that has challenged researchers from around world for ten years. http://phys.org/news248005551.html Nanotechnology Thu, 09 Feb 2012 10:25:59 EST news248005551 (PhysOrg.com) -- Many have tried, but none have succeeded. For at least a hundred years, scientists looking at hydrogen have scratched their chins when musing over the fact that it, as an alkali metal, by all rights should exist as a metal under the right circumstances. But thus far, no one has been able to figure out what the right circumstances might be. Until now. Maybe. Mikhail Eremets and Ivan Troyan of the Max-Planck Institute describe in their paper published in Nature Materials, how they subjected a sample of hydrogen to high pressure and low temperature and found it then demonstrated properties generally ascribed to a metal. http://phys.org/news240563297.html Physics Tue, 15 Nov 2011 07:40:01 EST news240563297 Electrons moving in graphene behave in an unusual way, as demonstrated by 2010 Nobel Prize laureates for physics Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov, who performed transport experiments on this one-carbon-atom-thick material. A review article, just published in EPJ B, explores the theoretical and experimental results to date of electrons tunneling through energy barriers in graphene. http://phys.org/news239893597.html Physics Mon, 07 Nov 2011 13:06:44 EST news239893597 Researchers from Northwestern University have developed a carbon-based material that could revolutionize the way solar power is harvested. The new solar cell material – a transparent conductor made of carbon nanotubes – provides an alternative to current technology, which is mechanically brittle and reliant on a relatively rare mineral. http://phys.org/news236345720.html Nanotechnology Tue, 27 Sep 2011 12:35:28 EST news236345720 (PhysOrg.com) -- Korean researchers working out of the Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology report in a paper published in Nature Materials, that they've been able to create a non-volatile Resistance RAM (ReRam) chip capable of withstanding a trillion read/write cycles, all with a switching time of just 10ns (about a million times faster than current flash chips), paving the way for a possible upgrade to flash memory cards. http://phys.org/news230369859.html Technology Wed, 20 Jul 2011 08:38:40 EST news230369859 In the 1980s and ’90s, competition in the computer industry was all about "clock speed" — how many megahertz, and ultimately gigahertz, a chip could boast. But clock speeds stalled out almost 10 years ago: Chips that run faster also run hotter, and with existing technology, there seems to be no way to increase clock speed without causing chips to overheat. http://phys.org/news224484050.html Physics Fri, 13 May 2011 05:41:57 EST news224484050 (PhysOrg.com) -- NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory has discovered the first direct evidence for a superfluid, a bizarre, friction-free state of matter, at the core of a neutron star. Superfluids created in laboratories on Earth exhibit remarkable properties, such as the ability to climb upward and escape airtight containers. The finding has important implications for understanding nuclear interactions in matter at the highest known densities. http://phys.org/news217689715.html Space & Earth Wed, 23 Feb 2011 13:22:21 EST news217689715 Electric power and electronics are playing an ever-increasing role in all kinds of vehicles. Currently copper is the conductive material of choice. But in comparison to aluminum copper is heavy and expensive. In particular for fully electric vehicles the switch to the cheaper and lighter aluminum would be an interesting option. That is why the optimization of intricate power supply networks is now in the focus of engineering research. Scientists from the Technische Universitaet Muenchen (TUM, Germany), in collaboration with BMW engineers, have now found out what tricks make it possible to replace copper with aluminum. http://phys.org/news216309209.html Technology Mon, 07 Feb 2011 13:53:42 EST news216309209 Researchers in Japan have demonstrated why the material Sr2IrO4, -- a transition metal oxide -- that was expected to be an electrical conductor is actually an insulator. Harnessing this material’s unusual conducting properties could form the basis for novel electronic devices or superconductors. http://phys.org/news213621132.html Physics Fri, 07 Jan 2011 11:12:35 EST news213621132 (PhysOrg.com) -- Stretching their boundaries, artificial intelligence researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have teamed up with musicians on an unlikely project: a digital conductor of improvised avant-garde performances. http://phys.org/news211135881.html Technology Thu, 09 Dec 2010 16:52:54 EST news211135881 Since graphene was first isolated in 2004 with the help of Scotch tape, researchers have excitedly turned to the material to discover its potential applications. A single layer of carbon atoms whose applications range from ultrafast electronics to biosensors to flexible displays, graphene is strong, light, transparent, and a conductor of heat and electricity. But what can we do with this new material? As researchers across the globe peel away layer after layer of potential application, Milan Begliarbekov, a doctoral candidate at Stevens Institute of Technology, has found some unique applications for this distinctive material. http://phys.org/news209298496.html Nanotechnology Thu, 18 Nov 2010 10:28:41 EST news209298496 (PhysOrg.com) -- Students in Germany have built the "E-Quickie," a three-wheeled electric car that draws energy wirelessly from electric conducting paths on the ground. http://phys.org/news203664608.html Technology Tue, 14 Sep 2010 08:40:01 EST news203664608 (PhysOrg.com) -- A team of Duke University chemists has perfected a simple way to make tiny copper nanowires in quantity. The cheap conductors are small enough to be transparent, making them ideal for thin-film solar cells, flat-screen TVs and computers, and flexible displays. http://phys.org/news194614642.html Nanotechnology Tue, 01 Jun 2010 12:37:57 EST news194614642 Researchers at Stanford University have successfully developed brand new concept of organic lighting-emitting diodes (OLEDs) with a few nanometer of graphene as transparent conductor. This paved the way for inexpensive mass production of OLEDs on large-area low-cost flexible plastic substrate, which could be rolled up like wallpaper and virtually applied to anywhere you want. http://phys.org/news187430392.html Nanotechnology Wed, 10 Mar 2010 08:00:46 EST news187430392