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. (Phys.org) —A team led by Berkeley Lab Materials Sciences Division's Jeffrey Urban and Rachel Segalman have discovered highly conductive polymer behavior occurring at a polymer/nanocrystal interface. The composite organic/inorganic material is a thermoelectric – a material capable of converting heat into electricity – and has a higher performance than either of its constituent materials. The results may impact not only thermoelectrics research, but also polymer/nanocrystal composites being investigated for photovoltaics, batteries, and hydrogen storage. http://phys.org/news287130693.html Nanotechnology Tue, 07 May 2013 07:50:03 EST news287130693 Lithium-ion batteries have transformed our lives. Without them, we wouldn't have laptop computers or cell phones—at least, not the long-lived, lightweight kindwe're used to—and in the near future they may become more important yet. With sufficiently powerful batteries, renewable energy and electric cars become viable, but we first need to overcome some serious technological challenges. At the recent American Physical Society March Meeting in Baltimore, two Berkeley Lab researchers highlighted different aspects of the problem. http://phys.org/news285310318.html Technology Tue, 16 Apr 2013 06:10:05 EST news285310318 (Phys.org) —Researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)'s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have once again demonstrated the incredible capabilities of metamaterials – artificial nanoconstructs whose optical properties arise from their physical structure rather than their chemical composition. Engineering a unique two-dimensional sheet of gold nanoantennas, the researchers were able to obtain the strongest signal yet of the photonic spin Hall effect, an optical phenomenon of quantum mechanics that could play a prominent role in the future of computing. http://phys.org/news283094703.html Physics Thu, 21 Mar 2013 14:25:10 EST news283094703 (Phys.org)—Nanotechnology, the manipulation of matter at the atomic and molecular scale, holds great promise for everything from incredibly fast computers to chemical sensors that can sniff out cancer cells. But how does one go about building a device made of parts that are one-billionth of a meter in size? http://phys.org/news277109002.html Nanotechnology Fri, 11 Jan 2013 06:43:41 EST news277109002 Researchers of the KIT Institute of Functional Interfaces (IFG), Jacobs University Bremen, and other institutions have developed a new method to produce metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). By means of the so-called liquid-phase epitaxy, the scientists succeeded in producing a new class of MOFs with a pore size never reached before. These frameworks open up interesting applications in medicine, optics, and photonics. The new class of MOFs, called "SURMOF 2", is presented in the Nature Scientific Reports journal. http://phys.org/news273928611.html Chemistry Wed, 05 Dec 2012 11:17:11 EST news273928611 (Phys.org)—Spintronic technology, in which data is processed on the basis of electron "spin" rather than charge, promises to revolutionize the computing industry with smaller, faster and more energy efficient data storage and processing. Materials drawing a lot of attention for spintronic applications are dilute magnetic semiconductors – normal semiconductors to which a small amount of magnetic atoms is added to make them ferromagnetic. Understanding the source of ferromagnetism in dilute magnetic semiconductors has been a major road-block impeding their further development and use in spintronics. Now a significant step to removing this road-block has been taken. http://phys.org/news269520527.html Physics Mon, 15 Oct 2012 11:48:59 EST news269520527 The warmth and beauty of old organ music can once again be heard in Europe's historic churches, thanks to high-tech efforts that can accurately reproduce this unique sound. http://phys.org/news269505289.html Technology Mon, 15 Oct 2012 08:10:01 EST news269505289 (Phys.org)—Imagine a clock that will keep perfect time forever, even after the heat-death of the universe. This is the "wow" factor behind a device known as a "space-time crystal," a four-dimensional crystal that has periodic structure in time as well as space. However, there are also practical and important scientific reasons for constructing a space-time crystal. With such a 4D crystal, scientists would have a new and more effective means by which to study how complex physical properties and behaviors emerge from the collective interactions of large numbers of individual particles, the so-called many-body problem of physics. A space-time crystal could also be used to study phenomena in the quantum world, such as entanglement, in which an action on one particle impacts another particle even if the two particles are separated by vast distances. http://phys.org/news267723961.html Physics Mon, 24 Sep 2012 16:46:16 EST news267723961 A technology that would enable low-cost, high efficiency solar cells to be made from virtually any semiconductor material has been developed by researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)'s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and the University of California (UC) Berkeley. This technology opens the door to the use of plentiful, relatively inexpensive semiconductors, such as the promising metal oxides, sulfides and phosphides, that have been considered unsuitable for solar cells because it is so difficult to taylor their properties by chemical means. http://phys.org/news262538220.html Nanotechnology Thu, 26 Jul 2012 16:17:06 EST news262538220 Promising news for those who relish the prospects of a one-inch chip storing multiple terabytes of data, some clarity has been brought to the here-to-fore confusing physics of ferroelectric nanomaterials. A multi-institutional team of researchers, led by scientists at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) has provided the first atomic-scale insights into the ferroelectric properties of nanocrystals. This information will be critical for development of the next generation of nonvolatile data storage devices. http://phys.org/news261158223.html Nanotechnology Tue, 10 Jul 2012 16:57:19 EST news261158223 A multi-institutional team of researchers that included scientists with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) has created the first artificial molecules whose chirality can be rapidly switched from a right-handed to a left-handed orientation with a beam of light. This holds potentially huge possibilities for the application of terahertz technologies across a wide range of fields, including biomedical research, homeland security and ultrahigh-speed communications. http://phys.org/news261128288.html Physics Tue, 10 Jul 2012 11:00:01 EST news261128288 In the growth of crystals, do nanoparticles act as "artificial atoms" forming molecular-type building blocks that can assemble into complex structures? This is the contention of a major but controversial theory to explain nanocrystal growth. A study by researchers at the DOE's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) may resolve the controversy and point the way to energy devices of the future. http://phys.org/news257078986.html Nanotechnology Thu, 24 May 2012 14:00:16 EST news257078986 Imagine charging your phone as you walk, thanks to a paper-thin generator embedded in the sole of your shoe. This futuristic scenario is now a little closer to reality. Scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have developed a way to generate power using harmless viruses that convert mechanical energy into electricity. http://phys.org/news256040858.html Nanotechnology Sun, 13 May 2012 13:00:20 EST news256040858 A team of Duke University engineers has created a master "ingredient list" describing the properties of more than 2,000 compounds that might be combined to create the next generation of quantum electronics devices. http://phys.org/news256040770.html Physics Sun, 13 May 2012 13:00:01 EST news256040770 Scientists with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and the University of California (UC) Berkeley have directed the first self-assembly of nanoparticles into device-ready materials. Through a relatively easy and inexpensive technique based on blending nanoparticles with block co-polymer supramolecules, the researchers produced multiple-layers of thin films from highly ordered one-, two- and three-dimensional arrays of gold nanoparticles. Thin films such as these have potential applications for a wide range of fields, including computer memory storage, energy harvesting, energy storage, remote-sensing, catalysis, light management and the emerging new field of plasmonics. http://phys.org/news254753196.html Nanotechnology Fri, 27 Apr 2012 13:47:26 EST news254753196 Future prospects for superior new organic electronic devices are brighter now thanks to a new study by researchers with the DOE's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab). Working at the Lab's Molecular Foundry, a DOE nanoscience center, the team has provided the first experimental determination of the pathways by which electrical charge is transported from molecule-to-molecule in an organic thin film. Their results also show how such organic films can be chemically modified to improve conductance. http://phys.org/news251463049.html Nanotechnology Tue, 20 Mar 2012 11:51:06 EST news251463049 A long-standing controversy regarding the semiconductor gallium manganese arsenide, one of the most promising materials for spintronic technology, looks to have been resolved. Researchers with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) in collaboration with scientist from University of Notre Dame have determined the origin of the charge-carriers responsible for the ferromagnetic properties that make gallium manganese arsenide such a hot commodity for spintronic devices. Such devices utilize electron spin rather than charge to read and write data, resulting in smaller, faster and much cheaper data storage and processing. http://phys.org/news249576818.html Physics Mon, 27 Feb 2012 14:54:03 EST news249576818 (PhysOrg.com) -- A relatively fast, easy and inexpensive technique for inducing nanorods - rod-shaped semiconductor nanocrystals - to self-assemble into one-, two- and even three-dimensional macroscopic structures has been developed by a team of researchers with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab). This technique should enable more effective use of nanorods in solar cells, magnetic storage devices and sensors. It should also help boost the electrical and mechanical properties of nanorod-polymer composites. http://phys.org/news247330406.html Nanotechnology Wed, 01 Feb 2012 14:53:34 EST news247330406 A repository developed by Duke University engineers that they call a "materials genome" will allow scientists to stop using trail-and-error methods for combining electricity-producing materials called "thermoelectrics." http://phys.org/news243103046.html Physics Wed, 14 Dec 2011 16:37:34 EST news243103046 If solar cells could generate higher voltages when sunlight falls on them, they'd produce more electrical power more efficiently. For over half a century scientists have known that ferroelectrics, materials whose atomic structure allows them to have an overall electrical polarization, can develop very high photovoltages under illumination. Until now, no one has figured out exactly how this photovoltaic process occurs. http://phys.org/news235304439.html Physics Thu, 15 Sep 2011 11:21:23 EST news235304439 Scientists can now look deeper into new materials to study their structure and behavior, thanks to work by an international group of researchers led by UC Davis and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and published Aug. 14 by the journal Nature Materials. http://phys.org/news232725944.html Nanotechnology Tue, 16 Aug 2011 15:06:11 EST news232725944 By pairing an award-winning remote-detection version of NMR/MRI technology with a unique version of chromatography specifically designed for microfluidic chips, researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)'s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have opened the door to a portable system for highly sensitive multi-dimensional chemical analysis that would be impractical if not impossible with conventional technologies. http://phys.org/news229176814.html Chemistry Wed, 06 Jul 2011 13:50:01 EST news229176814 (PhysOrg.com) -- Graphene is a two-dimensional honeycomb of carbon, just one atom thick, whose intriguing electronic properties include very high electron mobility and very low resistivity. Graphene is so sensitive to its environment, however, that these remarkable attributes can be wrecked by interference from nearby materials. Finding the best substrate on which to mount graphene is critical if graphene devices are ever to become practical. http://phys.org/news225959162.html Nanotechnology Mon, 30 May 2011 07:26:58 EST news225959162 Automobiles, military vehicles, even large-scale power generating facilities may someday operate far more efficiently thanks to a new alloy developed at the U.S. Department of Energy's Ames Laboratory. A team of researchers at the Lab that is jointly funded by the DOE Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Division of Materials Sciences and Engineering and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, achieved a 25 percent improvement in the ability of a key material to convert heat into electrical energy. http://phys.org/news217007538.html Chemistry Tue, 15 Feb 2011 15:52:53 EST news217007538 The ability to tell the difference between crystals that formed naturally and those formed by human activity can be important to archaeologists in the field. This can be a crucial bit of information in determining the ancient activities that took place at a site, yet archaeologists often wait for months for the results of laboratory tests. http://phys.org/news209219319.html Physics Wed, 17 Nov 2010 12:28:58 EST news209219319 Nanoparticles show promise in solving a host of problems, from pinpointing medical diagnoses to developing alternative forms of energy and creating more durable materials. But scientists have yet to determine exactly how these tiny particles interact in their environment, whether inside humans or in the world at large, and if those interactions can be toxic. http://phys.org/news208778267.html Nanotechnology Fri, 12 Nov 2010 09:58:24 EST news208778267 (PhysOrg.com) -- Berkeley Lab researchers have found a better way to trap light in photovoltaic cells through the use of vertical arrays of silicon nanowires. This could substantially cut the costs of solar electric power by reducing the quantity and quality of silicon needed for efficient solar panels. http://phys.org/news186850199.html Nanotechnology Wed, 03 Mar 2010 14:50:16 EST news186850199 (PhysOrg.com) -- Using the supercomputers at NERSC, Berkeley Lab researchers demonstrated that the semiconductors known as highly mismatched alloys (HMAs) hold great promise for the future development of high performance thermoelectric devices. Thermolectics could play a key role in green energy production because of their ability to convert heat into electricity. http://phys.org/news183739073.html Physics Tue, 26 Jan 2010 14:38:28 EST news183739073 (PhysOrg.com) -- By taking advantage of the vagaries of the natural world, Duke University engineers have developed a novel approach that they believe can more efficiently harvest electricity from the motions of everyday life. http://phys.org/news175966447.html Physics Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:35:22 EST news175966447 A database designed to "build community" and reduce barriers when adopting green chemistry has doubled in size in the last two years, its creator told professional colleagues at the national spring meeting of the American Chemical Society. http://phys.org/news157127244.html Chemistry Tue, 24 Mar 2009 15:27:57 EST news157127244