Phase transitions as a research area investigates qualitative changes in the macroscopic state of matter or systems as control parameters such as temperature, pressure, or external fields are varied, with emphasis on critical phenomena, universality, and order-parameter behavior. It encompasses equilibrium and nonequilibrium transitions, including first- and second-order transitions, symmetry breaking, renormalization-group theory, and scaling laws. The field spans condensed matter physics, statistical mechanics, and interdisciplinary complex systems, using analytical, numerical, and experimental methods to characterize phase diagrams, critical exponents, collective excitations, and emergent structures, and to understand how microscopic interactions give rise to distinct thermodynamic or dynamical phases.
By intercalating protons into van der Waals ferromagnet Cr1.2Te2 nanoflakes, a group of researchers successfully induced a room-temperature magnetic phase transition from ferromagnetism to antiferromagnetism.
Nanophysics
Nov 7, 2023
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10
Currently, many (nano)structures are grown in layers, one above the other, but their ordering on the atomic scale is generally far from perfect. Researchers from the University of Twente have aimed for a better understanding ...
Nanophysics
Sep 11, 2023
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57
Materials are often considered to be one phase, but many engineering materials contain two or more phases, improving their properties and performance. These two-phase materials have inclusions, called precipitates, embedded ...
Nanophysics
Aug 17, 2023
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8
A proton-driven approach that enables multiple ferroelectric phase transitions sets the stage for ultralow power, high-capacity computer chips.
Nanophysics
Jul 17, 2023
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107
Researchers from the UAB and the ICN2 have developed a methodology that makes it possible for the first time to observe under the microscope, in real time, what happens when glass is heated and changes to a supercooled liquid ...
Nanophysics
Jul 13, 2023
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536
Sometimes to make big breakthroughs, you have to start very small.
Nanophysics
Apr 20, 2023
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113
National University of Singapore (NUS) physicists have discovered a novel form of ferroelectricity in a single-element bismuth monolayer that can produce regular and reversible dipole moments for future applications of non-volatile ...
Nanophysics
Apr 6, 2023
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30
Scientists at the University of Cambridge have discovered that water in a one-molecule layer acts like neither a liquid nor a solid, and that it becomes highly conductive at high pressures.
Nanophysics
Sep 14, 2022
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3140
Atomic rearrangement changes a material's physical and chemical properties, which may lead to potential applications across disciplines, including in sustainable energy. With two decades of focused attention on how regulating ...
Nanomaterials
Jul 14, 2022
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8
Similar to the widespread interest in graphite and diamond, there is growing interest in metastable phases, which have different physical properties than those of stable phases. However, processes to fabricate metastable-phase ...
Nanomaterials
Apr 15, 2022
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