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Nanophysics news
Quantum handshake: How orbital overlap dictates molecular conductance
By placing single-atom-thick adlayers of p-block metals on commonly employed gold electrodes (d-block), a research team at National Taiwan University has successfully quantified the "interfacial hopping integral" between ...
Nanophysics
Mar 13, 2026
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Allowing atoms to come and go can open the door to better materials modeling
Most materials, especially metals and ceramics, are crystals. Their atoms are arranged in three-dimensional lattices that repeat the same exact pattern, over and over again. But there's a well-known saying in materials science: ...
Nanophysics
Mar 12, 2026
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Study finds nanocube cation exchange can begin on one face, not six
In a paper published today in Nature Synthesis, a team from the lab of University of Chicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering (UChicago PME) and Chemistry Department Prof. Paul Alivisatos explores the role of cation ...
Nanophysics
Mar 11, 2026
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Compact vacuum ultraviolet laser may improve nanotechnology and power nuclear clocks
Physicists at the University of Colorado Boulder have demonstrated a new kind of vacuum ultraviolet laser that is 100 to 1,000 times more efficient than existing technologies of its kind. The researchers say the device could ...
Nanophysics
Mar 11, 2026
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3D imaging reveals messy-looking supraparticles can be nearly perfect crystals inside
Researchers at Utrecht University have quantitatively mapped the three-dimensional structure of photonic supraparticles for the first time. Supraparticles are microscopic spheres composed of thousands of smaller colloidal ...
Nanophysics
Mar 10, 2026
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2D topological Kondo insulator observed in a moiré superlattice
When mobile charge carriers, also known as itinerant electrons, interact with the strong exchange magnetic fields associated with the intrinsic angular momentum of localized electrons, this can give rise to the so-called ...
Engineered magnetic films follow graphene's equations for massless electron waves
The electronic and magnetic properties of two-dimensional materials both have strong potential for technological applications. Researchers have long assumed that they are distinct phenomena, but Illinois Grainger engineers ...
Nanophysics
Mar 8, 2026
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Toward practical laser-driven light sails using photonic crystals
Most space missions rely on chemical rockets for propulsion. Rockets must carry fuel, which increases spacecraft mass and limits their speed and travel distance. For decades, researchers have explored light sails as an alternative. ...
Nanophysics
Mar 5, 2026
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Chemically tuning nanographene into topological spin chains and why the ends matter
When most people hear "polymer," they think of plastics. In our group, polymerization is a way to line up identical molecules like beads on a string and let quantum mechanics take over. Put magnetic building blocks in a one-dimensional ...
'Nano-origami' reshapes liquid droplets into six-pointed stars
For the first time, researchers in France and Israel have observed how an emulsified liquid droplet can transform from a hexagon into a six-pointed star shape in response to rising temperature. Publishing their results in ...
Poking a nanostring: Scientists uncover energy cascades in tiny resonators
Scientists at TU Delft have designed a nanostring that, when poked, doesn't lose its energy to the environment immediately. Instead, the energy leaks out within the string, triggering a cascade of distinct vibrational modes. ...
Nanophysics
Mar 3, 2026
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Intermediate phases unlock faster nanoparticle crystallization
Crystalline nanomaterials are valuable because their highly ordered structures give them useful properties for technologies such as data storage and optical devices. But forming nanoparticles from those orderly crystals is ...
Nanophysics
Mar 3, 2026
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From hyperbolic in-plane anisotropy to an optical chirality: A new route to nanoscale circular polarizers
In recent years, van der Waals crystals have evolved from scientific curiosities into a versatile platform for exploring novel quantum phases and unconventional nanophotonic phenomena. Their layered nature allows stacking, ...
Nanophysics
Mar 3, 2026
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Physicists discover long-predicted 'clock magnetism' in an atomically thin crystal
Strange things happen to materials when you peel them down, layer by layer, from thick chunks all the way to sheets just an atom thick. Reporting in the journal Nature Materials, a team led by physicists at The University ...
Nanophysics
Mar 2, 2026
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Catching light in air: Programmable Mie voids boost light matter interaction
Atomically thin semiconductors such as tungsten disulfide (WS2) are promising materials for future photonic technologies. Despite being only a single layer of atoms thick, they host tightly bound excitons—pairs of electrons ...
Nanophysics
Mar 2, 2026
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New technique spots hidden defects to boost reliability of ultrathin electronics
Future devices will continue to probe the frontier of the very small, and at scales where functionality depends on mere atoms, even the tiniest flaw matters. Researchers at Rice University have shown that hard-to-spot defects ...
Nanophysics
Feb 26, 2026
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A new, useful absorption limit for ultra-thin films
Ultrathin, conductive films such as those made of graphene are widely used in modern optoelectronic devices, but it has been thought that their efficacy is fundamentally limited: they can absorb at most half of the incident ...
When smaller means better: How device scaling enhances memory performance
Shrinking ferroelectric tunnel junctions can significantly boost their performance in memory devices, as reported by researchers from Science Tokyo. The team fabricated nanoscale junctions directly on silicon substrates and ...
Nanophysics
Feb 24, 2026
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Diamond surfaces are covered in thin, ice-like water layers
Using atomic-scale defects in diamond, researchers in China have gained unprecedented insights into the complex chemical processes that unfold at the interfaces between solid surfaces and their surroundings. Published in ...
Ultrafast X-rays reveal physical principles behind lipoprotein motion within egg yolk plasma
Egg yolk may appear runny and uniform, but on the nanoscale, it is one of the most crowded biological fluids in nature. Packed with proteins and fats, it serves as a dense storage reservoir for a developing embryo. Yet the ...
Bio & Medicine
Feb 23, 2026
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More news
Driven electrolytes are agile and active at the nanoscale
Seeing how atoms vibrate at the Ångström scale
New type of magnetism discovered in 2D materials
DNA provides a solution to our enormous data storage problem
Other news
Bacteria that generate electricity: How a shellfish-based gel could monitor wastewater and food
Cell death in photoreceptor cells is reversible, study finds
Bright pink insect stands out to blend in, scientists say
Real-time protein quality control keeps cells healthy
Comprehensive digital materials ecosystem can perform 'sanity check' to guide design
Quantum dots generate entangled photon pairs on demand
Scientists confirm existence of molecule long believed to occur in oxidation
