Quantifying microplastics in Swiss rivers and lakes

Every year, 14,000 tons of plastic end up in Swiss soils and waters, in part in the form of microplastics, which are particles in the micro to millimeter range. Microplastics come from many sources, such as cosmetics or synthetic ...

Integration on a chip: Miniaturized infrared detectors

Miniaturization of infrared spectrometers will lead to their wider use in consumer electronics, such as smartphones enabling food control, the detection of hazardous chemicals, air pollution monitoring and wearable electronics. ...

New inexpensive and nontoxic method for creating benzene rings

Chemical syntheses in liquids and gases take place in three-dimensional space. Random collisions between molecules have to result in something new in an extremely short time. But there is another way: on a gold surface under ...

Mini electricity generator made from quantum dots

Machines and electronic devices often generate waste heat that is difficult to utilize. If electricity could be generated from this waste heat, it would offer a means for a clean and sustainable power production: Such a technology ...

Making short-wave infrared light visible with a single component

Infrared (IR) light is invisible to humans. However, some animals, such as rattlesnakes or bloodsucking bats, can perceive IR radiation and use it to find food. But even for humans, the ability to see in the short-wave IR ...

Exotic magnetic states in miniature dimensions

We are all used to the idea that simpler units in nature interact to form complex structures. Take, for example, the hierarchy of life, where atoms combine to form molecules, molecules combine to form cells, cells combine ...

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