One of the greatest obstacles to producing energy via fusion on Earth is the formation and growth of small magnetic field imperfections in the core of experimental fusion reactors. These reactors, called tokamaks, confine ...
Plasma Physics
May 3, 2018
1
132
The study of how atoms radioactively decay has played a critical role in developing the standard model, our modern understanding of our universe's evolution since the Big Bang. Experiments investigating one form of decay, ...
General Physics
May 2, 2018
0
144
Known as the polychaete worm, it uses the tip of its jaw to inject lethal venom. The design of the jaw, with a gradient of hard materials at the tip connected to softer tissues, dissipates force and prevents serious damage ...
Materials Science
Apr 12, 2018
0
6
Sheet-like materials can have intriguing properties that could benefit devices from flexible electronics to solar cells. Researchers think they can customize the properties of these materials by using light pulses to rapidly ...
Nanophysics
Apr 10, 2018
0
23
Designing wearable sensors or other devices demands robust, flexible electronics. Extremely thin films, just one atom thick, such as molybdenum disulfide (MoS2), hold promise. Large-area synthesis of these materials is required ...
Nanomaterials
Apr 10, 2018
0
8
A popular polymer-based solar cell could produce more energy if the electronic charges can move efficiently through the cell's components. A novel three-component mixture allows conductive solar cell materials to self-align ...
Nanophysics
Apr 10, 2018
0
6
Reactions in solar panels, catalytic converters, and other devices are governed by the quick motion of electrons. To capture the movement of these electrons, scientists use pulses of extremely high energy x-rays. The challenge ...
Optics & Photonics
Apr 10, 2018
0
12
The first smashups of two new types of particles at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC)—a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science user facility for nuclear physics research at Brookhaven National Laboratory—will ...
General Physics
Mar 22, 2018
0
12
The human nose can distinguish among a trillion different combinations of smells. Even so, there are plenty of gases that our noses can't detect at the level of sensitivity we need. That's where gaseous sensors come in. While ...
Engineering
Mar 22, 2018
0
19
No earlier theory had envisioned that the responses would be so large! Scientists "poked" three crystals with pulses of light. Unexpectedly, the crystals exhibited the largest nonlinear optical response of any known crystal. ...
Condensed Matter
Mar 21, 2018
0
14
