Related topics: electrons

Soundproofing with quantum physics

Sebastian Huber and his colleagues show that the road from abstract theory to practical applications needn't always be very long. Their mechanical implementation of a quantum mechanical phenomenon could soon be used for soundproofing ...

Straw-insulated houses beat petroleum-based alternatives

Everybody knows one of those houses; freezing cold in winter, stiflingly hot in summer and energy guzzling all year round. Better insulation is the key to recapturing the comfort of home while cutting energy bills.

Researchers design metamaterial that buckles selectively

Researchers from Leiden University, the Netherlands, have designed a novel metamaterial that buckles on demand. Small structural variations in the material single out regions that buckle selectively under external stress, ...

Topological insulators become a little less 'elusive'

They are 'strange' materials, insulators on the inside and conductors on the surface. They also have properties that make them excellent candidates for the development of spintronics ('spin-based electronics') and more in ...

Wood-derived foam materials

Since most foam materials are made of petrochemical plastics, they aren't very climate-friendly. But now an alternative is in sight—a novel foam material produced entirely from wood, which is not harmful to the environment ...

From metal to insulator and back again

New work from Carnegie's Russell Hemley and Ivan Naumov hones in on the physics underlying the recently discovered fact that some metals stop being metallic under pressure. Their work is published in Physical Review Letters.

page 38 from 40