New research has identified how liquid-like materials can change into a solid-like state without the addition of extra particles or changes in volume.
A new explanation of how gypsum forms may change the way we process this important building material, as well as allow us to interpret past water availability on other planets such as Mars. The work is reported in Nature Communications.
The silver electrical contacts that carry electricity out of about 90 percent of the solar modules on the market are also one of their most expensive parts. Now scientists from two Department of Energy national laboratories have used X-rays to observe exactly how those contacts form during manufacturing.
The detector group at the Swiss Light Source at PSI has been one of the pioneers in the development of custom-made hybrid pixel array detectors (HPADs) for synchrotron applications. In a paper published recently [Jungmann-Smith et al. (2016). J. Synchrotron Rad. 23, 385-394; doi:10.1107/S1600577515023541], this group shows that it is now possible to develop HPADs with sufficient low noise to allow single-photon detection below 1 keV as well as to perform spectroscopic imaging. A commentary has also been written about the work [Graafsma (2016). J. Synchrotron Rad. 23, 383-384; doi:10.1107/S1600577516002721].
High-tech metal alloys are widely used in important materials such as the cladding that protects the fuel inside a nuclear reactor. But even the best alloys degrade over time, victims of a reactor’s high temperatures, radiation, and hydrogen-rich environment. Now, a team of MIT researchers has found a way of greatly reducing the damaging effects these metals suffer from exposure to hydrogen.
An international team of scientists led by Artem Oganov, Head of Computational Materials Discovery at MIPT, has proven that technetium carbide does not exist — what previous researchers had obtained was pure technetium that was mistakenly considered as carbide. This is important from the view point of chemistry of transition metal carbides which for many applications are considered as promising substances. The article was published in RSC Advances.
Precise control of an individual particle or molecule is a difficult task. Controlling multiple particles simultaneously is an even more challenging endeavor. Researchers at the University of Illinois have developed a new method that relies on fluid flow to manipulate and assemble multiple particles. This new technique can trap a range of submicron- to micron-sized particles, including single DNA molecules, vesicles, drops or cells.
For three decades, glass expert Mark Ediger has been studying the basic properties of organic glass to discover new ways to regulate the placement of atoms or molecules and to slow down substance degradation, particularly substances that lack the stiffness of a crystal.
A decade ago, Donald Sadoway, a MIT professor, and his students developed liquid metal batteries, which now appear to be a potential solution to make renewable energy more affordable and practical. These batteries are capable of storing huge amounts of energy, and can balance the fluctuations of production and consumption of power. Ambri, a Cambridge-based startup company, is now in the process of commercializing these liquid metal batteries.
A significantly large magnitude elasto-optic effect has been discovered in ferroelectrics, an unusual class of materials. The discovery of this large magnitude phenomenon has potential for a number of devices that could be used in optical systems.
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