By bombarding very thin slices of several copper/oxygen compounds, called cuprates, with very bright, short-lived pulses of light, Ivan Bozovic, a physicist at the U.S. Department of Energys Brookhaven National Laboratory, and his collaborators have discovered an unusual property of the materials: After absorbing the light energy, they emit it as long-lived sound waves, as opposed to heat energy. This result may open up a new field of study on cuprates -- materials already used in wireless communications and under investigation for other applications in the electronics industry.
As the light pulses strike each film, illuminating an area only about a thousandth of a millimeter across, they transfer their energy to the films atoms. In response, the atoms vibrate, and tiny sound wave "packets," called phonons, spread through the sample. Bozovic observes that, mysteriously, these emitted sound waves do not die out quickly, as they do with other materials. Instead, the atoms oscillate many times before dissipating the absorbed energy. "This is very unusual, as it seems that the atoms find it hard to convert these oscillations into ordinary thermal energy (heat)," said Bozovic.
Through further studies, Bozovic hopes to learn more about this phenomenon, the first step toward finding possible applications for it. For example, this work could contribute to the development of a phaser, a laser-like device that emits phonons instead of light. "Much more research needs to be done," Bozovic said. "We dont know yet how this property might be useful. However, I have little doubt that the phaser would be a very useful scientific tool for a broad new class of experiments," Bozovic said.
Karen McNulty Walsh | EurekAlert!
Further information:
http://www.bnl.gov/newsroom
http://www.aps.org/meet/MAR04/
Silicon as a new storage material for the batteries of the future
24.04.2018 | Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel
Improved stability of plastic light-emitting diodes
19.04.2018 | Max-Planck-Institut für Polymerforschung
At the Hannover Messe 2018, the Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und-prüfung (BAM) will show how, in the future, astronauts could produce their own tools or spare parts in zero gravity using 3D printing. This will reduce, weight and transport costs for space missions. Visitors can experience the innovative additive manufacturing process live at the fair.
Powder-based additive manufacturing in zero gravity is the name of the project in which a component is produced by applying metallic powder layers and then...
Physicists at the Laboratory for Attosecond Physics, which is jointly run by Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität and the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics, have developed a high-power laser system that generates ultrashort pulses of light covering a large share of the mid-infrared spectrum. The researchers envisage a wide range of applications for the technology – in the early diagnosis of cancer, for instance.
Molecules are the building blocks of life. Like all other organisms, we are made of them. They control our biorhythm, and they can also reflect our state of...
University of Connecticut researchers have created a biodegradable composite made of silk fibers that can be used to repair broken load-bearing bones without the complications sometimes presented by other materials.
Repairing major load-bearing bones such as those in the leg can be a long and uncomfortable process.
Study published in the journal ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces is the outcome of an international effort that included teams from Dresden and Berlin in Germany, and the US.
Scientists at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) together with colleagues from the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) and the University of Virginia...
Novel highly efficient and brilliant gamma-ray source: Based on model calculations, physicists of the Max PIanck Institute for Nuclear Physics in Heidelberg propose a novel method for an efficient high-brilliance gamma-ray source. A giant collimated gamma-ray pulse is generated from the interaction of a dense ultra-relativistic electron beam with a thin solid conductor. Energetic gamma-rays are copiously produced as the electron beam splits into filaments while propagating across the conductor. The resulting gamma-ray energy and flux enable novel experiments in nuclear and fundamental physics.
The typical wavelength of light interacting with an object of the microcosm scales with the size of this object. For atoms, this ranges from visible light to...
Anzeige
Anzeige
Invitation to the upcoming "Current Topics in Bioinformatics: Big Data in Genomics and Medicine"
13.04.2018 | Event News
Unique scope of UV LED technologies and applications presented in Berlin: ICULTA-2018
12.04.2018 | Event News
IWOLIA: A conference bringing together German Industrie 4.0 and French Industrie du Futur
09.04.2018 | Event News
Quantum Technology for Advanced Imaging – QUILT
24.04.2018 | Information Technology
AWI researchers measure a record concentration of microplastic in arctic sea ice
24.04.2018 | Earth Sciences
Complete skin regeneration system of fish unraveled
24.04.2018 | Life Sciences