Neutrons detect clogs non-destructively through the metal walls of pipelines. Industry and private consumers alike depend on oil and gas pipelines that stretch thousands of kilometers underwater. It is not uncommon for these pipelines to become clogged with deposits. Until now, there have been few means of identifying the formation of plugs in-situ and non-destructively. Measurements at the Research Neutron Source Heinz Maier-Leibnitz (FRM II) at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) now show that neutrons may provide the solution…
TACC supercomputers help scientists probe vortices and turbulence. The subject of vortices might seem esoteric. But their impact does make headlines, as seen recently in an outbreak of tornadoes, swirling vortices that killed at least 80 people across eight U.S. states in December 2021. Scientists today still don’t fully understand the dynamics of vortices, chaotic but coherent patterns common in nature that are also exemplified by hurricanes, eddies in a stream of air or water, aerodynamic drag, fuel combustion, and…
Rice team’s simulations show iron catalyzes corrosion in ‘inert’ carbon dioxide. Iron that rusts in water theoretically shouldn’t corrode in contact with an “inert” supercritical fluid of carbon dioxide. But it does. The reason has eluded materials scientists to now, but a team at Rice University has a theory that could contribute to new strategies to protect iron from the environment. Materials theorist Boris Yakobson and his colleagues at Rice’s George R. Brown School of Engineering found through atom-level simulations that iron itself plays a role…
Steep sections on slippery ground, high steps, scree and forest trails full of roots: the path up the 1,098-metre-high Mount Etzel at the southern end of Lake Zurich is peppered with numerous obstacles. But ANYmal, the quadrupedal robot from the Robotic Systems Lab at ETH Zurich, overcomes the 120 vertical metres effortlessly in a 31-minute hike. That’s 4 minutes faster than the estimated duration for human hikers – and with no falls or missteps. This is made possible by a new…
High-speed X-ray free-electron lasers have unlocked the crystal structures of small molecules relevant to chemistry and materials science, proving a new method that could advance semiconductor and solar cell development. Compounds that form tiny crystals hold secrets that could advance renewable energy generation and semiconductor development. Revealing the arrangement of their atoms has already allowed for breakthroughs in materials science and solar cells. However, existing techniques for determining these structures can damage sensitive microcrystals. Now scientists have a new tool…
Zeolites, which are crystalline porous materials, are very widely used in the production of chemicals, fuels, materials, and other products. So far, zeolites have been made as 3D or 2D materials. This has changed with the recent discovery of crystalline zeolites in a nanotubular (1D) shape, by researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology, Stockholm University, and Penn State University. The findings were published in the Jan. 6 issue of Science. “A discovery like this is one of the most…
The design of new materials allows for either improved efficiency of known applications or totally new applications that were out of reach with the previously existing materials. Indeed, tens of thousands of conventional materials such as metals and their alloys have been identified over the last hundred years. A similar number of possible 2D materials have been predicted to exist, but as of now, only a fraction of them have been produced in experiments. One reason for this is the…
Researchers at PSI have compared the electron distribution below the oxide layer of two semiconductors. The investigation is part of an effort to develop particularly stable quantum bits –and thus, in turn, particularly efficient quantum computers. They have now published their latest research, which is supported in part by Microsoft, in the scientific journal Advanced Quantum Technologies. By now, the future of computing is inconceivable without quantum computers. For the most part, these are still in the research phase. They…
Researchers at Osaka University use optical tweezers to control nanoparticles within an ultracold phase of matter called superfluid helium, which may lead to a better understanding of the interactions between quantum and macroscopic objects. Scientists from the Graduate School of Engineering Science at Osaka University used optical tweezers for the first time inside superfluid helium. With a strongly focused beam of light, they demonstrated the stable trapping of nanoparticles at ultralow temperatures. This work may help scientists better understand the…
By shaking an optical lattice potential, researchers in Cambridge have realized a discontinuous phase transition in a strongly correlated quantum gas, opening the door to quantum simulations of false vacuum decay in the early universe. Phase transitions are everywhere, ranging from water boiling to snowflakes melting, and from magnetic transitions in solids to cosmological phase transitions in the early universe. Particularly intriguing are quantum phase transitions that occur at temperatures close to absolute zero and are driven by quantum rather…
New Lehigh University–East China University of Science & Technology research collaboration proposes novel method of molecular-level control to double the efficiency of widely used industrial catalysts. The science of catalysis—the acceleration of a chemical reaction—is perhaps not the most recognizable branch of study, but it is absolutely embedded into the fabric of modern society. The development and production of fuels, chemicals, pharmaceuticals and other goods depend on catalysis. Catalysis plays a critical role in energy generation and the mitigation of…
Findings shed light on factors behind Omicron’s increased transmissibility, including strong antibody evasion and binding with human cells. Researchers at UBC’s faculty of medicine have conducted the world’s first molecular-level structural analysis of the Omicron variant spike protein. The findings were published today in Science. The analysis—done at near atomic resolution using cryo-electron microscopy—reveals how the heavily mutated Omicron variant attaches to and infects human cells. “Understanding the molecular structure of the viral spike protein is important as it will…
Scientists at the University of Bristol have developed new biological parts that are able to shape the flow of cellular processes along DNA. The work, now published in the journal Nature Communications, offers a fresh perspective on how information is encoded in DNA and new tools for building sustainable biotechnologies. Despite being invisible to the naked eye, microorganisms are integral for our survival. They operate using DNA, often referred to as the code of life. DNA encodes numerous tools that…
University of Delaware researchers report low-pressure method to convert industrially processed biomass into plastics, chemicals. It’s no secret that we need more sustainable materials if we hope to help the planet. Bio-derived materials are one potential option, but they must be economical if anyone is going to use them. For instance, a better bio-based milk jug would be great. However, if the milk sells for $20 per gallon because the cost of the jug increases from $1 to $17, no…
With the ART 4 … project, the artist, Bruno Wilbert, would like to increase general interest in the climate, environmental and nature conservation issues that are important to all of us, promote projects in these areas and thank people who have already shown exemplary commitment. During his extensive internet research on the topics of climate, environmental and nature conservation, he was not only impressed by the numerous fantastic projects in these areas, but also again and again by the enormous…
Often portrayed as destructive monsters that hold light captive, black holes take on a less villainous role in the latest research from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. A black hole at the heart of the dwarf galaxy Henize 2-10 is creating stars rather than gobbling them up. The black hole is apparently contributing to the firestorm of new star formation taking place in the galaxy. The dwarf galaxy lies 30 million light-years away, in the southern constellation Pyxis. A decade ago…
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