Researchers have developed a new technique, called MonoCon, that improves the ability of artificial intelligence (AI) programs to identify three-dimensional (3D) objects, and how those objects relate to each other in space, using two-dimensional (2D) images. For example, the work would help the AI used in autonomous vehicles navigate in relation to other vehicles using the 2D images it receives from an onboard camera. “We live in a 3D world, but when you take a picture, it records that world…

Nature Paper Advances Design of Nanomaterials with Tailored Infrared and Thermal Properties. Scientists and engineers collaborating across seven universities and two national laboratories have made a fundamental discovery about the atomic structure and vibrations in multilayer nanostructures, advancing the design of materials with unique infrared and thermal properties. Their paper, Emergent Interface Vibrational Structure of Oxide Superlattices, was published January 26 in Nature. Their discovery emerged from a long-standing collaboration of microscopy, spectroscopy and theory experts spanning fields from physics…

University of Rochester researchers adapt excited state lifetime thermometry to extract temperatures of nanoscale materials from light emitted by nitrogen vacancy centers. For centuries people have placed the highest value on diamonds that are not only large but flawless. Scientists, however, have discovered exciting new applications for diamonds that are not only incredibly small but have a unique defect. In a recent paper in Applied Physics Letters, researchers at the University of Rochester describe a new way to measure temperature…

Advancement in single-atom layer graphene coatings improves accelerator electron source lifespans. Protective coatings are common for many things in daily life that see a lot of use: we coat wood floors with finish; apply Teflon to the paint on cars; even use diamond coatings on medical devices. Protective coatings are also essential in many demanding research and industrial applications. Now, researchers at Los Alamos National Laboratory have developed and tested an atomically thin graphene coating for next-generation, electron-beam accelerator equipment…

Engineering researchers from North Carolina State University have demonstrated a new type of flexible, robotic grippers that are able to lift delicate egg yolks without breaking them, and that are precise enough to lift a human hair. The work has applications for both soft robotics and biomedical technologies. The work draws on the art of kirigami, which involves both cutting and folding two-dimensional (2D) sheets of material to form three-dimensional (3D) shapes. Specifically, the researchers have developed a new technique…

Reimagining the United States power grid could save consumers $50 billion a year. A novel plan that offers partnership in keeping the United States electric grid stable and reliable could be a win-win for consumers and utility operators. The largest ever simulation of its kind, modeled on the Texas power grid, concluded that consumers stand to save about 15 percent on their annual electric bill by partnering with utilities. In this system, consumers would coordinate with their electric utility operator…

EucoLight, the European Association of collection and recycling organisations for Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) lamps and lighting, has carried out successfully a study with Fraunhofer IZM on the technical feasibility for the automatic identification of lamp types in the collected lamps waste stream for recycling. The study focused on the technology assessment for the separation of collected End-of-Life (EoL) lamps, more specifically the technical possibilities for separating conventional gas discharge lamps (GDLs) from conventional light-emitting diode (LED) lamps….

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…

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…

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…

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…

Brothers in Rice lab find audio from graphene production contains valuable data. It may be true that seeing is believing, but sometimes hearing can be better. Case in point: Two brothers in a Rice University laboratory heard something unusual while making graphene. Ultimately, they determined the sound itself could give them valuable data about the product. The brothers, John Li, a Rice alumnus now studying at Stanford University, and Victor Li, then a high school student in New York and…

First German-Austrian Collaborative Research Centre/Transregio approved. TU Darmstadt and TU Graz are intensifying their research into how electrical machines can be decisively improved through computer simulation. To this end, the first German-Austrian Collaborative Research Centre/Transregio (TRR) 361 has been approved. The German Research Foundation (DFG) and the Austrian Science Fund FWF are funding the TRR “Computational Electrical Machine Laboratory” with a total of over eight million euros. For decades, electrical machines have played a central role in energy conversion, not…

The cumbersome search for leaks in air compressor units could soon be made much easier: Along with SICK AG, Fraunhofer IPA is developing an ancillary leak detection service for a smart flow sensor. Self-learning algorithms evaluate the readings and in so doing identify leaks. Under ISO 50001, businesses are obligated to save energy. They must set their own targets outlining how much energy they aim to save over the next few years – and then meet this target. One area…

Mickael L. Perrin wants to build tiny power plants from graphene nanoribbons that generate electricity from heat. His ambitious project won him one of the prestigious ERC Starting Grants from the EU and one of the 32 Eccellenza Professorial Fellowships by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF). He will take up an assistant professorship at ETH Zurich – and continue his research at Empa. Machines and electronic devices often generate waste heat that is difficult to utilize. If electricity could…