Detecting, Exploiting Non-Line-of-Sight Paths for Terahertz Signals in Wireless Communications
After developing a link discovery method in 2020 using terahertz radiation, Rice and Brown researchers addressed what would happen if a wall or other reflector creates a non-line-of-sight path from the base station to the receiver. In APL Photonics, they consider two different generic types of transmitters and explore how their characteristics can be used to determine whether an NLOS path contributes to the signal received by the receiver.
Physicists Net Neutron Star Gold from Measurement of Lead
Nuclear physicists have made a new, highly accurate measurement of the thickness of the neutron "skin" that encompasses the lead nucleus in experiments conducted at the U.S. Department of Energy's Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility and just published in Physical Review Letters. The result, which revealed a neutron skin thickness of .28 millionths of a nanometer, has important implications for the structure and size of neutron stars.
Nontoxic, Flexible Energy Converters Could Power Wearable Devices
Wearable electronics have increasingly become a part of everyday life, so researchers wondered if these could be powered by harvesting electricity from waste heat. Further inspiration came from a desire to ultimately fabricate energy converting devices from the same materials as the active devices themselves. In Applied Physics Letters, the researchers report the design and fabrication of single-wall carbon nanotube thermoelectric devices on flexible polyimide substrates as a basis for wearable energy converters.
Benefits of AstraZeneca COVID-19 Vaccine Outweigh Its Risks
The AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine is suspected of being linked to a small number of deep vein thrombosis cases, which led several countries in Europe to suspend AstraZeneca injections. Researchers explored a hypothesis that this pause, even if short, could cause additional deaths from the faster spread of COVID-19. In Chaos, they report using an epidemiological model and statistical analysis to estimate excess deaths resulting from suspending AstraZeneca vaccinations and those potentially linked to DVT-adverse events in France and Italy.
Solar-Powered Desalination Unit Shows Great Promise
Freshwater accounts for only about 2.5% of water on Earth, so much of the world experiences serious water shortages. In AIP Advances, scientists report the development of a highly efficient desalination device that uses a titanium-containing layer capable of absorbing solar energy. When sunlight strikes the layer, it heats rapidly and vaporizes the water. By placing the unit in a transparent container with a sloped quartz roof, the water vapor can be condensed and collected.
Polymer-Based Coatings on Metallic Implants Improve Bone-Implant Integration
Although bone has some capacity to regenerate, large bone defects cannot be healed without major medical procedures. Metallic implants are widely used, but their bioinertness poses a challenge. In Biointerphases, researchers showcase approaches that are alternatives to metallic implants and use natural polymer coatings to improve bone-implant integration, also known as osseointegration. Establishing a strong chemical interaction between a metal and a completely organic and natural polymer is a significant advancement in bone tissue engineering.
Texas A&M AgriLife Research study to focus on amino-acid radicals
Texas A&M AgriLife Research will study the function of amino-acid radicals, which are fundamental to both beneficial and harmful chemical reactions in living organisms.
New Argonne partnership to predict fuel injector dynamics
Collaborators use experiments, high-fidelity simulations and machine learning to deliver predictive tools to engine manufacturers.
Fooling fusion fuel: How to discipline unruly plasma
PPPL scientists have developed a type of deception to calm unruly plasma and accelerate the harvesting on Earth of fusion energy.
Know a young woman interested in science? Sign her up for PPPL's virtual Young Women's Conference on May 7
PPPL's Young Women's Conference in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics will be online this year and will offer science demonstrations by institutions all over the country, including PPPL, talks with working scientists, and a keynote speech by a prominent female scientist.
UVC Sterilizer - A Must-Have in the New Normal
The magical ultraviolet C (UVC) sterilizing devices are proven to kill 99.99% of germs, but may pose a risk of skin cancer and cataracts, Chula professors cautioned consumers to use them carefully and by being fully informed.
The Future Looks Bright for Infinitely Recyclable Plastic
Plastics are ubiquitous, but they're not practical. Less than 10% are recycled, and the other ~8 billion tons are creating a pollution crisis. A Berkeley Lab team is determined to change that. A new analysis shows producing and recycling their game-changing new plastic could be easy and cheap enough to leave old plastics in the dust.
Ultra-high-energy gamma rays originate from pulsar nebulae
The discovery that the nebulae surrounding the most powerful pulsars are pumping out ultra-high-energy gamma rays could rewrite the book about the rays' galactic origins. Pulsars are rapidly rotating, highly magnetized collapsed stars surrounded by nebulae powered by winds generated inside the pulsars.
Scientists glimpse signs of a puzzling state of matter in a superconductor
High-temperature superconductors conduct electricity with no loss, but no one knows how they do it. SLAC scientists observed the signature of an exotic state of matter called "pair density waves" in a cuprate superconductor and confirmed that it intertwines with another exotic state.
Boosting Fiber Optics Communications with Advanced Quantum-Enhanced Receiver
Fiber optic technology is the holy grail of high-speed, long-distance telecommunications. Still, with the continuing exponential growth of internet traffic, researchers are warning of a capacity crunch. In AVS Quantum Science, researchers show how quantum-enhanced receivers could play a critical role in addressing this challenge. The scientists developed a method to enhance receivers based on quantum physics properties to dramatically increase network performance while significantly reducing the error bit rate and energy consumption.
Reversal of Blood Droplet Flight Predicted, Captured in Experiments
To search for answers about how blood droplets from a gunshot wound can reverse direction while in flight, researchers explored the influence of propellant gases on blood backspatter. In Physics of Fluids, they report using numeric modeling to capture the behavior of gun muzzle gases and predict the reversal of blood droplet flight, which was captured experimentally. Their experiments also show the breakup of blood droplets, a future extension of their modeling efforts.
Forensics Puzzle Cracked via Fluid Mechanical Principles
A real-life forensic puzzle inspired University of Illinois at Chicago and Iowa State University researchers to explore the physics involved, and in Physics of Fluids, they present theoretical results revealing an interaction of the incoming vortex ring of propellant muzzle gases with backward blood spatter. A detailed analytical theory of such turbulent self-similar vortex rings was given by this group in earlier work and is linked mathematically to the theory of quantum oscillators.
Stone Skipping Techniques Can Improve Reentry of Space Vehicles
In Physics of Fluids, scientists reveal several key factors that influence the number of bounces a skipping stone will undergo when hitting the water. The study involved theoretical modeling and an experimental setup using a model stone to gather data in real time and that allowed a motor to apply a controlled spin to the disk prior to launch. The investigators found that vertical acceleration and the spin direction influence the result.
Combining Light, Superconductors Could Boost AI Capabilities
As artificial intelligence has attracted interest, researchers are focused on understanding how the brain accomplishes cognition so they can construct systems with general intelligence comparable to humans' intelligence. In Applied Physics Letters, researchers propose an approach to large-scale AI that focuses on integrating photonic components with superconducting electronics; using light for communication and complex electronic circuits for computation could enable artificial cognitive systems of scale and functionality beyond what can be achieved with either light or electronics alone.
Katrin Heitmann elected spokesperson for LSST Dark Energy Science Collaboration
Argonne's Katrin Heitmann has been elected the scientific spokesperson for the LSST Dark Energy Science Collaboration. This collaboration will address fundamental questions about the evolution of the universe with data from the Rubin Observatory.
CUR Physics and Astronomy Division Announces 2021 Barlow Awardees
The Physics and Astronomy Division of the Council on Undergraduate Research announces the 2021 recipients of the Nadine Barlow Undergraduate Research Support Awards. The awards seek to assist undergraduate students in conducting faculty-mentored research.
Flushing a Public Toilet? Don't Linger, Because Aerosolized Droplets Do
Because COVID-19 has been detected in urine and stool samples, public restrooms can be cause for concern. Researchers measured droplets generated from flushing a toilet and a urinal in a public restroom and found a substantial increase in the measured aerosol levels in the ambient environment with the total number of droplets generated in each flushing test ranging up to the tens of thousands. Due to their small size, these droplets can remain suspended for a long time.
New pulsed magnet reveals a new state of matter in Kondo insulator
A recent series of experiments at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory (National MagLab) at Los Alamos National Laboratory leveraged some of the nation's highest-powered nondestructive magnets to reveal an exotic new phase of matter at high magnetic fields.
Dan Melconian: Then and Now / 2011 Early Career Award Winner
Dan Melconian is developing new techniques and new equipment to test our current theory of electroweak interactions. Comparison of these precision measurements to theoretical predictions will either confirm the Standard Model to a higher degree or point to a New Standard Model.
NASA awards $2 million for Wichita State professor to study the sun
Wichita State University's Dr. Nick Solomey, professor of physics, has been awarded a $2 million grant from NASA for his work on developing a neutrino detector to work in space and close to the sun.