Osaka City University scientists and colleagues in Japan have found a way to control an interaction between quantum dots that could greatly improve charge transport, leading to more efficient solar cells. Their findings were published in the journal Nature Communications. …
Tag: Nature Communications
Novel quantum dots facilitate coupling to quantum memory systems
Researchers at the University of Basel and Ruhr-Universität Bochum have realized quantum dots—tiny semiconductor nanostructures—that emit light close to the red part of the spectrum with ultra-low background noise. Quantum dots might one day constitute the basis for quantum computers; the light particles, also called photons, would then serve as information carriers. Quantum dots with adequate optical properties had previously only…
A One Hundred Thousand-Fold Enhancement In the Nonlinearity of Silicon
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Phys.Org: A team of researchers led by Osaka University and National Taiwan University created a system of nanoscale silicon resonators that can act as logic gates for light pulses. … [The scientists] have increased the nonlinearity of silicon 100,000 times by creating a nano-optical resonator, so that all-optical switches can be operated using a…
Pluto’s snowcapped mountains are unlike any on Earth
A new study shows how methane snow accumulates on Pluto’s mountain peaks. These snowcaps – first seen by New Horizons in 2015 – look a lot like ones on Earth, but form in a very alien environment. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/methane-snowcapped-mountains-on-pluto-new-horizons…
Scientists find a new mechanism for the stabilization of skyrmions
Tiny magnetic whirls that can occur in materials—so-called skyrmions—hold high promises for novel electronic devices or magnetic memory in which they are used as bits to store information. A fundamental prerequisite for any application is the stability of these magnetic whirls. A research team of the Institute of Theoretical Physics and Astrophysics of Kiel University has now demonstrated that so far…
Greenland’s Ice Sheet has Melted to a Point of No Return
“Ice melting in Greenland contributes more than a millimeter rise to sea level every year,” reports CNN, adding that now “that’s likely to get worse.” And Forbes shares some context:
Last week, the world was given two more harsh reminders of what the future holds as residents of Italy’s Aosta valley were told to evacuate fearing that a huge portion of the…
Ceres’ bright spots come from salty water below
The mysterious bright spots on Ceres caused a sensation when the Dawn spacecraft first spied them in 2015. Now, they’re known to be salt deposits from a recent or ongoing percolation of briny water from a large reservoir in Ceres’ interior. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/bright-areas-dwarf-planet-ceres-salty-water-below…
Inside the ice giants of space
A new theoretical method paves the way to modeling the interior of the ice giants Uranus and Neptune, thanks to computer simulations on the water contained within them. The tool, developed by scientists from SISSA in Trieste and the University of California at Los Angeles and recently published in Nature Communications, allows one to analyze thermal and electric processes occurring at…
Earth’s magnetic field may change faster than we thought
A long-standing question has been how fast Earth’s magnetic field can change. The authors of a new study say they’ve uncovered some answers. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/earths-magnetic-field-change-faster-thought…
Experimental Blood Test Detects Cancer Up To Four Years Before Symptoms Appear
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Scientific American: For years scientists have sought to create the ultimate cancer-screening test — one that can reliably detect a malignancy early, before tumor cells spread and when treatments are more effective. A new method reported today in Nature Communications brings researchers a step closer to that goal. By using a blood test, the…