Lifeboat Foundation

A new kind of concrete can self-repair without sacrificing durability! It’s undergoing tests in a structure, to prepare for aggressive environments.

Electrons in two-dimensional hexagonal materials have an extra degree of freedom, the valley pseudospin, that can be used to encode and process quantum information. Valley-selective excitations, governed by the circularly polarized light resonant with the material’s bandgap, are the foundation of valleytronics. It is often assumed that achieving valley selective excitation in pristine graphene with all-optical means is not possible due to the inversion symmetry of the system. Here, we demonstrate that both valley-selective excitation and valley-selective high-harmonic generation can be achieved in pristine graphene by using a combination of two counter-rotating circularly polarized fields, the fundamental and its second harmonic. Controlling the relative phase between the two colors allows us to select the valleys where the electron–hole pairs and higher-order harmonics are generated. We also describe an all-optical method for measuring valley polarization in graphene with a weak probe pulse. This work offers a robust recipe to write and read valley-selective electron excitations in materials with zero bandgap and zero Berry curvature.

Go to http://brilliant.org/Undecided to sign up for free. And also, the first 200 people will get 20% off their annual premium membership. As revolutionary as plastics were for changing the course of manufacturing forever, 91% of plastics aren’t recycled. There has to be a better solution. In a previous video I covered how mycelium fungus may be a viable plastic replacement, but there’s another solution starting to bloom… Algae. And it’s showing up in a place you might not expect… your feet. What if I told you we could wear plastic-free flip flops made from algae?Watch Is Mycelium Fungus the Plastic of the Future? https://youtu.be/cApVVuuqLFY?list=PLnTSM-ORSgi4dFnLD9622FK77atWtQVv7Video script and citations:
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When combined with other materials, it makes surprisingly strong bricks.

Researchers made a surprisingly strong building material from a combination of human blood, sweat, tears, and dust. It could help construct buildings on Mars.

In semiconductor device applications, there is an increasing demand for semiconductors with very high carrier concentrations. The semiconductor material parameters, namely carrier density and mobility, primarily determine device performance. Hence, it is important to accurately characterize the carrier density and mobility of a semiconductor for the development of its device applications.

The use of THz waves, or electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths of around 300 µm and frequency of about 1 THz, in the nondestructive testing of semiconductors has been continuously expanding. Free carriers in a material absorb THz radiation, which makes it possible to estimate the electrical properties of semiconductors using THz waves.

Researchers at Osaka University, in collaboration with Nippo Precision Co., Ltd., developed a THz time-domain ellipsometry system (Tera Evaluator) that extends the range of carrier concentrations measurable by THz waves up to ~10²⁰ cm^-3 and potentially higher by improving the precision of said optical technique. In THz time-domain ellipsometry, linearly polarized THz pulses are incident on a sample and the electric field strength of the reflected THz waves as a function of time is measured. Specifically, the reflected waves polarized in the direction parallel ℗ and perpendicular (s) to the plane of incidence are of interest. The ratio of the p-and s-polarization components yields information on the electric permittivity of the sample, allowing for the evaluation of the carrier density and mobility. As such, unlike THz time-domain spectroscopy, THz time-domain ellipsometry does not require reference measurements through an aperture or standard mirror.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=FiU5U_6ca0s

Of all the different dark matter detectors in the world, only one has consistently come up with a positive signal. The results of DAMA experiment in Italy are hotly debated — and now two experiments seeking to verify it using the same materials have returned conflicting results.

ANAIS, a dark matter detector run by the University of Zaragoza at the Canfranc Underground Laboratory in Spain, has delivered results that seem to contradict DAMA’s.

Continue reading “Scientists Bemused to Find Liquid Light at Room Temperature” »

Of all the different dark matter detectors in the world, only one has consistently come up with a positive signal. The results of DAMA experiment in Italy are hotly debated — and now two experiments seeking to verify it using the same materials have returned conflicting results.

ANAIS, a dark matter detector run by the University of Zaragoza at the Canfranc Underground Laboratory in Spain, has delivered results that seem to contradict DAMA’s.

But COSINE-100, run by a collaboration between the Korea Invisible Mass Search and Yale University at the Yangyang Underground Laboratory in South Korea, has now produced new output. These results are similar to what ANAIS’ threw up — but also a little closer to the results DAMA has produced over the last 20 years.

Like ripples in a pond, electrons travel like waves through materials, and when they collide and interact, they can give rise to new and interesting patterns.

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory have seen a new kind of wave pattern emerge in a thin film of metal oxide known as titania when its shape is confined. Confinement, the act of restricting materials within a boundary, can alter the properties of a material and the movement of molecules through it.

In the case of titania, it caused electrons to interfere with each other in a unique pattern, which increased the oxide’s conductivity, or the degree to which it conducts electricity. This all happened at the mesoscale, a scale where scientists can see both quantum effects and the movement of electrons and molecules.

In a press statement from the UK government, the work is described as a “world first.” The material is being used as part of a trial, meaning that the UK government will keep a close eye on the newly-laid surface over the coming years to discern whether graphene can be used more widely to increase the durability and lifespan of roads.

The concept has been meticulously tested in labs, now it’s time for a real-world application.