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Using the European XFEL free-electron laser, researchers demonstrate terawatt-scale, attosecond hard X-ray pulses. Ten pulse trains per second, each containing hundreds of pulses at megahertz repetition rates, are achieved. Such short and intense pulses at high repetition rate enable unprecedented damage-free X-ray measurements with attosecond temporal resolution.

Discovery enables manufacturing of ultrathin solar panels, advanced optoelectronics.

By creating a new way for light and matter to interact, researchers at the University of California, Irvine have enabled the manufacturing of ultrathin silicon solar cells that could help spread the energy-converting technology to a vast range of applications, including thermoelectric clothing and onboard vehicle and device charging.

The development, subject of a paper recently published as the cover story in the journal ACS Nano, hinges on the UC Irvine researchers’ conversion of pure silicon from an indirect to a direct bandgap semiconductor through the way it interacts with light.

At some point in the early 1900s, cars started showing up among all the horses in Austin. It must have been a strange time, fraught with concerns about how vehicles and horses would share the streets.

Somehow, we got through it — although, occasionally, you can still spot a horse downtown.

But a new dynamic is taking shape now. While autonomous vehicles are nothing new for Austin — they’ve been tested here for nearly a decade — many people are still being caught off guard when a car with no one in it cruises by.

The biggest battleground in the robotaxi race may be winning public trust.


Autonomous vehicles are already clocking up millions of miles on public roads, but they face an uphill battle to convince people to climb in to enjoy the ride.

A few weeks ago, I took a tour of San Francisco in one of Waymo’s self-driving cars. As we drove around the city, one thing that struck me was how comfortable people had become with not seeing a driver. Not only were there multiple driverless vehicles on any given street at any given time, but tourists no longer had their mouths agape as one drove by. The technology has become a familiar sight.

Team develops simulation algorithms for safer, greener, and more aerodynamic aircraft.


Ice buildup on aircraft wings and fuselage occurs when atmospheric conditions conducive to ice formation are encountered during flight, presenting a critical area of focus for their research endeavors.

Ice accumulation on an aircraft during flight poses a significant risk, potentially impairing its performance and, in severe cases, leading to catastrophic consequences.

Fernández’s laboratory is dedicated to the development of algorithms and software tools aimed at comprehensively understanding these processes and leveraging this knowledge to enhance future aircraft designs, thereby mitigating potential negative outcomes.

The rebirth of commercial supersonic flight has kind of, sort of come to pass as Dawn Aerospace announces that its 16-ft (4.8-m) autonomous Mk-II Aurora rocket-powered aircraft broke the sound barrier with a speed of Mach 1.1 on November 12, 2024.

Ever since the Anglo-French Concorde retired in 2003, civil supersonic flight has been something of a lost art. In recent years, a number of startups have been working on various projects to create a new generation of supersonic transports that are quieter, greener, more efficient, and cost effective to operate.

Now, one supersonic aircraft has actually taken flight, albeit in the form of an uncrewed experimental craft with a wingspan of 13 ft (4 m) and a dry weight of 880 lb (200 kg). In the skies over New Zealand’s Glentanner Aerodrome near the base of Aoraki/Mount Cook, the Mk-II Aurora hit Mach 1.1 while climbing to an altitude of 82,500 ft (25,150 m).