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How diamond fails under extreme electrical fields

A research team from the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences has revealed the failure mechanism of diamond under extreme electrical fields through in situ experiments and molecular dynamics simulations. The study, published in Cell Reports Physical Science, provides critical insights for the design of robust diamond devices.

Diamond is known for its exceptional physical properties, including ultra-high breakdown field strength and , making it a promising material for and high-power electronics. However, its failure process under extreme electrical fields has remained poorly understood before now.

Led by Profs. Yan Qingbo and Chen Guangchao, the researchers used an in situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM) method to observe the breakdown process in real time. They found that diamond failure begins preferentially along the (111) crystal plane due to stress-induced lattice distortion and subsequent amorphization, rather than transforming into graphite.

Hubble Reveals White Dwarf Devouring a Frozen, Pluto-Like World

Astronomers using the Hubble Space Telescope have uncovered the remains of a frozen, Pluto-like world being devoured by a distant white dwarf star.

This cosmic “crime scene” not only reveals the dramatic fate of planetary fragments but also strengthens the case that the ingredients for life are scattered throughout the galaxy.

Discovery of a frozen, water-rich planetary fragment.

Microsoft’s new AI feature will organize your photos automatically

Microsoft has begun testing a new AI-powered feature in Microsoft Photos, designed to categorize photos automatically on Windows 11 systems.

Dubbed Auto-Categorization, it is currently limited to sorting screenshots, receipts, identity documents, and notes, and it’s rolling out to Copilot+ PCs across all Windows Insider channels with Microsoft Photos version 2025.11090.25001.0 or higher.

Microsoft says the feature utilizes a language-agnostic AI model that identifies document types regardless of the language used in the image. It works by grouping photos into predefined folders automatically, based on their visual content, such as handwritten notes, receipts, or printed documents.

Microsoft shares temp fix for Outlook encrypted email errors

Microsoft is investigating a known issue that triggers Outlook errors when opening encrypted emails sent from other organizations.

According to a recently published support document, this issue affects users in all Office channels who are using the classic Outlook email client.

“Currently, when using classic Outlook for Windows, you can’t open an OMEv2 encrypted email if it was sent from a separate organization (what we call another tenant),” Microsoft said.

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