Everyone who ever took a photo knows the problem: if you want a detailed image, you need a lot of light. In microscopy, however, too much light is often harmful to the sample—for example, when imaging sensitive biological structures or investigating quantum particles. The aim is therefore to gather as much information as possible about the object under observation with a given amount of light.
A recent Cambridge study reveals why sticky liquids don’t always spread evenly, knowledge that could help cut waste, improve product quality and make everyday technologies more reliable.
The research, led by Ph.D. student Saksham Sharma in the Particles, Soft Solids and Surfaces research group, has shown that there is a critical thickness where a retreating liquid film becomes unstable. Below this thickness, the film breaks apart and leaves evenly spaced lines of liquid as it retreats.
The study, published in Physical Review Fluids last month, highlights a delicate balance of forces. The properties of the liquid, the surface it is drawn across and the speed at which it recedes all combine to decide whether a film will stay smooth or split.
When water drains from the bottom of a vertical tube, it is followed by a thin film of liquid that can adopt complex and beautiful shapes. KAUST researchers have now studied exactly how these “fluted films” form and break up, developing a mathematical model of their behavior that could help improve the performance, safety, and efficiency of industrial processes.
Optical frequency combs, as a time and frequency “ruler,” have important applications in precision ranging. Conventional dual-comb ranging schemes utilize the optical Vernier effect to achieve long-distance measurements, and they typically require asynchronously secondary sampling, either after changing the repetition rates or swapping dual-comb roles.
These approaches have a commonly overlooked issue: When considering real-time distance variations induced by target motion or atmospheric turbulence in practical measurement scenarios, the asynchronously secondary sampling will introduce substantial absolute distance measurement error, namely asynchronous measurement error (AME).
In a study published in Science Advances, Prof. Zhang Wenfu’s team from the Xi’an Institute of Optics and Precision Mechanics (XIOPM) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences proposed an on-chip cross dual-microcomb (CDMC) ranging method based on dispersion interferometry. This method resolves the AME issue by eliminating secondary measurements through one-shot spectral sampling of cross dual-microcomb carrying distance information in the frequency domain.
A collaborative research team has developed a novel method for forming high-performance high-entropy alloy (HEA) films on various surfaces without using expensive alloy targets. This was achieved using a proprietary rotating target composed of multiple pure metal segments and pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technology.
This method uniquely enables not only the deposition of metal atoms onto the substrate surface through laser irradiation but also their implantation into the subsurface, forming robust films that integrate with the substrate material.
Traditionally, producing HEA films requires expensive pre-made alloy targets. In contrast, the new method uses inexpensive pure metals, significantly reducing costs. The team also demonstrated precise control of film thickness and depth by adjusting the pressure during deposition.
Scientists at Rutgers University-New Brunswick have identified a new type of material known as intercrystals, which display unusual electronic behaviors that may help shape future technologies.
According to the research team, intercrystals demonstrate electronic characteristics not previously observed, opening the door to progress in areas such as advanced electronic devices, quantum computing.
Quantum computers exploit superposition and entanglement to solve complex problems that are intractable for traditional computers.
