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Scientist creates ‘mini‑universe’ to measure time without a clock

A University of Birmingham scientist has built a “mini-universe” that takes a step toward answering one of science’s biggest questions: “What is time?” Publishing his findings in Physical Review Research, Professor Giovanni Barontini shows how it is possible to measure the flow of time without using a clock at all. The new findings provide a scientific model in which a version of time emerges from the experiment itself.

Some theories of physics, such as the Wheeler–DeWitt equation, suggest that, at its deepest level, the universe has no built-in time but exists as a single, unchanging quantum state in which particles exhibit both wave-like and particle-like properties. It treats the universe as a whole with no external clock, and any sense of time must emerge from internal relationships between parts.

Nuclear clocks tick for the first time

Two independent research teams have achieved a longstanding goal in physics: building a working nuclear clock. The devices, developed by Beichen Huang and colleagues at Tsinghua University and by Luca Toscani De Col and colleagues at the Vienna Center for Quantum Science and Technology in Austria, exploit the nucleus of a thorium-229 atom to keep time with extraordinary precision—possibly surpassing even the best atomic clocks available today.

The Chinese and European studies have both been published in preprint on arXiv.

Engineering quantum Hall stripes in 2D materials inside electromagnetic cavities

Quantum materials, materials with properties that are governed by the laws of quantum mechanics, have proved to be highly promising for the development of ultra-efficient electronic devices, quantum processors, highly precise sensors and various other technologies. Reliably controlling these materials’ quantum phases would be highly advantageous, as it would enable engineers to tailor and optimize their properties for specific applications.

Researchers at ETH Zurich, in the Quantum Optoelectronics Group led by Prof. Dr. Jérôme Faist and Prof. Dr. Giacomo Scalari, have uncovered a new strategy to stabilize self-organized electronic patterns known as quantum Hall stripes in two-dimensional (2D) electron systems.

Their approach, outlined in a paper published in Nature Physics, entails creating high-quality 2D electron systems, embedding them into carefully designed cavities (i.e., structures that confine electromagnetic fields) and cooling them to ultralow temperatures.

Rare-earth-free zinc oxide achieves a first in stress-to-light conversion

Mechanoluminescent materials convert mechanical energy such as stress, strain and vibration directly into light, making them attractive as self-powered sensors that require no batteries or wiring. From biomedical sensors to self-powered infrastructure monitoring sensors, mechanoluminescent materials have a wide range of potential applications. However, high-performance mechanoluminescent materials have traditionally relied on expensive rare-earth materials or complex material compositions.

Now, a research team led by Tohoku University, in collaboration with the University of Tsukuba and Saga University, has developed a zinc oxide (ZnO) material that exhibits strong, highly sensitive mechanoluminescence without using any rare-earth elements.

The newly developed material combines high sensitivity with low cost by using zinc oxide, an earth-abundant material already found in products such as sunscreens, cosmetics and ointments.

Transparent OLED advance could improve AR displays and smart windows

Seoul National University College of Engineering announced that a research team led by Prof. Yongtaek Hong from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering has developed a high-performance transparent organic light-emitting diode (OLED) incorporating highly conductive transparent metal mesh top electrodes fabricated using a selective metal deposition technique. The research was published in the journal Materials Horizons and was selected as the outside front cover image for the issue.

Transparent OLEDs have attracted significant attention for next-generation applications, including advanced displays, augmented reality (AR), automotive displays and smart windows, because of their capability for bidirectional light emission. However, despite achieving high optical transparency and excellent electrical performance, conventional transparent electrodes often face limitations when directly integrated into OLED devices because their fabrication processes can chemically or physically damage the underlying organic layers.

To address this challenge, the research team developed a metal-patterning technology based on a high-resolution transfer-printing process using a metal-vapor-desorption layer (MVDL). This approach enables the fabrication of highly conductive transparent metal mesh patterns with micrometer-scale resolution without requiring chemical washing or lift-off processes. As a result, high-quality vapor-deposited metal patterns can be directly formed on organic stacks while minimizing damage to the underlying organic device layers.

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