Lifeboat Foundation: Safeguarding Humanity
Toggle light / dark theme

Blog – Page 72

A research team from the Institute of Statistical Mathematics and Panasonic Holdings Corporation has developed a machine learning algorithm, ShotgunCSP, that enables fast and accurate prediction of crystal structures from material compositions. The algorithm achieved world-leading performance in crystal structure prediction benchmarks.

Crystal structure prediction seeks to identify the stable or metastable crystal structures for any given chemical compound adopted under specific conditions. Traditionally, this process relies on iterative evaluations using time-consuming first-principles calculations and solving energy minimization problems to find stable atomic configurations. This challenge has been a cornerstone of materials science since the early 20th century.

Recently, advancements in computational technology and generative AI have enabled new approaches in this field. However, for large-scale or , the exhaustive exploration of vast phase spaces demands enormous computational resources, making it an unresolved issue in materials science.

Read more | >

Imagine tiny LEGO pieces that automatically snap together to form a strong, flat sheet. Then, scientists add special chemical “hooks” to these sheets to attach glowing molecules called fluorophores.

Associate Professor Gary Baker, Piyuni Ishtaweera, Ph.D., and their team have created these tiny, clay-based materials—called fluorescent polyionic nanoclays. They can be customized for many uses, including advancing energy and , improving and protecting the environment.

The work is published in the journal Chemistry of Materials.

Read more | >

A research team at POSTECH (Pohang University of Science and Technology) has developed a new alloy that maintains its strength and ductility across extreme temperatures ranging from −196 °C to 600 °C. The findings, which have drawn attention from the aerospace and automotive industries, were published in the journal Materials Research Letters. The team was led by Professor Hyoung Seop Kim from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Graduate Institute of Ferrous Technology, and Department of Mechanical Engineering.

Most metals used in everyday life are sensitive to temperature changes—metal doorknobs feel icy in winter and hot in summer. Consequently, conventional metal materials are typically optimized for performance within a narrow temperature range, limiting their effectiveness in environments with dramatic temperature fluctuations.

To overcome this challenge, the POSTECH research team introduced the concept of the “Hyperadaptor” and developed a nickel-based high-entropy alloy (HEA) that embodies this idea.

Read more | >

A new class of semiconductors that can store information in electric fields could enable computers that run on less power, sensors with quantum precision, and the conversion of signals between electrical, optical and acoustic forms—but how they maintained two opposite electric polarizations in the same material was a mystery.

Read more | >

Recent studies have revealed that electrons passing through chiral molecules exhibit significant spin polarization—a phenomenon known as chirality-induced spin selectivity. This effect stems from a nontrivial coupling between electron motion and spin within chiral structures, yet quantifying it remains challenging.

To address this, researchers at the Institute for Molecular Science (IMS) /SOKENDAI investigated an organic superconductor with chiral symmetry. They focused on nonreciprocity related to and observed an exceptionally large nonreciprocal transport in the , far exceeding theoretical predictions. Remarkably, this was found in an with inherently weak spin-orbit coupling, suggesting that chirality significantly enhances charge current-spin coupling with inducing mixed spin-triplet Cooper pairs.

The work is published in the journal Physical Review Research.

Read more | >

Opaque materials can transmit light when excited by a high-intensity laser beam. This process, known as optical bleaching, induces a nonlinear effect that temporarily alters the properties of a material. Remarkably, when the laser is switched on and off at ultrahigh speeds, the effect can be dynamically controlled, opening new possibilities for advanced optical technologies.

Multicolored optical switching is an important phenomenon with potential applications in fields such as telecommunications and optical computing. However, most materials typically exhibit single-color optical nonlinearity under intense laser illumination, limiting their use in systems requiring multicolor or multiband switching capabilities. Currently, most optical switches are based on , which require an electric voltage or current to operate, resulting in slow response times.

To address this gap, a group of researchers, led by Professor Junjun Jia from the Faculty of Science and Engineering at Waseda University, Japan, in collaboration with Professor Hui Ye and Dr. Hossam A. Almossalami from the College of Optical Science and Engineering at Zhejiang University, China, Professor Naoomi Yamada from the Department of Applied Chemistry at Chubu University, Japan, and Dr. Takashi Yagi from the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Japan, investigated the multivalley optical switching phenomenon in germanium (Ge) films.

Read more | >

Physicists at Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) have created a compact laser that emits extremely bright, short pulses of light in a useful but difficult-to-achieve wavelength range, packing the performance of larger photonic devices onto a single chip.

Published in Nature, the research is the first demonstration of an on-chip, picosecond, mid-infrared laser pulse generator that requires no external components to operate.

The device can make what’s called an , a spectrum of light consisting of equally spaced frequency lines (like a comb), used today in precision measurements. The new laser chip could one day speed the creation of highly sensitive, broad-spectrum gas sensors for environmental monitoring, or new types of spectroscopy tools for medical imaging.

Read more | >

Euclid’s first data release offers a breathtaking glimpse into our universe, revealing over 26 million galaxies and showcasing the telescope’s unprecedented precision in the visible and infrared. Powered by advanced optics and massive data processing infrastructure, the mission is already revolut

Read more | >