By shaking an optical lattice potential, researchers have realized a discontinuous phase transition in a strongly correlated quantum gas, opening the door to quantum simulations of false vacuum decay in the early universe. Researchers in the University of Cambridge studied properties of quantum phases and their transitions using ultracold atoms in an optical lattice potential…

Scientists at Tohoku University and colleagues in Japan have developed a mathematical model that helps predict the tiny changes in carbon-based materials that could yield interesting properties. Scientists at Tohoku University and colleagues in Japan have developed a mathematical model that abstracts the key effects of changes to the geometries of carbon material and predicts…

From touch screens and advanced electronic sensors to better drug delivery devices, graphene has become one of the most promising new materials in recent decades. In an effort to produce cheap, defect-free graphene in larger quantities, researchers have been using GCS HPC resources to develop more efficient methods for producing graphene at the industrial scale.…

Researchers have developed the world’s first photodetector that can see all shades of light, in a prototype device that radically shrinks one of the most fundamental elements of modern technology. Photodetectors work by converting information carried by light into an electrical signal and are used in a wide range of technologies, from gaming consoles to…

Liquid crystals derived from borophene have risen in popularity, owing to their immense applicability in optoelectronic and photonic devices. However, their development requires a very narrow temperature range, which hinders their large-scale application. Now, researchers have investigated a liquid-state borophene oxide, discovering that it exhibited high thermal stability and optical switching behavior even at low…

A research team has developed an in situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM) technique that can be used to precisely manipulate individual molecular structures. Using this technique, the team succeeded in fabricating carbon nanotube (CNT) intramolecular transistors by locally altering the CNT’s helical structure, thereby making a portion of it to undergo a metal-to-semiconductor transition in…

New research has revealed that a simple but robust algorithm can help engineers to improve the design of cellular materials that are used in a variety of diverse applications ranging from defense, bio-medical to smart structures and the aerospace sector. The way in which cellular materials will perform can be uncertain and so calculations to…

Researchers solved one of the biggest problems with existing wearable pressure sensors: even the slightest amount of pressure, something as light as a tight long sleeve shirt over a sensor, can throw them off track — and they did it by innovating a first-ever hybrid sensing approach that allows the device to possess properties of…

Researchers have developed a scheme for AI-assisted design of fiber reinforced composite (FRC) structures with spatially varying optimal fiber sizes, making FRCs more lightweight without compromising their mechanical strength and stiffness. Fiber reinforced composites (FRCs) are a class of sophisticated engineering materials composed of stiff fibers embedded in a soft matrix. When properly designed, FRCs…

Civil engineers develop a computational modeling strategy to help plan effective repairs to damaged reinforced concrete columns. These repairs usually involve replacing loose concrete and fractured steel bars and adding extra materials around the damaged area to further strengthen it against future loads. Engineers at Rice University’s George R. Brown School of Engineering and Texas…