NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, now under construction, will test new technologies for space-based planet hunting. The mission aims to photograph worlds and dusty disks around nearby stars with detail up to a thousand times better than possible with other observatories. Roman will use its Coronagraph Instrument — a system of masks, prisms, detectors,…

When liquid meets gas, a unique zone forms. Variable by nature, molecules can cross from one state to another, combining in unique ways to either desirable or unwanted ends. From heat escaping a mug of coffee to increasing molecular concentrations in chemical solutions, gas-liquid interfaces are ubiquitous across nature and engineering. But a lack of…

Satellites are almost always illuminated by the sun, apart from short transitions to Earth’s shadow. The light that a satellite reflects can help reveal the solution to a structural malfunction. Carolin Frueh is among only a handful of researchers who have persisted in using a complex technique that can diagnose a problem from thousands of…

Researchers have developed a new technique for shielding electronics in military and space exploration technology from ionizing radiation. The new approach is more cost effective than existing techniques, and the secret ingredient is…rust. «Our approach can be used to maintain the same level of radiation shielding and reduce the weight by 30% or more, or…

Extensive power outages and satellite blackouts that affect air travel and the internet are some of the potential consequences of massive solar storms. These storms are believed to be caused by the release of enormous amounts of stored magnetic energy due to changes in the magnetic field of the sun’s outer atmosphere — something that…

By combining photonics with artificial intelligence, scientists have developed a sensor that will help decipher the ‘twinkle’ of stars and allow for Earth-based exploration of planets around distant stars. Using artificial intelligence and machine learning, University of Sydney optical scientists have developed a sensor that can neutralise a star’s ‘twinkle’ caused by heat variations in…

Researchers have succeeded in setting a new record in X-ray microscopy. With improved diffractive lenses and more precise sample positioning, they were able to achieve spatial resolution in the single-digit nanometer scale. Soft X-ray microscopy, which uses low-energy X-rays is used to investigate the properties of materials in the nanoscale. This technology can be used…

In the world of quantum mechanics, researchers can even make empty space, the lack of something, do their bidding. Scientists have now created a new setup to control the absence of electrons in a solid material. They want to use these holes as a basis for a quantum computer. In a study published in Nature…

Imagine sitting out in the sun, reading a digital screen as thin as paper, but seeing the same image quality as if you were indoors. It could soon be a reality. A new type of reflective screen — sometimes described as ‘electronic paper’ — offers optimal color display, while using ambient light to keep energy…

Engineers have created a tabletop device that combines a robot, artificial intelligence and near-infrared and ultrasound imaging to draw blood or insert catheters to deliver fluids and drugs. Their research results suggest that autonomous systems like the image-guided robotic device could outperform people on some complex medical tasks. Their most recent research results, published in…