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Category: Materials Sciences

This Exotic Particle Had an Out-of-Body Experience; These Scientists Took a Picture of It

ghost particles quantum gif

Main Attraction: Scientists Create World’s Thinnest Magnet

magnet

Scientists Uncover a Different Facet of Fuel Cell Chemistry

Three-dimensional drawing of electrode molecular surface, with gas molecules above and a yellow arrow representing incoming X-rays.

This Crystal Impurity Is Sheer Perfection

Artist’s illustration of pyrite mineral crystals. (Credit: Cagla Acikgoz/Shutterstock)

Improved Desalination Process Also Removes Toxic Metals to Produce Clean Water

UC Berkeley chemists synthesized a flexible polymer membrane incorporating nanoparticles called “porous aromatic frameworks.” The membrane selectively absorbs nearly 100% of metals such as mercury, copper, or iron during desalination, more efficiently producing clean, safe water. The membrane can incorporate a single type of tuned nanoparticle if the metal is to be recovered – or several different types, each tuned to absorb a different metal or ionic compound if multiple contaminants need to be removed in one step. (Credit: Adam Uliana/UC Berkeley)

Going Beyond Qubits: New Study Demonstrates Key Components for a Qutrit-Based Quantum Computer

The Future Looks Bright for Infinitely Recyclable Plastic

Person standing in front of plastic compressed recycling blocks

How Techno-economic Analysis Can Improve Energy Technologies

photo of Hanna Breunig

To Design Truly Compostable Plastic, Scientists Take Cues From Nature

The Spintronics Technology Revolution Could Be Just a Hopfion Away

Artist’s drawing of characteristic 3D spin texture of a magnetic hopfion. Top layer shows a simulation of the spin structure viewed with surface-sensitive X-PEEM; bottom layer is a simulation of a bulk-sensitive X-ray transmission microscopy image; middle layer – colors indicate the varying direction of the spins showing the winding characteristic. (Credit: Peter Fischer and Frances Hellman/Berkeley Lab)

Century-Old Problem Solved With First-Ever 3D Atomic Imaging of an Amorphous Solid

At left, an experimental 3D atomic model of a metallic glass nanoparticle, 8 nanometers in diameter. Right: The 3D atomic packing of a supercluster within the structure. Differently colored balls represent different types of atoms. (Courtesy of Yao Yang and Jianwei “John” Miao/UCLA)

Actor in a Supporting Role: Substrate Effects on 2D Layers