Materials
Editor's choice
Millimetre-scale transceiver boosts ingestible sensors
Wireless receiver and transmitter is small enough to fit in a swallowable capsule for monitoring gut health
Suction forces enable precise bioprinting
Aspiration-assisted technique could be used in regenerative medicine, tissue engineering and the creation of “organs-on-a-chip” for drug testing and disease modelling
Research headlines
Metallic glasses bear up better under strain
New rejuvenation technique makes these metastable materials less likely to fracture
Supercapacitor model captures complex physics of charging
New insights could lead to better energy-storage devices
Dual condensate of fermions and excitons should exist, say theoretical chemists
Single quantum state would conduct electricity and energy perfectly
Novel photovoltaics generate electrical power from thermal sources
Devices based on photon-assisted tunnelling could harvest energy from nuclear power stations, chemical manufacturing facilities and other sources of waste heat
Superconductor transition switches single-molecule magnet
Novel phenomenon occurs due to quantum tunnelling and might be exploited in future quantum information technologies
Nanowire device generates electricity from ambient humidity
Non-polluting, low-cost device generates electrical current from the water vapour naturally present in the atmosphere
Materials on film
Congratulations to John Goodenough, Stanley Whittingham and Akira Yoshino for the 2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
Sealed cell improves oxide-peroxide conversion in lithium-ion battery
New work could help advance battery research for engineering next-generation high-energy-density technologies
Pioneers of physical cosmology, exoplanets and lithium-ion batteries bag Nobel prizes
This week’s podcast is devoted to the big news from Stockholm
Multilayer design makes conducting stretchable batteries
Conductors that stay conducting even when stretched by 300% in any direction could find use in a new generation of deformable and wearable electronic devices
Beyond the lithium-ion battery
Engineering a sustainable, electrified future means developing materials with properties that surpass those found in current technologies
Energy storage technologies vie for investment
Ideas abound for alternative energy storage technologies, but investment remains key for real-world change
Industries join forces to power up electric vehicles
The UK plans to secure battery manufacture from mine to motor, bringing a projected £4.8 billion to the chemical industry by 2030
Battle of the elements: lithium is the little element making a big difference
Margaret Harris observes that lithium not only offers a playground for atomic physicists, but also provides a route to greener energy and a life-changing treatment for peop...
Latest articles in materials science
Protein aggregation goes catalytic
Mathematical model describes how proteins self-assemble into the amyloid fibrils associated with diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson's
A salty solution for the coffee-ring effect
Simple trick of adding salt to a solution could allow engineers to deposit more uniform coatings and dyes
Making metallic glasses more plastic
Metastable materials become softer when made into micron-sized wires
Quantum diffusion of heavy defects defies Arrhenius’ law
“Massively heavy” atoms can move quantum mechanically within a crystalline material at cryogenic temperatures – a surprising result that contradicts currently-held notions
A broader range of experiments
Anatole von Lilienfeld explains how machine learning is creating new opportunities for research across all areas of the physical sciences
Falling water drops power LEDs
The power generated by a drop of water falling onto a droplet-based electricity generator can light up 100 small LEDs
Touch-responsive indium tin oxide is very thin and flexible
Normally brittle material can be rolled up like a tube
Light activation offers non-invasive removal of medical implants
Devices incorporating a light-sensitive hydrogel break down inside the body when exposed to light from an ingestible LED capsule
Secrets of nanospiral formation revealed by machine learning
Insights into crystal growth could lead to new optical metamaterials
High-level nuclear waste storage vessels could degrade much faster than previously thought
Accelerated corrosion process could release radioactive material
Transparent graphene photodetectors make advanced 3D camera
New device might find applications in bioimaging, driverless cars and robotics
Glass sphere is cooled to its motional quantum ground state
Quantum gravity and quantum fundamentals could be probed using new technique
Focus on Nanotechnology & Nanomaterials
Take a look inside the free-to-read digital edition of Physics World‘s focus issue on nanotechnology. Covering the latest innovations and commercial developments, this issue explores some of the nanoscale technologies that are set to drive future business growth
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Multiple PhD Positions in Dresden, Germany: IMPRS for Many Particle Systems in Structured Environments
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Thin-film coating specialist: European Synchrotron Radiation Facility
Related events
- Polymers | Conference International Conference on Polymer Science and Technology 23—24 March 2020 | Barcelona, Spain
- Condensed matter | Conference International Symposium on Condensed Matter & Material Science 25—26 March 2020 | Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
- Materials | Conference World Summit on Materials Science and Nanotechnology 26—27 March 2020 | Madrid, Spain
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