ALL POSTS
Real, live scientists sharing cutting-edge research and related classroom activities.
Going With the FFLO
Superconductors and magnetic fields do not usually get along, but a research team led by a Brown University physicist has produced new evidence for an exotic superconducting state that can indeed arise when a superconductor is subject to a strong magnetic field. Their results could enable scientists to develop materials for more efficient memory storage, and even help to explain the behavior of distant astronomical objects called pulsars.
Molecular Light Switch
A bit of stray moisture during an experiment tipped off scientists about the strange behavior of a complex oxide material they were studying—shedding light on its potential for improving chemical sensors, computing and information storage. In the presence of a water molecule on its surface, the layered material emits ultraviolet light from its interior.
Improving Transparent Electronics
Transparent conducting oxides are unusual but highly useful materials that combine transparency to visible light, similar to glass, with high electrical conductivity, similar to copper and other metals.
Quasiparticles and ‘Weyltronics’
Scientists have finally discovered massless particles, and they could revolutionize electronics.
Use Light to Turn Your World Upside-Down!
We can easily observe light with our eyes, and so it is one of the most familiar parts of the world around us. And yet, light often does amazing and unexpected things. Light travels in straight lines from the source to our eyes. This fact allows us to understand many of the cool things that light can do. In this lesson, we will observe how light creates mirages and shadows. And we will build a pinhole camera which makes things appear upside-down. We can understand the upside-down images by thinking about the straight line that the light took from the object to the screen.
Squeezing and Stretching Nanomaterials
Squeezing and stretching materials only a few atoms thick can result in dramatic changes.
More power!
Developing materials that more efficiently convert solar energy to electrical energy is a major research goal of condensed matter physicists. But how do solar panels work?