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Categories: Environmental: Wildfires, Physics: Optics
Published Technology advance could expand the reach of 3D nanoprinting
(via sciencedaily.com) Researchers have developed an easy-to-build, low-cost 3D nanoprinting system that can create arbitrary 3D structures with extremely fine features. The new 3D nanoprinting technique is precise enough to print metamaterials as well as a variety of optical devices and components such as microlenses, micro-optical devices and metamaterials.
Published Researchers use SPAD detector to achieve 3D quantum ghost imaging
(via sciencedaily.com) Researchers have reported the first 3D measurements acquired with quantum ghost imaging. The new technique enables 3D imaging on a single photon level, yielding the lowest photon dose possible for any measurement.
Published Uncovering the Auger-Meitner Effect's crucial role in electron energy loss
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Defects often limit the performance of devices such as light-emitting diodes (LEDs). The mechanisms by which defects annihilate charge carriers are well understood in materials that emit light at red or green wavelengths, but an explanation has been lacking for such loss in shorter-wavelength (blue or ultraviolet) emitters.
Published Self-supervised AI learns physics to reconstruct microscopic images from holograms
(via sciencedaily.com) Researchers have unveiled an artificial intelligence-based model for computational imaging and microscopy without training with experimental objects or real data. The team introduced a self-supervised AI model nicknamed GedankenNet that learns from physics laws and thought experiments. Informed only by the laws of physics that universally govern the propagation of electromagnetic waves in space, the researchers taught their AI model to reconstruct microscopic images using only random artificial holograms -- synthesized solely from 'imagination' without relying on any real-world experiments, actual sample resemblances or real data.
Published Wildfires emit potent climate-warming organic particles
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers found that wildfires are causing a much greater warming effect than has been accounted for by climate scientists. The work, which focuses on the role of 'dark brown carbon' -- an abundant but previously unknown class of particles emitted as part of wildfire smoke -- highlights an urgent need to revise climate models and update approaches for the changing environment.
Published New photocatalytic system converts carbon dioxide to valuable fuel more efficiently than natural photosynthesis
(via sciencedaily.com) A research team recently developed a stable artificial photocatalytic system that is more efficient than natural photosynthesis. The new system mimics a natural chloroplast to convert carbon dioxide in water into methane, a valuable fuel, very efficiently using light. This is a promising discovery, which could contribute to the goal of carbon neutrality.
Published Unleashing a new era of color tunable nano-devices -- smallest ever light source with switchable colors formed
(via sciencedaily.com) New research has achieved a significant breakthrough in color switching for nanocrystals, unlocking exciting possibilities for a simple, energy efficient display design and for tunable light sources needed in numerous technologies. The discovery also has potential applications in sensitive sensors for various substances, including biological and neuroscience uses, as well as advancements in quantum communication technologies. This nanomaterial breakthrough holds the promise of inspiring exciting innovations in the future.
Published Butterfly-inspired films create vibrant colors while passively cooling objects
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source New films inspired by butterfly wings circumvent the heating effect usually experienced by colored objects absorbing light on a hot day. The new films could be used on the outside of buildings, vehicles and equipment to reduce the energy needed for cooling while preserving vivid color properties.
Published Scientists dig into wildfire predictions, long-term impacts
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Wildfires are an ancient force shaping the environment, but they have grown in frequency, range and intensity in response to a changing climate. Scientists are working on several fronts to better understand and predict these events and what they mean for the carbon cycle and biodiversity.
Published Fiber optic cables detect and characterize earthquakes
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The same fiber optic networks that provide internet can simultaneously act as earthquake sensors, as demonstrated in a new study.
Published Thermal imaging innovation allows AI to see through pitch darkness like broad daylight
(via sciencedaily.com) Engineers have developed HADAR, or heat-assisted detection and ranging.
Published Absence of universal topological signatures in high harmonic generation
(via sciencedaily.com) Theoreticians report that they found no evidence of any universal topological signatures after performing the first ab initio investigation of high harmonic generation from topological insulators.
Published Sun 'umbrella' tethered to asteroid might help mitigate climate change
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Earth is rapidly warming and scientists are developing a variety of approaches to reduce the effects of climate change. An astronomer has proposed a novel approach -- a solar shield to reduce the amount of sunlight hitting Earth, combined with a tethered, captured asteroid as a counterweight. Engineering studies using this approach could start now to create a workable design that could mitigate climate change within decades.
Published New method improves proton acceleration with high power laser
(via sciencedaily.com) Bringing protons up to speed with strong laser pulses -- this still young concept promises many advantages over conventional accelerators. For instance, it seems possible to build much more compact facilities. Prototypes to date, however, in which laser pulses are fired at ultra-thin metal foils, show weaknesses -- especially in the frequency with which they can accelerate protons. An international working group has tested a new technique: In this approach, frozen hydrogen acts as a 'target' for the laser pulses.
Published Novel Raman technique breaks through 50 years of frustration
(via sciencedaily.com) Researchers have developed a new technique that vastly improves readings of protein-to-ligand interactions through Raman spectroscopy.
Published Engineering team uses diamond microparticles to create high security anti-counterfeit labels
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have developed a pioneering technological solution that counterfeiters have no response to.
Published Research supports use of managed and prescribed fires to reduce fire severity
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists found that fires in America's dry conifer forests are burning hotter and killing more trees today than in previous centuries. The main culprit? Paradoxically, a lack of fires.
Published Picturing where wildlands and people meet at a global scale
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have created the first tool to map and visualize the areas where human settlements and nature meet on a global scale. The tool could improve responses to environmental conflicts like wildfires, the spread of zoonotic diseases and loss of ecosystem biodiversity.
Published Understanding the many different ways animals are evolving in response to fire could help conservation efforts
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source In our modern era of larger, more destructive, and longer-lasting fires -- called the Pyrocene -- plants and animals are evolving quickly to survive. By synthesizing the wide body of research about rapid animal evolution in response to fire, a multidisciplinary team of ecology experts hopes to leverage what we already know to help foster evolution-informed conservation plans. In this way, they suggest, we can try to harness the ways in which fire impacts animals to protect vulnerable species -- working with evolution instead of against it.
Published Hidden cameras spot wildlife returning home after 2018 megafire
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers analyzed more than 500,000 motion-sensor camera trap images taken at a Northern California reserve in the years before and after the Mendocino Complex Fire to understand how the blaze impacted small- and medium-sized mammals. The study is one of the first to compare wildlife observations made before and after a megafire, and is also one of a limited number of studies to focus on the impacts of megafires on California's oak woodlands.