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Categories: Environmental: Wildfires, Physics: Optics
Published Fastest laser camera films combustion in real time
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A research team has developed one of the world's fastest single-shot laser cameras, which is at least a thousand times faster than today's most modern equipment for combustion diagnostics. The discovery has enormous significance for studying the lightning-fast combustion of hydrocarbons.
Published Making engineered cells dance to ultrasound
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A team has developed a method for selectively manipulating genetically engineered cells with ultrasound.
Published Let there be (controlled) light
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In the very near future, quantum computers are expected to revolutionize the way we compute, with new approaches to database searches, AI systems, simulations and more. But to achieve such novel quantum technology applications, photonic integrated circuits which can effectively control photonic quantum states -- the so-called qubits -- are needed. Physicists have made a breakthrough in this effort: for the first time, they demonstrated the controlled creation of single-photon emitters in silicon at the nanoscale.
Published Artificial intelligence conjures proteins that speed up chemical reactions
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Scientists have used machine learning to create brand-new enzymes, which are proteins that accelerate chemical reactions. This is an important step in the field of protein design as new enzymes could have many uses across medicine and industrial manufacturing. The research team devised deep-learning, artificial intelligence algorithms that created light-emitting enzymes called luciferases. Laboratory testing confirmed that the new enzymes can recognize specific chemicals and emit light very efficiently.
Published A fifth of California's Sierra Nevada conifer forests are stranded in habitats that have grown too warm for them
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Researchers created maps showing where warmer weather has left trees in conditions that don't suit them, making them more prone to being replaced by other species. The findings could help inform long-term wildfire and ecosystem management in these 'zombie forests.'
Published Researchers uncover how photosynthetic organisms regulate and synthesize ATP
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The redox regulation mechanism responsible for efficient production of ATP under varying light conditions in photosynthetic organisms has now been unveiled. Researchers investigated the enzyme responsible for this mechanism and uncovered how the amino acid sequences present in the enzyme regulate ATP production. Their findings provide valuable insights into the process of photosynthesis and the ability to adapt to changing metabolic conditions.
Published Nanoparticles self-assemble to harvest solar energy
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Researchers design a solar harvester with enhanced energy conversion capabilities. The device employs a quasiperiodic nanoscale pattern, meaning most of it is an alternating and consistent pattern, while the remaining portion contains random defects that do not affect its performance. The fabrication process makes use of self-assembling nanoparticles, which form an organized material structure based on their interactions with nearby particles without any external instructions. Thermal energy harvested by the device can be transformed to electricity using thermoelectric materials.
Published The switch made from a single molecule
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Researchers have demonstrated a switch, analogous to a transistor, made from a single molecule called fullerene. By using a carefully tuned laser pulse, the researchers are able to use fullerene to switch the path of an incoming electron in a predictable way. This switching process can be three to six orders of magnitude faster than switches in microchips, depending on the laser pulses used. Fullerene switches in a network could produce a computer beyond what is possible with electronic transistors, and they could also lead to unprecedented levels of resolution in microscopic imaging devices.
Published Enhanced arsenic detection in water, food, soil
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Scientists fabricate sensitive nanostructured silver surfaces to detect arsenic, even at very low concentrations. The sensors make use of surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy: As a molecule containing arsenic adheres to the surface, it's hit with a laser and the arsenic compound scatters the laser light, creating an identifiable signature. The technique is a departure from existing methods, which are time-consuming, expensive, and not ideally suited to on-site field assays.
Published Electronic metadevices break barriers to ultra-fast communications
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EPFL researchers have come up with a new approach to electronics that involves engineering metastructures at the sub-wavelength scale. It could launch the next generation of ultra-fast devices for exchanging massive amounts of data, with applications in 6G communications and beyond.
Published Perovskites, a 'dirt cheap' alternative to silicon, just got a lot more efficient
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Researchers typically synthesize perovskites in a wet lab, and then apply the material as a film on a glass substrate and explore various applications. A team has instead proposes a novel, physics-based approach, using a substrate of either a layer of metal or alternating layers of metal and dielectric material -- rather than glass.
Published Engineers discover a new way to control atomic nuclei as 'qubits'
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Researchers propose a new approach to making qubits, the basic units in quantum computing, and controlling them to read and write data. The method is based on measuring and controlling the spins of atomic nuclei, using beams of light from two lasers of slightly different colors.
Published When the light is neither 'on' nor 'off' in the nanoworld
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Scientists detect the quantum properties of collective optical-electronic oscillations on the nanoscale. The results could contribute to the development of novel computer chips.
Published New technique maps large-scale impacts of fire-induced permafrost thaw in Alaska
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Researchers have developed a machine learning-based ensemble approach to quantify fire-induced thaw settlement across the entire Tanana Flats in Alaska, which encompasses more than 3 million acres. They linked airborne repeat lidar data to time-series Landsat products (satellite images) to delineate thaw settlement patterns across six large fires that have occurred since 2000. The six fires resulted in a loss of nearly 99,000 acres of evergreen forest from 2000 to 2014 among nearly 155,000 acres of fire-influenced forests with varying degrees of burn severity. This novel approach helped to explain about 65 percent of the variance in lidar-detected elevation change.
Published Chromo-encryption method encodes secrets with color
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In a new approach to security that unites technology and art, E researchers have combined silver nanostructures with polarized light to yield a range of brilliant colors, which can be used to encode messages.
Published Research reveals thermal instability of solar cells but offers a bright path forward
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Researchers reveal the thermal instability that happens within the cells' interface layers, but also offers a path forward towards reliability and efficiency for halide perovskite solar technology.
Published Compact, non-mechanical 3D lidar system could make autonomous driving safer
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A new system represents the first time that the capabilities of conventional beam-scanning lidar systems have been combined with those of a newer 3D approach known as flash lidar. The nonmechanical 3D lidar system is compact enough to fit in the palm of the hand and solves issues of detecting and tracking poorly reflective objects.
Published Controllable 'defects' improve performance of lithium-ion batteries
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Some defects can be good. A new study shows that laser-induced defects in lithium-ion battery materials improve the performance of the battery.
Published Distortion-free forms of structured light
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Research offers a new approach to studying complex light in complex systems, such as transporting classical and quantum light through optical fiber, underwater channels, living tissue and other highly aberrated systems.
Published This loofah-inspired, sun-driven gel could purify all the water you'll need in a day
(via sciencedaily.com) 
Access to clean water is being strained as the human population increases and contamination impacts freshwater sources. Devices currently in development that clean up dirty water using sunlight can only produce up to a few gallons of water each day. But now, researchers in ACS Central Science report how loofah sponges inspired a sunlight-powered porous hydrogel that could potentially purify enough water to satisfy someone's daily needs -- even when it's cloudy.