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US creates light-based tech to stabilize hypersonic jet engines

A new NASA-funded study has revealed for the first time that the airflow in supersonic combusting jet engines can be controlled by an optical sensor.

The finding can lead to more efficient stabilization of hypersonic jet aircraft, according to the study carried out by the researchers at the University of Virginia, School of Engineering and Applied Science.

The research allows operators to control airflow at the speed of light when a ‘shock train’ occurs. A shock train is a condition that precedes engine failure within a scramjet engine.

Physicists introduce method for mechanical detection of individual nuclear decays

In recent years, physicists and engineers have developed increasingly sophisticated instruments to study particles and the interactions between them with high precision. These instruments, which include particle detectors, sensors and accelerometers, could help researchers to study physical processes in greater detail, potentially contributing to interesting new discoveries.

A Possible World Record: Studying Thin Films Under Extreme Temperatures with Reflectometry

A team of researchers from ANSTO and University of Technology Sydney have set a record by conducting thin film experiments at 1,100 degrees Celsius, using the Spatz reflectometer equipped with a vacuum furnace.

The unique combination of neutron reflectometry with high temperature apparatus enables atomic-scale insights into thin film growth and diffusion processes. This is of relevance to a wide range of thin film technology and devices which undergo a range of processing and heat treatment conditions to optimize performance.

The UTS group, led by Francesca Iacopi and Aiswarya Pradeepkumar, has been studying the growth of thin carbon sheets (graphene) on SiC/Si substrates which occurs at high temperatures. This award-winning process allows for highly conductive electronics that can be integrated with standard silicon fabrication processes.

Researchers achieve unprecedented nanostructuring inside silicon

Silicon, the cornerstone of modern electronics, photovoltaics, and photonics, has traditionally been limited to surface-level nanofabrication due to the challenges posed by existing lithographic techniques. Available methods either fail to penetrate the wafer surface without causing alterations or are limited by the micron-scale resolution of laser lithography within Si.

Belle II experiment reports the first direct measurement of tau-to-light-lepton ratio

The Belle II experiment is a large research effort aimed at precisely measuring weak-interaction parameters, studying exotic hadrons (i.e., a class of subatomic particles) and searching for new physical phenomena. This effort primarily relies on the analysis of data collected by the Belle II detector (i.e., a general purpose spectrometer) and delivered by the SuperKEKB, a particle collider, both located at the High Energy Accelerator Research Organization (KEK) in Tsukuba, Japan.

Quantum sensors: How does the flow profile affect flow measurements?

Researchers at Fraunhofer IPM have developed a contactless flow measurement method based on magnetic fields. For the first time, they have been able to show the quantitative impact of the flow profile on the magnetic signal. This opens up new possibilities for improving the measurement method.

The results were recently published in the Journal of Applied Physics.

There are many manufacturing processes across various industries where flowing liquids play a key role. Controlling or automating such processes requires reliable data on the rate of the liquids. The -based flow measurement technique developed at Fraunhofer IPM provides accurate flow data without any contact with the liquid.