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Archive for the ‘engineering’ category: Page 6

Feb 15, 2024

A ‘quantum leap’ at room temperature: Ultra-low noise system achieves optical squeezing

Posted by in categories: engineering, quantum physics

In the realm of quantum mechanics, the ability to observe and control quantum phenomena at room temperature has long been elusive, especially on a large or “macroscopic” scale. Traditionally, such observations have been confined to environments near absolute zero, where quantum effects are easier to detect. But the requirement for extreme cold has been a major hurdle, limiting practical applications of quantum technologies.

Now, a study led by Tobias J. Kippenberg and Nils Johan Engelsen at EPFL, redefines the boundaries of what’s possible. The pioneering work blends quantum physics and to achieve control of at room temperature.

“Reaching the regime of room temperature quantum optomechanics has been an open challenge since decades,” says Kippenberg. “Our work realizes effectively the Heisenberg microscope—long thought to be only a theoretical toy model.”

Feb 14, 2024

Valentine’s Day 2024: Scientists create gel to mend broken hearts — How does it work?

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, chemistry, engineering, nanotechnology

Scientists have created a wood pulp hydrogel to strengthen anti-cancer medications and restore damaged cardiac tissue.

Now that they have created a novel hydrogel that can be utilised to repair damaged heart tissue and enhance cancer therapies, you can cure a broken heart on Valentine’s Day, according to SciTech Daily.

Dr Elisabeth Prince, a researcher in chemical engineering at the University of Waterloo, collaborated with scientists from Duke University and the University of Toronto to design a synthetic material that is made of wood pulp-derived cellulose nanocrystals. The material’s unique biomechanical qualities are recreated by engineering it to mimic the fibrous nanostructures and characteristics of human tissues.

Feb 11, 2024

Scientists reveal new photoelectrochemical system to produce green hydrogen

Posted by in categories: chemistry, engineering

Researchers at the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) have unveiled a promising photoelectrochemical (PEC) system capable of generating green hydrogen on a large scale.

The team introduces an innovative approach utilizing formamidinium lead triiodide (FAPbI3) perovskite-based photoanodes, encapsulated by a robust Ni foil/NiFeOOH electrocatalyst.

Speaking to Tech Xplore, Jae Sung Lee, Professor of Energy & Chemical Engineering at UNIST and co-author of the paper, highlighted the critical need for efficiency in solar-to-hydrogen (STH) conversion, emphasizing that a minimum of 10% STH efficiency is essential for practical PEC systems. “Our group has thoroughly studied the challenges associated with practical solar hydrogen production,” Lee added.

Feb 11, 2024

A scalable photoelectrochemical system for green hydrogen production

Posted by in categories: chemistry, engineering, solar power, sustainability

If realized using solar energy or other renewable energy, water splitting could be a promising way of sustainably producing hydrogen (H2) on a large-scale. Most photoelectrochemical water splitting systems proposed so far, however, have been found to be either inefficient, unstable, or difficult to implement on a large-scale.

Researchers at Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) recently set out to develop a scalable and efficient photoelectrochemical (PEC) system to produce green hydrogen. Their proposed system, outlined in Nature Energy, is based on an innovative formamidinium lead triiodide (FAPbI3) perovskite-based photoanode, encapsulated by an Ni foil/NiFeOOH electrocatalyst.

“Our group has thoroughly studied the challenges associated with practical solar hydrogen production,” Jae Sung Lee, Professor of Energy & Chemical Engineering at UNIST and co-author of the paper, told Tech Xplore. “As summarized in our most recent review paper, minimum 10% of solar-to-hydrogen (STH) efficiency is required to develop viable practical PEC system, for which selecting an efficient material is the first criteria.”

Feb 8, 2024

New techniques for making qubits out of erbium

Posted by in categories: computing, engineering, particle physics, quantum physics

Qubits are the building block for quantum technology, and finding or building qubits that are stable and easily manipulated is one of the central goals of quantum technology research. Scientists have found that an atom of erbium—a rare-earth metal sometimes used in lasers or to color glass—can be a very effective qubit.

To make qubits, erbium atoms are placed in “host materials,” where the erbium atoms replace some of the material’s original atoms. Two research groups—one at quantum startup memQ, a Chicago Quantum Exchange corporate partner, and one at the US Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory, a CQE member—have used different host materials for erbium to advance , demonstrating the versatility of this kind of qubit and highlighting the importance of materials science to quantum computing and quantum communication.

The two projects address challenges that quantum computing researchers have been trying to solve: engineering multi-qubit devices and extending the amount of time qubits can hold information.

Feb 7, 2024

Nanomedicine advancement shows potential for personalized point-of-care therapeutics

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, engineering

Stefan Wilhelm, an associate professor in the Stephenson School of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Oklahoma, and several students in his Biomedical Nano-Engineering Lab have recently published an article in the journal Nano Letters (“Toward the Scalable, Rapid, Reproducible, and Cost-Effective Synthesis of Personalized Nanomedicines at the Point of Care”) that outlines their recent important nanomedicine advancement.

The group examined how to create tools that produce nanomedicines, such as vaccine formulations, directly at the point of care. In doing so, the large centralized facilities, shipping challenges, and extreme cold storage challenges faced during the COVID-19 pandemic would no longer limit vaccine distribution.

Wilhelm, with student researchers such as Hamilton Young, a senior biomedical engineering student, and Yuxin He, a biomedical engineering graduate research assistant, used 3D printer parts to mix fluid streams together containing the building blocks of nanomedicines and their payloads in a T-mixer format.

Feb 6, 2024

Solar geoengineering could start soon if it starts small

Posted by in categories: climatology, engineering, particle physics

It’s possible to start a subscale deployment in just a few years. The climate effects would be tiny, but the geopolitical impact could be significant.

Feb 6, 2024

Scientists Have Solved the 141-Year-Old ‘Reverse Sprinkler’ Problem

Posted by in categories: engineering, neuroscience, physics

This brain-teaser has baffled physicists since 1883. Thanks to some innovative engineering, it finally makes sense.

Feb 5, 2024

Joint research team develops edge-to-edge assembly technique for 2D nanosheets

Posted by in categories: chemistry, engineering

A collaborative research team has fabricated a soccer ball-shaped construction using edge-to-edge assembly of 2D semiconductor materials. The research has been featured on the cover of the online edition of the Angewandte Chemie International Edition journal.

The research team, led by Professor In Su Lee and Ph.D. candidate Sun Woo Jang from the Department of Chemistry at Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), along with Professor Kwangjin An from the Department of Energy and Chemical Engineering at Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), successfully controlled the interaction between the edges of 2D-silica nanosheets (2D-SiNS) to create a soccer ball-like structure.

The planar structure of 2D nanosheets exhibit unique mechanical and , making them versatile in semiconductor devices, catalysts, sensors, and many other sectors. The strong attraction of intermolecular forces (van der Waals) between sheets typically results in a structure where faces are in direct contact, compromising mechanical stability for catalytic functionality.

Feb 5, 2024

Visualizing multiple sclerosis with a new MRI procedure

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, engineering, neuroscience

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a neurological disease that usually leads to permanent disabilities. It affects about 2.9 million people worldwide, and about 15,000 in Switzerland alone. One key feature of the disease is that it causes the patient’s own immune system to attack and destroy the myelin sheaths in the central nervous system.

These protective sheaths insulate the nerve fibers, much like the plastic coating around a copper wire. Myelin sheaths ensure that electrical impulses travel quickly and efficiently from nerve cell to nerve cell. If they are damaged or become thinner, this can lead to irreversible visual, speech and coordination disorders.

So far, however, it hasn’t been possible to visualize the myelin sheaths well enough to reliably diagnose and treat MS. Now researchers at ETH Zurich, led by Markus Weiger and Emily Baadsvik from the Institute for Biomedical Engineering, have developed a new magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) procedure that maps the condition of the myelin sheaths more accurately than was previously possible. The researchers successfully tested the procedure on healthy people for the first time.

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