Lifeboat Foundation

In a ground-breaking experiment, scientists from the University of Groningen, together with colleagues from the Dutch universities of Nijmegen and Twente and the Harbin Institute of Technology (China), have discovered the existence of a superconductive state that was first predicted in 2017.

They present evidence for a special variant of the FFLO superconductive state in the journal Nature. This discovery could have significant applications, particularly in the field of superconducting electronics.

The lead author of the paper is Professor Justin Ye, who heads the Device Physics of Complex Materials group at the University of Groningen. Ye and his team have been working on the Ising superconducting state. This is a special state that can resist magnetic fields that generally destroy superconductivity, and that was described by the team in 2015.

Engineers have created a thin film that can generate millivolts of electricity from ambient air humidity thanks to water’s ‘mean free path.’

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However, there’s one challenge they still face: understanding the materials they interact with.

Self-described mixed reality nerd, Brad Lynch, has tweeted out several interesting details about Apple’s yet-to-be announced VR/AR headset. He has managed to compile information from several sources — mostly reports produced by hardware analysts based in China. His summation of the leaked info states: “The Apple HMD’s Bill of Materials (BoM) cost to be about $1500–1600 (USD). This is about double the reported BoM for the (Meta) Quest Pro (which was 800 dollars including the controllers and charging pad).”

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Experiments that imitate solid materials with light waves reveal the quantum basis of exotic physical effects.

In the three-dimensional printing process of ceramic with low-angle structures, additional supporting structures are usually employed to avoid collapse of overhanging parts. However, the extra supporting structures not only affect printing efficiency, but the problems caused by their removal are also a matter of concern. Herein, we present a ceramic printing method, which can realize printing of unsupported multi-scale and large-span ceramics through the combination of direct ink writing and near-infrared induced up-conversion particles-assisted photopolymerization. This printing technology enables in-situ curing of multi-scale filaments with diameters ranging from 410 µm to 3.50 mm, and ceramic structures of torsion spring, three-dimensional bending and cantilever beam were successfully constructed through unsupported printing. This method will bring more innovation to the unsupported 3D manufacturing of complex shape ceramics.

In 3D ceramic printing, the need for additional supports can increase processing time and introduce defects during post-processing removal. Here, authors merge direct ink writing and up-conversion particles-assisted photopolymerization under near-infrared irradiation for support-free printing with controlled curing rates reducing material waste, printing time, and post-processing steps.

Meeting the world’s energy demands is reaching a critical point. Powering the technological age has caused issues globally. It is increasingly important to create superconductors that can operate at ambient pressure and temperature. This would go a long way toward solving the energy crisis.

Advancements with superconductivity hinge on advances in quantum materials. When electrons inside of quantum materials undergo a phase transition, the electrons can form intricate patterns, such as fractals. A fractal is a never-ending pattern. When zooming in on a fractal, the image looks the same. Commonly seen fractals can be a tree or frost on a windowpane in winter. Fractals can form in two dimensions, like the frost on a window, or in three-dimensional space like the limbs of a tree.

Dr. Erica Carlson, a 150th Anniversary Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Purdue University, led a team that developed theoretical techniques for characterizing the fractal shapes that these electrons make, in order to uncover the underlying physics driving the patterns.

Graphene, by all metrics, is a revolutionary material producing some unbelievable results. Avadain has developed a patented breakthrough technology for producing industrial volumes of large, thin, and nearly defect-free graphene flakes, addressing the $100B market demand for this revolutionary material.