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Researchers question whether an AI-controlled lab assistant actually made any novel substances.

Ferroicity and multiferroicity

Ferroic materials are those that exhibit a spontaneous ordering of their electric, magnetic or structural properties. The best-known example of ferroicity is ferromagnetism, in which the magnetic moments of a material all point in one direction, but other types of ferroic ordering are possible. In ferroelectricity, for example, it is the electric polarization that spontaneously orders itself, while ferroelastic materials display spontaneous strain.

Multiferroicity occurs when several properties of a material have their own individual preferred states. For example, a magnetic multiferroic material might have magnetic moments that point in one direction, and electric charge that also shifts in a certain direction. Importantly, the two phenomena are independent of each other.

Results of study from Ryugu samples.

Micrometeorites originating from icy celestial bodies in the outer Solar System may be responsible for transporting nitrogen to the near-Earth region in the early days of our solar system. That discovery was published today in Nature Astronomy by an international team of researchers, including University of Hawai’i at Manoa scientists, led by Kyoto University.

Nitrogen compounds, such as ammonium salts, are abundant in material born in regions far from the sun, but evidence of their transport to Earth’s orbital region had been poorly understood.

Tesla’s new Cybertruck launch and next generation vehicle will be game-changing, with innovations in materials, manufacturing processes, and affordability.

Questions to inspire discussion.

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When electricity flows through a battery, the materials inside it gradually wear down. The physical forces of stress and strain also play a role in this process, but their exact effects on the battery’s performance and lifespan are not completely known.

A team led by researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory developed a framework for designing solid-state batteries, or SSBs, with mechanics in mind. Their paper, published in Science, reviewed how these factors change SSBs during their cycling.

A single strand of fiber developed at Washington State University has the flexibility of cotton and the electric conductivity of a polymer, called polyaniline.

The newly developed material showed good potential for wearable e-textiles. The WSU researchers tested the fibers with a system that powered an LED light and another that sensed ammonia gas, detailing their findings in the journal Carbohydrate Polymers.

“We have one fiber in two sections: one section is the conventional cotton: flexible and strong enough for everyday use, and the other side is the conductive material,” said Hang Liu, WSU textile researcher and the study’s corresponding author. “The cotton can support the conductive material which can provide the needed function.”

“This architecture means Australia could develop its own sovereign chip manufacturing without exclusively relying on international foundries for the value-add process.”

Researchers at the University of Sydney Nano Institute have introduced a compact silicon semiconductor chip that seamlessly integrates electronics with photonic components. The innovation promises to significantly expand radio-frequency (RF) bandwidth and the ability to accurately control information flowing within the chip.

The chip, built using cutting-edge silicon photonics technology, boasts integration capabilities for diverse systems on semiconductors less than 5 millimeters wide. Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research) Professor Ben Eggleton described the process as akin to assembling Lego building blocks, where new materials are integrated through advanced packaging of electronic ‘chiplets’, in a statement.

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The tool uses first-principle calculations to arrive at material behavior in a few thousand steps rather than a million possibilities.

How well did the system perform?

The researchers have not yet put the system under extensive analysis but have seen some encouraging results in the limited cases so far.

Continue reading “MIT developed ML-tool for material prediction beats human wisdom” »

The mainstay material of electronics is now yielding better energy storage.