Electron spin unlocks magnetic control of hydrogen surface reactions
Chemical reactions at surfaces play a central role in many processes, including catalysis and materials synthesis. It is well known that the outcome of these reactions is influenc…
Five-metal 2D catalysts could convert CO₂ to CO without needing an extra electrical boost
Carbon dioxide (CO₂) is usually discussed as something the world needs to get rid of. Activities such as the burning of fossil fuels for daily use, including electricity and trans…
Trapped light generates nanoscale magnetization
Using an engineered metasurface that traps light, Cornell researchers have demonstrated a new way to generate strong static magnetic fields without using external magnets or magne…
Copper's oxygen-rich early oxidation layer could inform catalyst design and nuclear waste storage
Copper roofs lose their reddish color over time because a pale green layer of copper oxide forms on their surface, protecting the roof from further corrosion for many years. But w…
Making superconductors thinner can change how they accommodate magnetic fields
What happens when a superconductor becomes so thin that electrons can no longer behave as if they were moving through an ordinary three-dimensional piece of metal? This question h…
PACMAN AI framework for controlling fusion systems safely makes key decisions in milliseconds
Inside some fusion energy systems, particles hotter than the core of the sun can become unruly in a few thousandths of a second, far faster than any human operator can react. A ne…
Scientists observe Einstein's gravity in the quantum world
An international team including Nobel Prize-winning physicist Professor Sir Roger Penrose has observed a long-predicted effect of gravity on a falling quantum object for the first…
Sorry, this neutrino laser won't work, physicists say
Neutrinos are pervasive yet intangible particles that permeate the universe, streaming through whole planets, stars and our bodies by the trillions each second. The elementary par…
Chemists design extra-sticky adhesives that degrade on command
A good adhesive is unequivocally sticky. A great adhesive is sticky until you don't want it to be sticky anymore—a label on cardboard until it's time to recycle it. Medical tape o…
Physicists test the weak equivalence principle in an orbiting space station
The weak equivalence principle (WEP) is central to Einstein's general relativity. It posits that gravity must accelerate everything equally, regardless of what it is made from. Fo…
Temperature emerges as a control for topological properties of materials
Spin-orbit coupling (SOC), an interaction between an electron's spin and its motion, plays a key role in creating topological insulators—unusual materials that are insulating in t…
New research could improve detection of chiral molecules in pharmaceuticals and biotechnology
Ohio University Distinguished Professor Alexander Govorov of the Department of Physics and Astronomy and the Nanoscale and Quantum Phenomena Institute (NQPI) in the College of Art…
New high-temperature, high-pressure isotope ratio analysis method developed for halogenated compounds
Halogenated organic compounds (HOCs) are widely used in industrial and consumer products, but some are highly persistent and difficult to analyze and manage. In a new study, resea…
A roadmap for animal-free chemical testing
For many years, the European Union has pursued a policy aimed at the replacement, reduction and refinement of animal testing (the 3Rs principle). To put the ethical principle of t…
A sustainable flame retardant derived from corn steep liquor
Certain phosphorus compounds are highly effective at suppressing fires, which is why they are widely used in flame retardants. Phosphorus, however, is a finite resource. Estimates…
Larger catalyst batches could make carbon recycling cheaper and easier to scale
Turning carbon dioxide into industrial chemicals used in everything from synthetic fuels to plastics and pharmaceuticals is costly. But new research shows it does not have to be.
Tests reveal how thermoplastic composites lose strength at elevated temperatures
Researchers from Skoltech together with colleagues from Xi'an Jiaotong University and the Blagonravov Institute of Mechanical Engineering of the Russian Academy of Sciences, have …
First measurement of low-energy solar neutrinos scattering off electrons
Every second, tens of billions of neutrinos produced by nuclear fusion in the sun pass through every square centimeter of Earth—and through our bodies—almost without interacting. …
Ten-channel photonic interface links neutral-atom qubits in parallel
A research group in Japan has demonstrated a world-record 10-channel multiplexed quantum photonic interface based on an integrated waveguide array, a key technology for optically …
Experiment sees surprising result in search for dark matter
For the better part of a century, people have been trying to understand dark matter. This invisible substance makes up roughly 85% of the mass in the universe but has never been d…
Ultrafast snapshots reveal the first moments on the way from light to electricity
Physicists at the University of Graz (Austria), in collaboration with colleagues from Marburg University and Forschungszentrum Jülich (Germany), have achieved a scientific breakth…
Food innovation in your kitchen: Giving peas, beans and lentils a surprisingly meat-like bite
Separating things and then putting them back together is a common principle in industrial food production. Agricultural raw materials are broken down into their individual constit…
Faint far-infrared radiation drives a correlated insulator-to-metal transition in magic-angle graphene
One of the central ideas in modern physics is the phase transition—a sudden transformation of the state of a material. We encounter phase transitions throughout everyday life: wat…
Organic crystal reveals how Joule heating stabilizes resistive switching
Metal-insulator transitions (MITs), in which a material changes from a metallic state with low resistivity to an insulating state because of a change in an external parameter, suc…