A microscopic “pen” that is able to write structures small enough to trap and harness light using a commercially available printing technique could be used for sensing, biotechnology, lasers, and studying the interaction between light and matter. The printing-based approach, jointly developed by researchers at the University of Cambridge and the Hitachi Cambridge Laboratory, combines…
Light & Matter Combination Could Create New Supercomputer
A team of researchers from the UK and Russia have successfully demonstrated that a type of ‘magic dust’ which combines light and matter can be used to solve complex problems and could eventually surpass the capabilities of even the most powerful supercomputers. The researchers, from Cambridge, Southampton and Cardiff Universities in the UK and the…
Researchers Set Time Limit for Ultrafast Perovskite Solar Cells
Defects in Next-generation Solar Cells Can Be Healed With Light
Researchers have shown that defects in the molecular structure of perovskites – a material which could revolutionise the solar cell industry – can be “healed” by exposing it to light and just the right amount of humidity. The international team of researchers demonstrated in 2016 that defects in the crystalline structure of perovskites could be healed by…
Leaf Vein Structure Inspires Longer Battery Life
The natural structure found within leaves could improve the performance of everything from rechargeable batteries to high-performance gas sensors, according to an international team of scientists. The researchers have designed a porous, such as the veins of a leaf, and could make energy transfers more efficient. The material could improve the performance of rechargeable batteries,…
A Bridge of Stars Connects Two Dwarf Galaxies
The Magellanic Clouds, the two largest satellite galaxies of the Milky Way, appear to be connected by a bridge stretching across 43,000 light years, according to an international team of astronomers led by researchers from the University of Cambridge. The discovery is reported in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (MNRAS) and is based…
Ultra-Sensitive Graphene Infrared Detectors Used for Imaging and Spectroscopy
Graphene’s Sleeping Superconductivity Awakens
Researchers have found a way to trigger the innate, but previously hidden, ability of graphene to act as a superconductor — meaning that it can be made to carry an electrical current with zero resistance. The finding, reported in Nature Communications, further enhances the potential of graphene, which is already widely seen as a material…
Wearables Supported by Eco-Friendly Graphene Textiles
A new method for producing conductive cotton fabrics using graphene-based inks opens up new possibilities for flexible and wearable electronics, without the use of expensive and toxic processing steps. Wearable, textiles-based electronics present new possibilities for flexible circuits, healthcare and environment monitoring, energy conversion, and many others. Now, researchers at the Cambridge Graphene Centre (CGC)…
Revolutionary Smartphone Batteries Inspired by Intestine Cells
A new prototype of a lithium-sulphur battery — which could have five times the energy density of a typical lithium-ion battery — overcomes one of the key hurdles preventing their commercial development by mimicking the structure of the cells which allow us to absorb nutrients. Researchers have developed a prototype of a next-generation lithium-sulphur battery…
Next-Generation Smartphone Battery Inspired By the Gut
Researchers have developed a prototype of a next-generation lithium-sulphur battery which takes its inspiration in part from the cells lining the human intestine. The batteries, if commercially developed, would have five times the energy density of the lithium-ion batteries used in smartphones and other electronics. The new design, by researchers from the University of Cambridge,…
Ultra-low Transistors Could Work for Years Without Batteries
A newly-developed form of transistor opens up a range of new electronic applications including wearable or implantable devices by drastically reducing the amount of power used. Devices based on this type of ultralow power transistor, developed by engineers at the University of Cambridge, could function for months or even years without a battery by “scavenging”…
Harnessing the Possibilities of the Nanoworld
Scientists have long suspected that the way materials behave on the nanoscale – that is when particles have dimensions of about 1–100 nanometres – is different from how they behave on any other scale. A new paper in the journal Chemical Science provides concrete proof that this is the case. The laws of thermodynamics govern the behaviour of…
Superconductor Sets New Guinness World Record
Harnessing the equivalent of three tons of force inside a golf ball-sized sample of material that is normally as brittle as fine china, the team beat a record that had stood for more than a decade and the record has now been officially recognized by the Guinness World Records. The Guinness World Records website says,…
Quantum Effects Observed in ‘One-Dimensional’ Wires
Researchers have observed quantum effects in electrons by squeezing them into one-dimensional ‘quantum wires’ and observing the interactions between them. The results could be used to aid in the development of quantum technologies, including quantum computing. Scientists have controlled electrons by packing them so tightly that they start to display quantum effects, using an extension of…
Astronomers Identify Young Heavyweight Star in Milky Way Galaxy
Astronomers have identified a young star, located almost 11,000 light years away, which could help us understand how the most massive stars in the Universe are formed. This young star, already more than 30 times the mass of our Sun, is still in the process of gathering material from its parent molecular cloud, and may…
Virus Attracts Bumblebees to Infected Plants by Changing Scent
Plant scientists at the University of Cambridge have found that the cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) alters gene expression in the tomato plants it infects, causing changes to air-borne chemicals – the scent – emitted by the plants. Bees can smell these subtle changes, and glasshouse experiments have shown that bumblebees prefer infected plants over healthy…
Using Gravitational Waves to Catch Runaway Black Holes
Researchers have developed a new method for detecting and measuring one of the most powerful, and most mysterious, events in the Universe – a black hole being kicked out of its host galaxy and into intergalactic space at speeds as high as 5000 kilometres per second. The method, developed by researchers from the University of…