Conductive and compressible carbon aerogels are useful in a variety of applications. In recent decades, carbon aerogels have been widely explored by using graphitic carbons and soft carbons, which show advantages in superelasticity. These elastic aerogels usually have delicate microstructures with good fatigue resistance but ultralow strength. Hard carbons demonstrate great advantages in mechanical strength…
Nanomaterials Used to Create Artificial Woods
Nature has provided the inspiration for the design and fabrication of high-performance biomimetic engineering materials. Wood, which has been used for thousands of years, has received considerable attention due to the low density and high strength. A unique anisotropic cellular structure endows wood with outstanding mechanical performance. In recent decades, researchers have developed monolithic materials…
Researchers Unlock Gates to Major Semiconductor Discovery
A new progress in the scaling of semiconductor quantum dot-based qubits has been achieved by researchers at the University of Science and Technology of China. Professor Guo Guoping with his co-workers, Xiao Ming, Li Haiou, and Cao Gang, designed and fabricated a quantum processor with six quantum dots, and experimentally demonstrated quantum control of the…
Real-world Intercontinental Quantum Communications Enabled by the Micius Satellite
A joint China-Austria team has performed quantum key distribution between the quantum-science satellite Micius and multiple ground stations located in Xinglong (near Beijing), Nanshan (near Urumqi), and Graz (near Vienna). Such experiments demonstrate the secure satellite-to-ground exchange of cryptographic keys during the passage of the satellite Micius over a ground station. Using Micius as a…