Science

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How light is detected affects the atom that emits it: An experiment suggests it might be possible to control atoms entangled with the light they emit by manipulating detection

Flick a switch on a dark winter day and your office is flooded with bright light, one of many everyday miracles to which we are all usually oblivious.

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In spontaneous emission, wave detection gives you more information than particle detection.

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From ‘Magnetoshells’ to Growable Habitats, NASA Invests in Next Stage of Visionary Technology Development

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Physicists measure van der Waals forces of individual atoms for the first time

Physicists at the Swiss Nanoscience Institute and the University of Basel have succeeded in measuring the very weak van der Waals forces between individual atoms for the first time. To do this, they fixed individual noble gas atoms within a molecular network and determined the interactions with a single xenon atom that they had positioned at the tip of an atomic force microscope. As expected, the forces varied according to the distance between the two atoms; but, in some cases, the forces were several times larger than theoretically calculated. These findings are reported by the international team of researchers in Nature Communications.

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e gas atoms deposited on molecular network are investigated with a probing tip, which is decorated with a xenon atom. The measurements give information about the weak van der Waals forces between these individual atoms.

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U.S. Lab Participates in New National Microbiome Initiative

New effort will address climate change, food security, and human health challenges

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The potential impacts of a unified microbiome initiative to understand and responsibly harness the activities of microbial communities.

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Hubble Catches Views of a Jet Rotating with Comet 252P/LINEAR

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Rice experts unveil submicroscopic tunable, optical amplifier: Photonics researchers create first nanoscale 'optical parametric amplifier'

Rice University photonics researchers have unveiled a new nanoparticle amplifier that can generate infrared light and boost the output of one light by capturing and converting energy from a second light.

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Rice University's new light-amplifying nanoparticle consists of a 190-nanometer diameter sphere of barium tin oxide surrounded by a 30-nanometer-thick shell of gold.

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First single-enzyme method to produce quantum dots revealed: Biological manufacturing process, pioneered by three Lehigh University engineers, produces equivalent quantum dots to those made chemically--but in a much greener, cheaper way

Quantum dots (QDs) are semiconducting nanocrystals prized for their optical and electronic properties. The brilliant, pure colors produced by QDs when stimulated with ultraviolet light are ideal for use in flat screen displays, medical imaging devices, solar panels and LEDs. One obstacle to mass production and widespread use of these wonder particles is the difficulty and expense associated with current chemical manufacturing methods that often requiring heat, high pressure and toxic solvents.

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These are tubes filled with quantum dots produced in the Lehigh University lab.

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New Maps Chart Greenland Glaciers' Melting Risk

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The new maps show that the seafloor under Store Glacier, shown here, is almost 2,000 feet (600 meters) deeper than previously thought.

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Light Echoes Give Clues to Protoplanetary Disk

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This illustration shows a star surrounded by a protoplanetary disk.

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Animal study shows flexible, dissolvable silicon device promising for brain monitoring: Other applications include post-operative observation for vascular, cardiac, and orthopaedic procedures, finds Penn study

An implantable brain device that literally melts away at a pre-determined rate minimizes injury to tissue normally associated with standard electrode implantation, according to research led by a team from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. The researchers describe in Nature Materials a new class of technology that provides greater resolution for measuring electrical activity in space and time that matches or exceeds existing methods.

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Thin, flexible neural electrode arrays with fully bioresorbable construction based on patterned silicon nanomembranes (Si NMs) as the conducting component.

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