Science

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Eyes Wide Open for MASCARA in Chile

Exoplanet hunter sees first light at ESO’s La Silla Observatory

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The MASCARA (Multi-site All-Sky CAmeRA) station at ESO’s La Silla Observatory in Chile has achieved first light. This new facility will seek out transiting exoplanets as they pass in front of their bright parent stars and create a catalogue of targets for future exoplanet characterisation observations.

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Harnessing light to drive chemical reactions

An exotic interaction between light and metal can be harnessed to make chemical reactions more sustainable, but the physics behind it has been widely debated in the field.

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Umar Aslam peers into the light source used during the experiments that revealed how the silver nanocubes captured energy and delivered it to the platinum shells.

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Tokyo Institute of Technology research: Antiaromatic molecule displays record electrical conductance

Researchers demonstrate high electrical conductance for an antiaromatic nickel complex — an order of magnitude higher than for a similar aromatic complex. Since the conductance is also tunable by electrochemical gating, antiaromatic complexes are promising materials for future electronic devices.

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Figure 1. Structures of the molecules used in the study of Fujii and colleagues. left: Antiaromatic norcorrole-based Ni complex, Ni(nor). right: Aromatic Ni porphyrin-based complex, Ni(porph).

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Studying Argon Gas Trapped in Two-Dimensional Array of Tiny "Cages": Understanding how individual atoms enter and exit the nanoporous frameworks could help scientists design new materials for gas separation and nuclear waste remediation

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory had just finished an experiment with a two-dimensional (2D) structure they synthesized for catalysis research when, to their surprise, they discovered that atoms of argon gas had gotten trapped inside the structure's nanosized pores. Argon and other noble gases have previously been trapped in three-dimensional (3D) porous materials, but immobilizing them on surfaces had only been achieved by either cooling the gases to very low temperatures to condense them, or by accelerating gas ions to implant them directly into materials.

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An artistic rendering of an argon (Ar) atom trapped in a nanocage that has a silicon (Si)-oxygen (O) framework.

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'Upconverted' light has a bright future: Rice University professor developing plasmon-powered devices for medicine, security, solar cells

A Rice University professor's method to "upconvert" light could make solar cells more efficient and disease-targeting nanoparticles more effective.

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A Rice University professor has introduced a new method that takes advantage of plasmonic metals' production of hot carriers to boost light to a higher frequency. An electron microscope image at bottom shows gold-capped quantum wells, each about 100 nanometers wide.

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Hidden Stars May Make Planets Appear Smaller

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This cartoon explains why the reported sizes of some exoplanets may need to be revised in cases where there is a second star in the system.

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Curiosity Mars Rover Begins Study of Ridge Destination

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his early 2017 look ahead from the Mastcam of NASA's Curiosity Mars rover includes four geological layers to be examined by the mission, and higher reaches of Mount Sharp beyond the planned study area.

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Thinking thin brings new layering and thermal abilities to the semiconductor industry: In a breakthrough for the semiconductor industry, researchers demonstrate a new layer transfer technique called "controlled spalling" that creates many thin layers from

What would a simple technique to remove thin layers from otherwise thick, rigid semiconductor crystals mean for the semiconductor industry? This concept has been actively explored for years, as integrated circuits made on thin layers hold promise for developments including improved thermal characteristics, lightweight stackability and a high degree of flexibility compared to conventionally thick substrates.

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The same 20-micron spalled GaN film, demonstrating the film's flexibility.

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Making two out of one: FAU researchers have explained the mechanism behind a process that can increase the efficiency of organic solar cells

In view of climate change and the needs of the energy reform, it has become particularly important to significantly increase the efficiency of organic solar cells. In a process known as 'singlet fission', one photon simultaneously excites two electrons. If this effect can be exploited, it may well be possible to dramatically increase the power generated by solar cells. Physicists and chemists at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) collaborating in an international joint project with Northwestern University in the USA have successfully worked out all the decisive intermediate phases in the singlet fission process and have managed to describe the mechanism in detail for the first time.

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Making two out of one: FAU researchers have explained the mechanism behind a process that can increase the efficiency of organic solar cells

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Giant enhancement of electromagnetic waves revealed within small dielectric particles: Scientists have done for the first time direct measurements of giant electromagnetic fields

Scientists from the Lomonosov Moscow State University together with their Russian and foreign colleagues have done for the first time direct measurements of giant electromagnetic fields, emerging in dielectric particles with the high refractive index at the scattering of electromagnetic waves.

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Intensity of the magnetic field at the scattering of an electromagnetic wave. The incident wave propagates from left to right as it is indicated by the blue arrow. The color bar has different scales for the field outside the particle and within it (shown on a larger scale on the insert).