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materials science

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Hands hold a ball-and-stick model of a pill-shaped molecule called a fullertube.
chemistry

‘Fullertubes’ Join the Family of Carbon Crystals

By James R. Riordon
December 20, 2022
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The buckminsterfullerene revolution never came, but some researchers are eagerly exploring the properties of newfound carbon crystals known as fullertubes.

Illustration of electrified brain embedded within a computer chip.
artificial intelligence

New Chip Expands the Possibilities for AI

By Allison Whitten
November 10, 2022
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An energy-efficient chip called NeuRRAM fixes an old design flaw to run large-scale AI algorithms on smaller devices, reaching the same accuracy as wasteful digital computers.

A photo illustration of Jie Shan and Kin Fai Mak’s faces overlaid with hexagonal grids.
condensed matter physics

Physics Duo Finds Magic in Two Dimensions

By Charlie Wood
August 16, 2022
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In exploring a family of two-dimensional crystals, a husband-and-wife team is uncovering a potent variety of new electron behaviors.

quantum physics

Quantum Complexity Tamed by Machine Learning

By Charlie Wood
February 7, 2022
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If only scientists understood exactly how electrons act in molecules, they’d be able to predict the behavior of everything from experimental drugs to high-temperature superconductors. Following decades of physics-based insights, artificial intelligence systems are taking the next leap.

Closeup photo of an automated two-wheeled robot on a wooden table
mathematical physics

A New Theory for Systems That Defy Newton’s Third Law

By Stephen Ornes
November 11, 2021
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In nonreciprocal systems, where Newton’s third law falls apart, “exceptional points” are helping researchers understand phase transitions and possibly other phenomena.

Photo of the blue-winged leafbird of Southeast Asia.
explainers

How Animals Color Themselves With Nanoscale Structures

By Viviane Callier
June 16, 2021
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Animals sculpt the optical properties of their tissues at the nanoscale to give themselves “structural colors.” New work is piecing together how they do it.

Q&A

The Materials Scientist Who Studies the Innards of Exoplanets

By Adam Mann
June 15, 2021
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Federica Coppari uses the world’s most powerful laser to recreate the cores of distant worlds.

Orange hills (polaritons) against a black background. Below each hill, an arrow points to an angular position on a circle.
explainers

The Near-Magical Mystery of Quasiparticles

By Thomas Lewton
March 24, 2021
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The zoo of spontaneously emerging particlelike entities known as quasiparticles has grown quickly and become more and more exotic. Here are a few of the most curious and potentially useful examples.

Graphic of swirling vortex-like patterns called skyrmions.
condensed matter physics

A New Twist Reveals Superconductivity’s Secrets

By Charlie Wood
March 16, 2021
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An unexpected superconductor was beginning to look like a fluke, but a new theory and a second discovery have revealed that emergent quasiparticles may be behind the effect.


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