A new nature-inspired membrane uses perfectly uniform one-nanometer pores to filter molecules with remarkable precision。 The technology could transform industries such as pharmaceuticals and textiles by reducing energy consumption, improving water reuse, and delivering separation performance far beyond current filters
The current density-voltage characteristic (JV) is a critical tool for understanding the behaviour of solar cells. In this article, we present an overview of the key aspects of JV analysis and introduce a user-friendly flowchart that facilitates the swift identification of the most probable limiting process in a solar cell, based mainly on the outcomes of light-intensity-dependent JV measurements. The flowchart was developed through extensive drift-diffusion simulations and a rigorous review of the literature, with a specific focus on perovskite and organic solar cells. Moreover, the flowchart proposes supplementary experiments that can be conducted to obtain a more precise prediction of the primary performance losses. It therefore serves as an optimal starting point to analyse performance losses of solar cells.
The recently reported magnetic ordering in insulating two-dimensional (2D) materials, such as chromium triiodide (CrI$_3$) and chromium tribromide (CrBr$_3$), opens new possibilities for the fabrication of magneto-electronic devices based on 2D systems. Inevitably, the magnetization and spin dynamics in 2D magnets are strongly linked to Joule heating. Therefore, understanding the coupling between spin, charge and heat, i.e. spin caloritronic effects, is crucial. However, spin caloritronics in 2D ferromagnets remains mostly unexplored, due to their instability in air. Here we develop a fabrication method that integrates spin-active contacts with 2D magnets through hBN encapsulation, allowing us to explore the spin caloritronic effects in these materials. The angular dependence of the thermal spin signal of the CrBr$_3$/Pt system is studied, for different conditions of magnetic field and heating current. We highlight the presence of a significant magnetic proximity effect from CrBr$_3$ on Pt revealed by an anomalous Nernst effect in Pt, and suggest the contribution of the spin Seebeck effect from CrBr$_3$. These results pave the way for future magnonic devices using air-sensitive 2D
Physicists have solved a long-standing problem involving systems that appear to violate Newton’s third law, such as bird flocks and bacterial swarms。 By adding carefully designed “imaginary partners” to their models, they can now simulate these complex systems with unprecedented accuracy
Researchers propose that tiny mineral nanoparticles may have been the hidden engines that transformed Earth’s early chemistry into the first building blocks of life。 By acting as natural catalysts and energy processors, these “nanozymes” could help explain how lifeless matter gradually became living systems
A tiny set of ancient genetic “switches” may have played a surprisingly large role in making human language possible。 Researchers found that these DNA regions, which act like volume controls for genes involved in brain development, have an outsized influence on language ability despite making up less than 0。1% of the genome
Millipedes may have been crawling across Earth's landscapes nearly 460 million years ago, long before vertebrates ventured onto land。 A new study finally completes their evolutionary family tree, revealing surprising clues about these ancient ecosystem engineers and their early chemical defenses
Scientists have found that staple-shaped particles can tangle together to create a material that is both strong and flexible。 Unlike conventional materials, these particles can be locked into a sturdy structure or rapidly unraveled using vibrations。 The unusual behavior could open the door to recyclable buildings, reconfigurable structures, and eve
Scientists say moons around rogue planets wandering through the galaxy could remain warm enough for life thanks to tidal heating and hydrogen-rich atmospheres。 These dark, starless worlds may have had stable oceans for billions of years — long enough for complex life to potentially emerge
Beneath our feet lies a vast hidden fungal superhighway that helps sustain much of life on Earth—and scientists have now mapped it for the first time。 Researchers estimate that these underground networks stretch an astonishing 110 quadrillion kilometers, move about 4 billion tons of carbon dioxide into soils each year, and play a major role in supp
An exact method that analytically provides transfer matrices in finite networks of quasicrystalline approximants of any dimensionality is discussed. We use these matrices in two ways: a) to exactly determine the band structure of an infinite approximant network in analytical form; b) to determine, also analytically, the quantum resistance of a finite strip of a network under appropriate boundary conditions. As a result of a subtle interplay between topology and phase interferences, we find that a strip of phason-defects along a special symmetry direction of a low 2-d Penrose approximant, leads to the rigorous vanishing of the reflection coefficient for certain energies. A similar behavior appears in a low 3-d approximant. This type of ``resonance" is discussed in connection with the gap structure of the corresponding ordered (undefected) system.
The mysterious Amaterasu particle may not be a proton at all。 New research suggests that some of the most extreme cosmic rays could be ultraheavy atomic nuclei, heavier than iron, which are better able to retain their energy while traveling through space。 This idea could help explain how these rare particles reach Earth and provide new clues about
Scientists have proposed a new method for finding tightly bound supermassive black hole pairs by searching for stars that flash repeatedly as their light is magnified by the black holes’ gravity。 The timing and brightness of these bursts could provide a unique fingerprint of black holes slowly spiraling toward a future collision