61 posts · 43,816 views
"All that matters" features the latest scientific advances in the physical sciences. The blog is written by Joerg Heber, Senior Editor of the scientific magazine Nature Materials.
Joerg Heber
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- December 12, 2011
- 10:09 AM
- 1,477 views
The Beethoven connection
by Joerg Heber in All that matters
Symphonies are some of the most complex musical pieces. They involve different instruments, each with their own unique sound, and each instruments section playing their own tunes. Yet, what are symphonies in comparison to the complexity of life? Proteins for example, they are made of a limited number of building blocks, amino acids, but take [...]... Read more »
Spivak, D., Giesa, T., Wood, E., & Buehler, M. (2011) Category Theoretic Analysis of Hierarchical Protein Materials and Social Networks. PLoS ONE, 6(9). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0023911
Giesa, T., Spivak, D., & Buehler, M. (2011) Reoccurring Patterns in Hierarchical Protein Materials and Music: The Power of Analogies. BioNanoScience, 1(4), 153-161. DOI: 10.1007/s12668-011-0022-5
- March 4, 2011
- 08:21 AM
- 1,206 views
Synthesizers for light waves
by Joerg Heber in All that matters
They were pretty common with bands at least in the 1970s and 1980s, and probably still are – electronic synthesizers. Just check out video and sound of this Depeche Mode song ‘Just can’t get enough.’ Synthesizers generate artificial sounds by breaking these down into their individual frequency components and then generating these components artificially. In [...]... Read more »
Chan, H., Hsieh, Z., Liang, W., Kung, A., Lee, C., Lai, C., Pan, R., & Peng, L. (2011) Synthesis and Measurement of Ultrafast Waveforms from Five Discrete Optical Harmonics. Science. DOI: 10.1126/science.1198397
- April 8, 2011
- 07:38 AM
- 1,161 views
100 years of superconductivity
by Joerg Heber in All that matters
Today marks the 100th anniversary of superconductivity by Heike Kamerlingh Onnes. In a superconductor, the electrons flow without any electrical resistance. Apart from their fundamental scientific interest, superconductors are used to make powerful electromagnets, for example for MRI and NMR machines in medical diagnostics. Other promising applications include power transmission cables with low losses, highly [...]... Read more »
van Delft, D., & Kes, P. (2010) The discovery of superconductivity. Physics Today, 63(9), 38. DOI: 10.1063/1.3490499
- February 2, 2011
- 01:05 PM
- 1,139 views
The ultimate x-ray machines are ready to go
by Joerg Heber in All that matters
When you go to the doctor for an x-ray, the nurse or doctor briefly disappear behind a screen, presses a button for a brief moment, and you’re all set. It seems an x-ray takes about a second but the actual exposure times is much faster. Milliseconds more likely. Such speeds seem like almost an eternity [...]... Read more »
Seibert, M., Ekeberg, T., Maia, F., Svenda, M., Andreasson, J., Jönsson, O., Odić, D., Iwan, B., Rocker, A., Westphal, D.... (2011) Single mimivirus particles intercepted and imaged with an X-ray laser. Nature, 470(7332), 78-81. DOI: 10.1038/nature09748
Chapman, H., Fromme, P., Barty, A., White, T., Kirian, R., Aquila, A., Hunter, M., Schulz, J., DePonte, D., Weierstall, U.... (2011) Femtosecond X-ray protein nanocrystallography. Nature, 470(7332), 73-77. DOI: 10.1038/nature09750
- May 15, 2011
- 01:24 PM
- 1,111 views
Sensors in the focus
by Joerg Heber in All that matters
Sensing the presence of molecules in gases and liquids is a billion dollar business. Just think about all the carbon monoxide detectors in private homes, or blood glucose sensors. In particular for many technical and scientific applications, ultrasmall and precise sensors are desired. This includes sensors to measure gases in catalytic nanoreactors and fuel cells, [...]... Read more »
Liu, N., Tang, M., Hentschel, M., Giessen, H., & Alivisatos, A. (2011) Nanoantenna-enhanced gas sensing in a single tailored nanofocus. Nature Materials. DOI: 10.1038/nmat3029
- April 17, 2011
- 02:13 PM
- 1,041 views
Gravity weighs in on spectroscopy
by Joerg Heber in All that matters
In 1814 the German physicist Joseph von Fraunhofer observed narrow dark lines in the otherwise continuous spectrum of light emitted by the sun. Hundreds of them. As Gustav Kirchhoff and Robert Bunsen later showed, these lines correspond to the absorption of light by various chemical elements in the sun. Each element has its own unique [...]... Read more »
Jenke, T., Geltenbort, P., Lemmel, H., & Abele, H. (2011) Realization of a gravity-resonance-spectroscopy technique. Nature Physics. DOI: 10.1038/NPHYS1970
- September 14, 2010
- 11:32 AM
- 1,025 views
The cool side of semiconductors
by Joerg Heber in All that matters
Ultracold atoms might no longer be the only hot game in the town of cold condensates. A few weeks ago I highlighted the analogies between the science of ultracold atoms and other areas of physics, down to lasers even. Now meet the new kids on the block: the polaritons. Even though they sound more like [...]... Read more »
Cerda-Méndez, E., Krizhanovskii, D., Wouters, M., Bradley, R., Biermann, K., Guda, K., Hey, R., Santos, P., Sarkar, D., & Skolnick, M. (2010) Polariton Condensation in Dynamic Acoustic Lattices. Physical Review Letters, 105(11). DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.105.116402
- September 1, 2010
- 01:03 PM
- 1,009 views
The thing with graphene transistors
by Joerg Heber in All that matters
Graphene is one of the hottest research areas in nanotechnology, and it may seem slightly surprising it took me a month to write my first blog post on the topic. That moment has now come, with the advance publication of a Nature paper that presents highly attractive graphene transistor, even though in my humble opinion [...]... Read more »
Liao, L., Lin, Y.-C., Bao, M., Cheng, R., Bai, J., Liu, Y., Qu, Y., Wang, K. L., Huang, Y., & Duan, X. (2010) High-speed graphene transistors with a self-aligned nanowire gate. Nature. DOI: 10.1038/nature09405
- December 17, 2010
- 09:37 AM
- 1,003 views
Get those computers spinning
by Joerg Heber in All that matters
This week’s issue of the magazine Science has no less than three papers on a single topic, namely new ways of computing using the quantum mechanical property of spin. Taken together, these provide a brief glimpse into the different ways researchers have progressed in incorporating spin into electronic devices. The fundamental element of a computer [...]... Read more »
Costache, M., & Valenzuela, S. (2010) Experimental Spin Ratchet. Science, 330(6011), 1645-1648. DOI: 10.1126/science.1196228
Jonietz, F., Muhlbauer, S., Pfleiderer, C., Neubauer, A., Munzer, W., Bauer, A., Adams, T., Georgii, R., Boni, P., Duine, R.... (2010) Spin Transfer Torques in MnSi at Ultralow Current Densities. Science, 330(6011), 1648-1651. DOI: 10.1126/science.1195709
McCamey, D., Van Tol, J., Morley, G., & Boehme, C. (2010) Electronic Spin Storage in an Electrically Readable Nuclear Spin Memory with a Lifetime 100 Seconds. Science, 330(6011), 1652-1656. DOI: 10.1126/science.1197931
Bozin, E., Malliakas, C., Souvatzis, P., Proffen, T., Spaldin, N., Kanatzidis, M., & Billinge, S. (2010) Entropically Stabilized Local Dipole Formation in Lead Chalcogenides. Science, 330(6011), 1660-1663. DOI: 10.1126/science.1192759
- September 3, 2010
- 08:19 PM
- 965 views
In other news: shrinking computer chips, string theory
by Joerg Heber in All that matters
This week two noteworthy papers have been published that I did not get around to highlight here. In terms of topic they could not be more different, one about a possible new data storage material, and the other one about string theory! The next big thing in computing could be silicon! It is not often [...]... Read more »
Yao, J., Sun, Z., Zhong, L., Natelson, D., & Tour, J. M. (2010) Resistive Switches and Memories from Silicon Oxide. Nano Letters. DOI: 10.1021/nl102255r
L. Borsten, D. Dahanayake, M. J. Duff, A. Marrani, & W. Rubens. (2010) Four-qubit entanglement from string theory. Phys.Rev.Lett.105:100507,2010. arXiv: 1005.4915v2
- May 23, 2011
- 06:56 AM
- 947 views
Superfast broadband
by Joerg Heber in All that matters
Here in the UK, the fastest broadband download speeds on offer for fibre optic broadband are 40 Mbit per second, which is much better than the 8 Mbit/s or so offered via conventional copper cables. But to those for which 40Mbit/s is not enough, fear not: In a Nature Photonics paper, Juerg Leuthold and colleagues from [...]... Read more »
Hillerkuss, D., Schmogrow, R., Schellinger, T., Jordan, M., Winter, M., Huber, G., Vallaitis, T., Bonk, R., Kleinow, P., Frey, F.... (2011) 26 Tbit s−1 line-rate super-channel transmission utilizing all-optical fast Fourier transform processing. Nature Photonics. DOI: 10.1038/nphoton.2011.74
- September 27, 2010
- 09:33 AM
- 944 views
How to put the quantum into silicon computers
by Joerg Heber in All that matters
Quantum computers are so highly sought after because they can solve complex mathematical problems and parallel computer operations such as code breaking really fast. Attempts to build quantum computers come in many flavours and use different kinds of quantum states, ranging from trapped atoms, superconductors to semiconductors such as gallium arsenide or diamond. The approach [...]... Read more »
Andrea Morello, Jarryd J. Pla, Floris A. Zwanenburg, Kok W. Chan, Kuan Y. Tan, Hans Huebl, Mikko Mottonen, Christopher D. Nugroho, Changyi Yang, Jessica A. van Donkelaar.... (2010) Single-shot readout of an electron spin in silicon. Nature. DOI: 10.1038/nature09392
- February 16, 2011
- 01:03 PM
- 942 views
Light bending to the extreme
by Joerg Heber in All that matters
How does a lens work? Well, as the light arrives at the lens it gets bent towards the focal point of the lens. The denser the lens material is in comparison to the surrounding air, the more it is deflected. The materials property that quantifies this effect is the refractive index. For lenses, the general [...]... Read more »
Choi, M., Lee, S., Kim, Y., Kang, S., Shin, J., Kwak, M., Kang, K., Lee, Y., Park, N., & Min, B. (2011) A terahertz metamaterial with unnaturally high refractive index. Nature, 470(7334), 369-373. DOI: 10.1038/nature09776
- August 19, 2010
- 12:00 AM
- 940 views
Ultracold atoms as model systems
by Joerg Heber in All that matters
One of the fundamental concepts of quantum mechanics is that objects can be described as waves, whether they are electrons, atoms, light, anything really, even your cat (or that of Erwin Schrödinger). And of course, if the equations that describe their wavefunctions are identical, objects will behave in the same way. Even if they are fundamentally different physical entities.
Two papers published this week highlight just how far this analogy can go. In one study a gas of ultracold atoms behaves like electrons in a crystal, whereas in the other study the ultracold atoms show quantum effects known from laser physics. [...]... Read more »
Sherson, J., Weitenberg, C., Endres, M., Cheneau, M., Bloch, I., & Kuhr, S. (2010) Single-atom-resolved fluorescence imaging of an atomic Mott insulator. Nature. DOI: 10.1038/nature09378
Manning, A., Hodgman, S., Dall, R., Johnsson, M., & Truscott, A. (2010) The Hanbury Brown-Twiss effect in a pulsed atom laser. Optics Express, 18(18), 18712. DOI: 10.1364/OE.18.018712
- November 30, 2010
- 09:27 AM
- 934 views
50 years of metallic glasses
by Joerg Heber in All that matters
This week I am attending the 2010 Materials Research Society Fall Meeting in Boston — one of the key meetings in materials science. One of the sessions is on bulk metallic glasses and their applications, which this year is a little special. It is organised in honour of the 50 year anniversary of the first demonstration [...]... Read more »
KLEMENT, W., WILLENS, R., & DUWEZ, P. (1960) Non-crystalline Structure in Solidified Gold–Silicon Alloys. Nature, 187(4740), 869-870. DOI: 10.1038/187869b0
- September 24, 2010
- 03:09 AM
- 917 views
Relaxing times for scanning tunnelling microscopes
by Joerg Heber in All that matters
Scanning tunnelling microscopes (STM) are a wonderful instruments that can not only image but also manipulate individual atoms on a surface. Developed by Gerd Binning and Heinrich Rohrer in 1981, STM and their derivatives revolutionized our understanding of what happens on the surface of materials. Expanding on Binning and Rohrer’s work at IBM in Zurich, Don Eigler at [...]... Read more »
Loth, S., Etzkorn, M., Lutz, C., Eigler, D., & Heinrich, A. (2010) Measurement of Fast Electron Spin Relaxation Times with Atomic Resolution. Science, 329(5999), 1628-1630. DOI: 10.1126/science.1191688
- January 20, 2011
- 07:25 AM
- 909 views
Measuring fields in the tiniest spots
by Joerg Heber in All that matters
How do you measure a field like electrical or magnetic fields? The field itself is of course not visible. But you can see the effects of a field and use that for the visualization. For example, in case of magnetic fields a nice high school type of experiment is to use iron filings sprayed around a [...]... Read more »
Cang, H., Labno, A., Lu, C., Yin, X., Liu, M., Gladden, C., Liu, Y., & Zhang, X. (2011) Probing the electromagnetic field of a 15-nanometre hotspot by single molecule imaging. Nature, 469(7330), 385-388. DOI: 10.1038/nature09698
- December 27, 2010
- 07:19 AM
- 852 views
2010 – twelve months of great science
by Joerg Heber in All that matters
The past year has been a great year for science with major advances in several areas. Too many exciting results to mention here. Instead, to reflect about the past year I have chosen a representative paper for each month of the year that I hope can serve as an example of the great science going [...]... Read more »
Chuang, T., Allan, M., Lee, J., Xie, Y., Ni, N., Bud'ko, S., Boebinger, G., Canfield, P., & Davis, J. (2010) Nematic Electronic Structure in the "Parent" State of the Iron-Based Superconductor Ca(Fe1-xCox)2As2. Science, 327(5962), 181-184. DOI: 10.1126/science.1181083
Lin, Y., Dimitrakopoulos, C., Jenkins, K., Farmer, D., Chiu, H., Grill, A., & Avouris, P. (2010) 100-GHz Transistors from Wafer-Scale Epitaxial Graphene. Science, 327(5966), 662-662. DOI: 10.1126/science.1184289
Kelzenberg, M., Boettcher, S., Petykiewicz, J., Turner-Evans, D., Putnam, M., Warren, E., Spurgeon, J., Briggs, R., Lewis, N., & Atwater, H. (2010) Enhanced absorption and carrier collection in Si wire arrays for photovoltaic applications. Nature Materials. DOI: 10.1038/nmat2635
Ergin, T., Stenger, N., Brenner, P., Pendry, J., & Wegener, M. (2010) Three-Dimensional Invisibility Cloak at Optical Wavelengths. Science, 328(5976), 337-339. DOI: 10.1126/science.1186351
Liang, Y., Xu, Z., Xia, J., Tsai, S., Wu, Y., Li, G., Ray, C., & Yu, L. (2010) For the Bright Future-Bulk Heterojunction Polymer Solar Cells with Power Conversion Efficiency of 7.4%. Advanced Materials, 22(20). DOI: 10.1002/adma.200903528
Yu, X., Onose, Y., Kanazawa, N., Park, J., Han, J., Matsui, Y., Nagaosa, N., & Tokura, Y. (2010) Real-space observation of a two-dimensional skyrmion crystal. Nature, 465(7300), 901-904. DOI: 10.1038/nature09124
Chadov, S., Qi, X., Kübler, J., Fecher, G., Felser, C., & Zhang, S. (2010) Tunable multifunctional topological insulators in ternary Heusler compounds. Nature Materials, 9(7), 541-545. DOI: 10.1038/nmat2770
Lin, H., Wray, L., Xia, Y., Xu, S., Jia, S., Cava, R., Bansil, A., & Hasan, M. (2010) Half-Heusler ternary compounds as new multifunctional experimental platforms for topological quantum phenomena. Nature Materials, 9(7), 546-549. DOI: 10.1038/nmat2771
Bae, S., Kim, H., Lee, Y., Xu, X., Park, J., Zheng, Y., Balakrishnan, J., Lei, T., Ri Kim, H., Song, Y.... (2010) Roll-to-roll production of 30-inch graphene films for transparent electrodes. Nature Nanotechnology, 5(8), 574-578. DOI: 10.1038/NNANO.2010.132
MAIMAN, T. (1960) Stimulated Optical Radiation in Ruby. Nature, 187(4736), 493-494. DOI: 10.1038/187493a0
KLEMENT, W., WILLENS, R., & DUWEZ, P. (1960) Non-crystalline Structure in Solidified Gold–Silicon Alloys. Nature, 187(4740), 869-870. DOI: 10.1038/187869b0
Kim, R., Kim, D., Xiao, J., Kim, B., Park, S., Panilaitis, B., Ghaffari, R., Yao, J., Li, M., Liu, Z.... (2010) Waterproof AlInGaP optoelectronics on stretchable substrates with applications in biomedicine and robotics. Nature Materials, 9(11), 929-937. DOI: 10.1038/nmat2879
Toyabe, S., Sagawa, T., Ueda, M., Muneyuki, E., & Sano, M. (2010) Experimental demonstration of information-to-energy conversion and validation of the generalized Jarzynski equality. Nature Physics, 6(12), 988-992. DOI: 10.1038/nphys1821
Wunderlich, J., Park, B., Irvine, A., Zarbo, L., Rozkotova, E., Nemec, P., Novak, V., Sinova, J., & Jungwirth, T. (2010) Spin Hall Effect Transistor. Science, 330(6012), 1801-1804. DOI: 10.1126/science.1195816
- February 18, 2011
- 06:51 AM
- 844 views
The ‘anti-laser’
by Joerg Heber in All that matters
I don’t have much time this week and next to blog, but yesterday Science published an interesting paper by Hui Cao and colleagues at Yale that is hard to ignore. It is the ‘anti-laser’. In short, this anti-laser does exactly the same what a laser does, just with time reversed. You can do that because the [...]... Read more »
Wan, W., Chong, Y., Ge, L., Noh, H., Stone, A., & Cao, H. (2011) Time-Reversed Lasing and Interferometric Control of Absorption. Science, 331(6019), 889-892. DOI: 10.1126/science.1200735
- November 1, 2010
- 11:30 AM
- 833 views
Lots of back and forth in molecular motors
by Joerg Heber in All that matters
Designing organic molecules that perform repeated mechanical motions is not easy. The molecule needs to be robust on the one hand, and on the other hand have different stable states between which it can alternate. Achieving such complex functionality requires careful design considerations. Nature has solved this problem, and molecular motors perform important functions in living organisms, [...]... Read more »
Ruangsupapichat, N., Pollard, M., Harutyunyan, S., & Feringa, B. (2010) Reversing the direction in a light-driven rotary molecular motor. Nature Chemistry. DOI: 10.1038/nchem.872
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