Hanan Kalaz

Scientists harness the power of ‘layered’ crystals for energy innovation

Scientists are unlocking the secrets of halide perovskites — a material that’s poised to reshape our future by bringing us closer to a new age of energy-efficient optoelectronics. Two physics professors are studying the material at the nanoscale: a place where objects are invisible to the naked eye. At this level, the extraordinary properties of […]

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Harnessing electromagnetic waves and quantum materials to improve wireless communication technologies

A team of researchers has developed innovative methods to enhance frequency conversion of terahertz (THz) waves in graphene-based structures, unlocking new potential for faster, more efficient technologies in wireless communication and signal processing.

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Reimagining chain mail

Experiments have yielded a fascinating new type of matter, neither granular nor crystalline, that responds to some stresses as a fluid would and to others like a solid. The new material, known as PAM (for polycatenated architected materials) could have uses in areas ranging from helmets and other protective gear to biomedical devices and robotics.

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Astronomers thought they understood fast radio bursts: A recent one calls that into question

Fast radio bursts are mysterious and brief flashes of radio emissions that were thought to be produced by magnetars, highly magnetized rotating neutron stars. Yet magnetars appear primarily in young star clusters. A repeating burst discovered last year has been pinpointed to the distant outskirts of an old but massive elliptical galaxy where, theoretically, such

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New ceramic catalyst uses sodium and boron to drive sustainable industrial reactions

Transition metals have long been used as catalysts to activate small molecules and turn them into valuable products. However, as these metals can be expensive and less abundant, scientists are increasingly looking at more common elements as alternatives. In a recent study, researchers used a concept called ‘frustrated Lewis pairs’ to develop a transition metal-free

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First fast radio burst traced to old, dead, elliptical galaxy

Astronomers previously thought all FRBs were generated by magnetars formed through the explosions of very young, massive stars. But new FRB is pinpointed to the outskirts of 11.3-billion-year-old galaxy without young, active stars — calling those assumptions into question. ‘Just when you think you understand an astrophysical phenomenon, the universe turns around and surprises us,’

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