Condensed matter • Materials • Nanotechnology • Quantum physics
For centuries, metals were employed in optical applications only as mirrors and gratings. New vistas opened up in the late 1970s and early 1980s with the discovery of surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) and the use of surface plasmon (collective electronic oscillations at the surface of metals) resonances for sensing. In a simplified picture and in […]
The cicadas are part of the soundtrack of summer. Their calls, especially if a large number of animals is gathered, can form an impressive concert. They are part of the hemiptera, the order of aphids and bedbugs, but they do not have the bad reputation of these others, although they are not beneficial either. The […]
Supermassive black holes heading for collision found A pair of supermassive black holes about 2.5 billion light-years away appear to be on a collision course with each other in a few more billion years, but astronomers say they can learn a lot about gravitational wave background noise now by observing them. Science Alert Ancient bird […]
Elements with 4f or 5f electrons in unfilled electron bands and their componuds , which have ions carrying magnetic moments but do not magnetically order, or only do so at very low temperatures, are generally known as heavy-fermion or heavy electron systems because the scattering of the conduction electrons with the magnetic ions results in […]
Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have among their diagnostic characteristics problems for communication and social interaction. The typical example is the difficulty to understand the facial expressions or the body language of other people, but in addition to these aspects mediated by the visual system there may be other senses affected and, in fact, it has […]
Near-death experiences may be linked to REM sleep disorders Many people who report having had near-death experiences also report having had REM sleep disorder symptoms. REM is the sleep phase that features vivid dreaming, and researchers say a combination of the waking and REM states could be linked to the near-death experiences. Live Science Jellyfish-like […]
Condensed matter • Materials • Physics • Quantum physics • Theoretical physics
We all know what an insulator is, don’t we? An insulator is any substance that is a poor conductor of heat and electricity. Both properties ussually occur as a consequence of a lack of mobile electrons.If we want to dive a little deeper into the nature of insulators we make use of energy band theory […]
A preterm baby is one that is born prematurely, a minimum of three weeks before the expected date of delivery or, in other words, before the 37th week of pregnancy. Premature babies, especially extreme premature babies, have a high risk of suffering from nervous system problems, especially cerebral palsy, neurodevelopmental delays, and hearing and vision […]
Aristotle defined (fair) outrage as the pain that is experienced due to the fortune of someone who does not deserve it and he outlines that a man who is only rightly outraged is worth praising . However, if he described this outrage as fair does it mean there is another one that is unjust? In […]
Fungus induces nonstop mating in cicadas Substances made by a fungus infecting cicadas, Massospora, are causing the insects to mate incessantly. The study discovered several firsts, including the first psilocybin to be produced by a fungus that was not a mushroom and the first nonplant organism to generate an amphetamine, cathinone. Science News New EEG […]