A topological insulator is a material in which there is order associated to topology, i.e., the surface can conduct electricity but the bulk of the material is an insulator. In these last years topological insulators have received the attention of a large area of the scientific community thanks to their exotic properties. They are promising […]
Geometrical structure, lattice periodicity and atomic arrangement are subtly intertwined with the electronic properties of materials. Sub-angstrom changes in the atomic distance are sufficient to modify the physical and chemical properties, such as the band-structure, carrier mobility and the chemical reactivity. The deposition of two-dimensional layered crystals on mechanically stretchable or bendable substrates can produce […]
Condensed matter • Materials • Nanotechnology • Quantum physics
When we study for the first time the structure of the atom in high school we encounter for the first time the concept of quantum excitation. We learn that excitation is the process in which a nucleus, electron, atom, ion, or molecule acquires energy that raises it to a quantum state (the excited state) higher […]
Proteins were traditionally described as immobilized objects and classified according to the chemical composition (amino acid sequence) or the three-dimensional structure. However, in the seventies, with the idea that “If nothing can move, nothing can function”, Perutz first described the movements hemoglobin must undergo to fulfill its function and after him Frahuendelder revealed a hierarchical […]
Enediynes are organic compounds containing two triple bonds and one double bond. The enediyne groups in those compounds are often called warheads. Why this name? Because, many of these compounds are capable of undergoing Bergman cyclization or, in other words, if heated they form a ring compound from a chain by formation of a new […]
An international team with the participation of the Center for Materials Physics in San Sebastián (CSIC-UPV/EHU) and Donostia International Physics Center (DIPC) have created the smallest lens in the world, capable to concentrate light down to dimensions of an atom. Researchers have used gold nanoparticles as focusing lenses that allow to flex individual chemical bonds […]
Graphene nanoribbons (GNRs), are strips of graphene with ultra-thin width (<50 nm). Graphene ribbons were introduced as a theoretical model by Mitsutaka Fujita and coauthors to examine the edge and nanoscale size effect in graphene. GNRs are very interesting structures, partly due to their attractive electronic properties. Those properties vary dramatically with changes in the […]
Among the astonishing properties of graphene, a high mobility of the charge carriers has placed this material into the focus of intensive research efforts, aimed at developing high-speed graphene-based electronic devices. The first device of this family, a graphene field-effect transistor (GFET), still remains a promising candidate for applications in flexible electronic circuits. An essential […]
A chemical compound or molecule consisting of two identical simpler molecules is a dimer. If one of the simpler molecules is excited while the other is in its ground, non-excited, state we talk about excimers. They are excited dimers which are non-bonding in the ground state. Thus, excimers can be considered evanescent quasi-particles that typically […]
Luthiers still use Chladni figures in the design and construction of acoustic instruments such as violins, guitars, and cellos. The technique invented by the German physicist and musician Ernst Chladni (1756–1827) shows the modes of vibration under forcing. The backplate of the instrument is covered with flour or sand, and bowed until it reached resonance […]