Achieving room temperature superconductivity is among the most pursued but elusive goals of scientists. I n December 2014 researchers claimed to have observed superconductivity as high as 200 K in hydrogen sulfide at high pressure, breaking all the records thus far. This meant that cuprates could be knocked from their position as the highest temperature […]
Condensed matter • Materials • Nanotechnology • Quantum physics • Theoretical physics
Plasmonic nanostructures confine light to dimensions far smaller than the free-space wavelength, as they mix optical fields with electronic excitations. It was not until the 1990s, with the appearance of accurate and reliable nanofabrication techniques, that plasmonics blossomed. It was found then that local fields around nanostructures could be directly measured by near-field scanning optical […]
Terahertz (THz) radiation is all around us. For example, this page emits blackbody radiation mainly in the THz region (defined here from 0.3 THz to 30 THz). Because terahertz radiation begins at a wavelength of around one millimeter and proceeds into shorter wavelengths, it is sometimes known as the submillimeter band, and its radiation as […]
Symmetry is a unifying principle that governs all aspects of physics. The physical properties of crystalline solids are no different. But, as symmetry is progressively lowered through the 32 crystallographic point groups, novel transport effects emerge. Crystal symmetry dictates also the geometry of a phenomenon that has attracted a lot of attention in recent years […]
Topological insulators are materials with special universal properties, which are protected against perturbations. Such properties are theoretically described by topology, a branch of mathematics concerned with the properties of geometrical objects that are unchanged by continuous deformations. Topological insulators are electronic materials that have a bulk band gap like an ordinary insulator but have conducting […]
Condensed matter • Materials • Nanotechnology • Quantum physics
Nonlinear processes are attractive in microscopy and spectroscopy since they can be excited with light in the near‐infrared, which offers several advantages, from a deep tissue penetration capability or a reduced photodamage due to the lower photon energy, to a spatially more confined probed volume, which can result in an improved lateral resolution. These processes […]
We usually take for granted that aromaticity is something that belongs to the ground state of a molecule; but the fact is that nothing forbids aromaticity appearing in an excited state. In the same way that molecular properties are largely affected by the ground-state aromaticity, excited-state aromaticity can guide the understanding of excited-state processes, the […]
One of the unique features of the chemistry of carbon (and, to some extent, silicon) is its ability to form long chains of atoms. Polymers are substances that have macromolecules composed of many repeating units (known as ‘mers’). Many naturally occurring substances are polymers, including rubber and many substances based on glucose, such as the […]
Condensed matter • DIPC Attosecond Physics • Materials • Physics
In 1882, Heinrich Hertz devoted himself to the study of electromagnetism, including the recent and still generally unappreciated work of Maxwell. Two years later he began his famous series of experiments with electromagnetic waves. During the course of this work, Hertz discovered the photoelectric effect, which has had a profound influence on modern physics. The […]
Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) is a technique in which a fine conducting probe is held close to the surface of a sample. Electrons tunnel between the sample and the probe, producing an electrical signal. The probe is slowly moved across the surface and raised and lowered so as to keep the signal constant. The precision […]