Category archives: Technology

The use of AI in war gaming could change military strategy

The use of AI in war gaming could change military strategy

Computer scienceEconomics

By Invited Researcher

The rise of commercially viable generative artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to transform a vast range of sectors. This transformation will be particularly profound in contemporary military education. Generative AI will fundamentally reshape war gaming — analytical games that simulate aspects of warfare at tactical, operational or strategic levels — by allowing senior military […]

A closer look at peptide fibril assemblies

A closer look at peptide fibril assemblies

BiochemistryBiologyChemistryNanotechnology

By César Tomé

A new imaging technique can give scientists a much closer look at fibril assemblies, stacks of peptides like amyloid beta, most notably associated with Alzheimer’s disease. These cross-β fibril assemblies are also useful building blocks within designer biomaterials for medical applications, but their resemblance to their amyloid beta cousins, whose tangles are a symptom of […]

Extracting lithium from waste liquids using aluminium hydroxide

Extracting lithium from waste liquids using aluminium hydroxide

Chemical engineeringChemistryEnergyMaterials

By César Tomé

A team of researchers has invented a more efficient way to extract lithium from waste liquids leached from mining sites, oil fields and used batteries. They demonstrated that a common mineral can adsorb at least five times more lithium than can be collected using previously developed adsorbent materials. The new low-cost high-lithium-uptake process presents the […]

Parallel-channel nanocryotrons in magnetic fields

Parallel-channel nanocryotrons in magnetic fields

Condensed matterNanotechnologyParticle physicsPhysics

By César Tomé

Superconductors can carry large electrical currents without any resistance. One situation where they don’t carry currents without resistance is when there is too much current. By designing microscopic electronic components made from very thin superconductors, researchers can use this effect to create a switch, like a transistor. Nanowire superconducting switching devices (called nanocryotrons, or nTrons […]

The building block for magnetoelectric spin-orbit logic

The building block for magnetoelectric spin-orbit logic

Computer scienceCondensed matterMaterials

By César Tomé

Complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS) is a type of metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) fabrication process that uses complementary and symmetrical pairs of p-type and n-type MOSFETs for logic functions. CMOS technology is used for constructing integrated circuit chips, including microprocessors, microcontrollers, memory chips, and other digital logic circuits. After 50 years of continuous transistor size downscaling and […]

Simple explanations for some complex patterns in twisted bilayer graphene

Simple explanations for some complex patterns in twisted bilayer graphene

DIPC Advanced materialsMaterials

By DIPC

Twisted bilayer and multilayer systems represent two-dimensional materials, where atom-thick layers of the same or different materials are superimposed and rotated by an arbitrary twist angle. Twisted bilayer graphene (TBG) represents arguably the most prominent physical system of this kind, the bilayers of transition metal dichalcogenides (TMD) the other. The effect of twisting two periodic […]

Atomic force images beyond the fundamental limit

Atomic force images beyond the fundamental limit

Computer scienceMaterialsPhysics

By César Tomé

Atomic force microscopy, or AFM, is a widely used technique that can quantitatively map material surfaces in three dimensions, but its accuracy is limited by the size of the microscope’s probe. A new AI technique overcomes this limitation and allows microscopes to resolve material features smaller than the probe’s tip. A new deep learning algorithm […]

The stabilizing effect of a binder for transition metal oxides to sustain water oxidation in acidic environments

The stabilizing effect of a binder for transition metal oxides to sustain water oxidation in acidic environments

CatalysisChemistryDIPC Advanced materialsMaterials

By DIPC

Global energy demand is expected to rise around 30% by 2040 according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). Hydrogen (H2) produced by the electrolysis of water, using renewable electricity, the so-called green hydrogen, has emerged as a promising energy vector to respond to this increasing energy demand with the potential to decarbonize transportation, heating, and […]

Fit-to-purpose power sources: portable batteries ecodesigned within the planetary boundaries

Fit-to-purpose power sources: portable batteries ecodesigned within the planetary boundaries

EnergyMaterials

By BCMaterials

Digital technologies have gained an essential role in societies’ development, by generating a global transformation in economic, social, and environmental dimensions. Digitalization does not just bring comfort and effectiveness in daily life but also contributes to equity and opportunities generation. However, this digital transformation is raising a fierce debate on how to ensure a positive […]