Category archives: Technology

A photonic crystal the size of a single free space wavelength

A photonic crystal the size of a single free space wavelength

Condensed matterMaterialsNanotechnologyQuantum physics

By DIPC

You can read this article because I have used photonics in order to make it possible. It may sound futuristic, but photonics is a technology we use, one way or the other, on a daily basis. Photonic devices are analogous to those used in electronics, but with the electrons replaced by photons. Thus, photonics is […]

Detection of the reversal of magnetic moments in an antiferromagnet

Detection of the reversal of magnetic moments in an antiferromagnet

Condensed matterMaterialsNanotechnologyQuantum physics

By DIPC

Some metals, alloys and transition-element salts exhibit a form of magnetism called antiferromagnetism. This occurs below a certain temperature, named after Louis Néel, when an ordered array of atomic magnetic moments spontaneously forms in which alternate moments have opposite directions. There is therefore no net resultant magnetic moment in the absence of an applied field […]

Polariton anomalous Hall effect in transition-metal dichalcogenides

Polariton anomalous Hall effect in transition-metal dichalcogenides

Condensed matterMaterialsQuantum physics

By DIPC

Two-dimensional materials, such as transition-metal dichalcogenides embedded in optical cavities, stand out as an excellent platform where strong light-matter interactions can be studied. Moreover, their band structures bring about nontrivial topological features, including the possibility of inducing some really interesting ones, like the polariton anomalous Hall effect. But, before getting into that let’s go through […]

The protective effect of symmetry in entangled photonic states

The protective effect of symmetry in entangled photonic states

Condensed matterNanotechnologyQuantum physics

By DIPC

One of the most mysterious features of quantum mechanics is that if two particles (or photons) interact at some point in time then the properties of these particles will remain connected at future times. A consequence of this is that determining the quantum state of one of the particles simultaneously determines the quantum state of […]

Enzybiotics, from phages to the inhaler.

Enzybiotics, from phages to the inhaler.

BiomedicineMedicineMicrobiologyPharmacy

By Invited Researcher

I n the age of bacteria resistant to multiple antibiotics, the so-called superbacteria, it is critical to our future the development of novel therapeutic strategies. Lytic enzymes encoded by bacteriophages – viruses that specifically kill bacteria, also called lysins or enzybiotics, are effective agents for preventing and controlling diseases caused by Gram+ bacteria, including Streptococcus […]

Catalysis depends on the crystallographic plane of the catalyst

Catalysis depends on the crystallographic plane of the catalyst

ChemistryCondensed matterMaterialsNanotechnology

By DIPC

A catalyst is a substance that increases the rate of a chemical reaction without itself undergoing any permanent chemical change. As the catalyst itself takes part in the reaction it may undergo a physical change. Hence, if catalysts take the form of nanoparticles, any physical feature of the nanoparticle interacting with the reacting molecules may […]

Self-knotting bionic proteins

Self-knotting bionic proteins

ChemistryMaterials

By Invited Researcher

Some heteropolymers can be designed to spontaneously self-assemble in complex pre-determined knotted structures. In the past, we referred to such designable heteropolymers as “bionic proteins”. Here we present an extensive study on self-knotting bionic proteins. As our everyday experience with ropes teaches us, knots form spontaneously in polymer chains of sufficient length and flexibility have […]

The costs of going green

The costs of going green

EconomicsEnergy

By José Luis Ferreira

A tax on carbon emissions is an efficient way to make firms and consumers internalize the environmental costs due to climate change. However, there are many other aspects to consider in a transition from a fossil-fueled economy to a cleaner one. In a past article we presented the case for subsidies on research to develop […]

Origin of the mysterious blue fluorescence of polymer carbon dots

Origin of the mysterious blue fluorescence of polymer carbon dots

ChemistryCondensed matterMaterialsNanotechnologyQuantum physics

By DIPC

A quantum dot is a nanometric crystalline structure of semiconductor materials. In a quatum dot electrons are confined in a region of space, thus creating a well defined structure of energy levels that depends very much on the size and shape of the quantum dot. This structure resembles that of atoms, that is why sometimes […]