Microstructures made of adjoining semiconductor disks could lead to powerful nanoscale sensors.

At the heart of next-generation computers may be a collection of ultracold molecules held at temperatures a mere fraction of a degree above absolute zero. By combining two traditional atomic cooling technologies, physicists have pioneered a new technique for bringing normally springy molecules to a frozen standstill. Their results may be an important stepping stone towards future quantum computing.

Scientists have produced 3-D images and videos of a tiny platinum nanoparticle at atomic resolution that reveal new details of defects in nanomaterials that have not been seen before.

Electronic computing speeds are brushing up against limits imposed by the laws of physics. Photonic computing, where photons replace comparatively slow electrons in representing information, could surpass those limitations, but the components of such computers require semiconductors that can emit light. Now, new research has enabled “bulk” silicon to emit broad-spectrum, visible light for the first time, opening the possibility of using the element in devices that have both electronic and photonic components.

Scientists have designed an entirely new form of cooling panel that works even when the sun is shining. Such a panel could vastly improve the daylight cooling of buildings, cars and other structures by radiating sunlight back into the chilly vacuum of space.

Existing Lyme disease tests assess the presence of antibodies, which take weeks to form after the initial infection and persist after the infection is gone. Now, a nanotechnology-inspired technique may lead to diagnostics that can detect the organism itself.

Engineers are developing nanofoams that could be used to make better body armor; prevent traumatic brain injury and blast-related lung injuries in soldiers; and protect buildings from impacts and blasts. It’s the first time researchers are investigating the use of nanofoams for structural protection.

Ribbons of vanadium oxide and graphene become ultrafast charging and discharging electrodes for lithium-ion batteries in new research. The ribbons are thousands of times thinner than a sheet of paper, yet have potential that far outweighs current materials for their ability to charge and discharge very quickly.

anoparticles can be successfully incorporated into scintillation devices capable of detecting and measuring a wide energy range of X-rays and gamma rays, new research shows.

ery much like a glass-blower, researchers have managed to shape the exit hole of a glass capillary and finely control its diameter between 200 nanometers and zero.