ScienceDaily: Matter & Energy News

Interaction between light and sound in nanoscale waveguide Posted: 16 Feb 2015 05:04 PM PST Scientists have demonstrated interaction between light and sound in a nanoscale area. Their findings elucidate the physics of light-matter coupling at these scales – and pave the way for enhanced signal processing on mass-producible silicon photonic chips. In the last decade, the field of silicon photonics has gained increasing attention as a key driver of lab-on-a-chip biosensors and of faster-than-electronics communication between computer chips. The technology builds on tiny structures known as silicon photonic wires, which are roughly a hundred times narrower than a typical human hair. These nanowires carry optical signals from one point to another at the speed of light. They are fabricated with the same technological toolset as electronic circuitry. Fundamentally, the wires work only because light moves slower in the silicon core than in the surrounding air and glass.

Accessory lens for Google Glass invented Posted: 16 Feb 2015 12:56 PM PST Scientists have invented a device, called Google Lens, that could have positive ramifications in the medical field and beyond.

Material for efficient plasmonic devices in mid-infrared range Posted: 16 Feb 2015 10:11 AM PST A research team has identified and synthesized a material that can be used to create efficient plasmonic devices that respond to light in the mid-infrared range. This is the first time anyone has demonstrated a material that performs efficiently in response to this light range, and it has applications in fields ranging from high-speed computers, to solar energy to biomedical devices.

Controlling car pollution at the quantum level Posted: 16 Feb 2015 06:20 AM PST Researchers are working towards a new generation of automotive catalytic converters.

Half spheres for molecular circuits Posted: 16 Feb 2015 03:48 AM PST Corannulene is a carbon molecule with a unique shape (similar to the better known fullerene) and promising properties. A team of scientists carried out computer simulations of the molecule’s properties and discovered that it might help overcome the difficulties building molecular circuits (i.e., of the size of molecules).

Experimental 'short cut' reduces from millennia to minutes the time needed to measure glass viscosity Posted: 16 Feb 2015 03:47 AM PST Researchers have designed a method which indirectly measures the viscosity of glass - something that required unfeasible observation times at human scale - based on its elastic properties. The results of the research questions the validity of current theories of glass formation.

How carbonates behave in Earth's interior Posted: 16 Feb 2015 03:47 AM PST Carbonates are the most important carbon reservoirs on the planet. But what role do they play in Earth's interior? How do they react to conditions in Earth's mantle? These are the questions being asked by a group of scientific researchers from various geoscience disciplines.

New algorithms locate where a video was filmed from its images and sounds Posted: 16 Feb 2015 03:47 AM PST Researchers have created a system capable of geolocating videos by comparing their audiovisual content with a worldwide multimedia database. In the future this could help to find people who have gone missing after posting images on social networks, or even to recognize locations of terrorist executions.