Tag: c2022

Over the past decade, perovskite quantum dots (PQDs) have garnered considerable attention in the field of optoelectronics. Merely semiconductor nanocrystals (NC) which exhibit quantum confinement due to their diminishing size (~5 nm), such characteristics give rise to desirable properties which have seen their use extend from photovoltaics (PV) to light-emitting diodes (LEDs). Often, such properties […]

In the vast landscape of technological advancements, we have witnessed a remarkable evolution from computers that once occupied entire rooms in the 1960s to today, where more power resides in our back pockets with smartphones than the computers that guided astronauts to the moon. Now, as we stand at the threshold of the quantum computing […]

Defects – are they merely an inconvenience? Not in the quantum universe! Scientists have recently found a promising new class of atomic-scale defects in hexagonal boron nitride [1], a two-dimensional material. The information storage capabilities of these impurities could enable powerful quantum technologies. Take, for example, quantum communication. As more of our personal data is […]

Light. It gives us the ability to see and experience our surroundings, to observe and analyse objects and phenomena, and it is crucial to many forms of life. Microscopes can help us to see things too small for the human eye, however, below a certain size, some objects are so small that they are invisible […]

They walk, they talk; they aren’t growing, but they squawk. They are the senescent cells, the tiny zombies living inside us. We all have senescent cells in our bodies, which are damaged body cells that don’t grow or divide as normal cells do. Before adulthood, senescence plays an important role in encouraging tissue development; as […]

Humanity is rarely satisfied with something that’s ‘good enough’. Some people, at least, always want improvements on the current standard. Electric vehicles are one such example, and rightly so; they are a more environmentally friendly alternative than combustion engines (provided they are made and powered renewably, but that’s a separate issue), but currently they simply […]

Sadly nowadays, you don’t have to talk to too many people to find someone with a grandparent or older friend that has suffered and/or died from a type of dementia, such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD) or Parkinson’s disease (PD). In my case, I became aware of neurodegenerative disease via close relatives, working as part of […]

In the realm of mathematics, two-dimensional (2D) spaces are akin to an infinitely thin sheet of paper, confining existence and movement to a single plane. In the physical world, we find materials that closely emulate this concept. These 2D materials are typically a thousand times thinner than a human hair and as thin as a […]

By using computer vision and machine learning, computers can design and manufacture miniaturised detectors based on nanowires. This could make detectors more affordable, more reliable, and be used for a larger range of applications from security screening to medical diagnosis. Nanowires are very thin wires, so thin that you would not be able to see […]

Deep in the bowels of Cambridge lies a lab only accessible to a select few. There is no source of light down here, except the eerie green glow of a laser powerful enough to blind in an instant. Creaking open the door, a researcher enters and carefully places a sample in the path of a […]