These semiconductors are cooled with laser light
News from TG Daily:
Researchers at the Niels Bohr Institute have managed to successfully combine two worlds: quantum physics and nano physics.
The joining of two very distinct universes has already led to the discovery of a new method for laser cooling semiconductor membranes.
As you probably already know, semiconductors are vital components in solar cells, LEDs and many other electronic devices. As such, the efficient cooling of components is critical for the design of future quantum computers and ultrasensitive sensors.
So how does the new cooling method work?
Quite paradoxically – by actually heating the material! Indeed, using lasers, researchers cooled membrane fluctuations to minus 269 degrees C.
“In experiments, we succeeded in achieving a new and efficient cooling of a solid material by using lasers. We have produced a semiconductor membrane with a thickness of 160 nanometers and an unprecedented surface area of 1 by 1 millimeter,” explained Koji Usami, associate professor at Quantop at the Niels Bohr Institute.
“In the experiments, we let the membrane interact with the laser light in such a way that its mechanical movements affected the light that hit it. We carefully examined the physics and discovered that a certain oscillation mode of the membrane cooled from room temperature down to minus 269 degrees C, which was a result of the complex and fascinating interplay between the movement of the membrane, the properties of the……………. continues on TG Daily
Climate scientists back call for sceptic thinktank to reveal backers
Leading climate scientists have given their support to a Freedom of Information request seeking to disclose who is funding the Global Warming Policy Foundation, a London-based climate sceptic thinktank chaired by the former Conservative chancellor Lord …
Read more on The Guardian
Bio-science addresses concerns over castor crop
Working with the best tools agricultural science can offer, they have aggressively developed a semi-dwarf castor variety with reduced ricin levels and one that allows for mechanized production.
Read more on Southwest Farm Press
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Planes to reroute following massive solar eruption
News from Fox News:
A powerful solar eruption is expected to blast a stream of charged particles toward Earth Tuesday, Jan. 24, as the strongest radiation storm since 2005 rages on the sun.
Early this morning (0359 GMT Jan. 23, which corresponds to late Sunday, Jan. 22 at 10:59 p.m. EST), NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory caught an extreme ultraviolet flash from a huge eruption on the sun, according to the skywatching website Spaceweather.com.
The solar flare spewed from sunspot 1402, a region of the sun that has become increasingly active lately. Several NASA satellites, including the Solar Dynamics Observatory, the Solar Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO), and the Stereo spacecraft observed the massive sun storm.
A barrage of charged particles triggered by this morning’s solar flare is expected to hit Earth tomorrow at around 9 a.m. EST (1400 GMT), according to experts at the Space Weather Prediction Center, a division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. [Video & photos of the huge solar flare]
According to NOAA, this is the strongest solar radiation storm since May 2005, and as a precaution, polar flights on Earth are expected to be r……………. continues on Fox News
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