When water drains from the bottom of a vertical tube, it is followed by a thin film of liquid that can adopt complex and beautiful shapes. KAUST researchers have now studied exactly how these “fluted films” form and break up, developing a mathematical model of their behavior that could help improve the performance, safety, and efficiency of industrial processes.
A collaborative research team has developed a novel method for forming high-performance high-entropy alloy (HEA) films on various surfaces without using expensive alloy targets. This was achieved using a proprietary rotating target composed of multiple pure metal segments and pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technology.
This method uniquely enables not only the deposition of metal atoms onto the substrate surface through laser irradiation but also their implantation into the subsurface, forming robust films that integrate with the substrate material.
Traditionally, producing HEA films requires expensive pre-made alloy targets. In contrast, the new method uses inexpensive pure metals, significantly reducing costs. The team also demonstrated precise control of film thickness and depth by adjusting the pressure during deposition.
In track events.
Unitree H1 humanoids win four gold medals at Beijing’s first World Humanoid Robot Games, marking a leap in China’s robotics race.
A new study published in JMIR Serious Games reveals that playing the open-world video game The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and watching Studio Ghibli films can significantly improve young people’s overall happiness and sense of purpose in life.
Led by researchers from Imperial College London, Kyushu Sangyo University, and Georgia State University, the exploratory randomized controlled study, titled “Effects of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Studio Ghibli Films on Young People’s Sense of Exploration, Calm, Mastery and Skill, Purpose and Meaning, and Overall Happiness in Life: Exploratory Randomized Controlled Study,” involved 518 postgraduate students.
Participants were randomly assigned to either play Zelda or not and to either watch nostalgic Studio Ghibli films like My Neighbor Totoro or Kiki’s Delivery Service or not. Researchers then measured feelings of exploration, calm, skill mastery, purpose, and life happiness.
Water still has unknown sides. When water is forced into two dimensions by enclosing it in appropriate materials, new properties, phase transitions, and structures emerge. MXenes as a class of materials offer a unique platform for exploring these types of phenomena. MXenes consist of transition metal carbides and nitrides with a layered structure whose surfaces can help them absorb water easily. The water forms an extremely thin film between the individual layers.
A team led by Dr. Tristan Petit, HZB, and Yury Gogotsi, Drexel University, has investigated a series of MXene samples containing enclosed water and different ions at BESSY II using various analytical methods. The work is published in the journal Nature Communications.
X-ray structural analysis revealed the formation of amorphous ice clusters in the enclosed water, which increases the distance between the MXene layers. The previously metallic MXene film then becomes a semiconductor.
In a major step toward next-generation electronics, researchers at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities have discovered a way to manipulate the direction of charge flow in ultrathin metallic films at room temperature using light. This discovery opens the door to more energy-efficient optical sensors, detectors, and quantum information devices.
The research is published in Science Advances.
The team showed that ultra-thin layers of ruthenium dioxide (RuO2), grown on titanium dioxide (TiO2), can be made to behave differently depending on direction—both in how they respond to light and how electricity moves through them.
Guilt is a highly advantageous quality for society as a whole. It might not prevent initial wrongdoings, but guilt allows humans to judge their own prior judgments as harmful and prevents them from happening again. The internal distress caused by feelings of guilt often—but not always—results in the person taking on some kind of penance to relieve themselves from internal turmoil. This might be something as simple as admitting their wrongdoing to others and taking on a slight stigma of someone who is morally corrupt. This upfront cost might be initially painful, but can relieve further guilt and lead to better cooperation for the group in the future.
As we interact more and more with artificial intelligence and use it in almost every aspect of our modern society, finding ways to instill ethical decision-making becomes more critical. In a recent study, published in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface, researchers used game theory to explore how and when guilt evolves in multi-agent systems.
The researchers used the “prisoners’ dilemma”—a game where two players must choose between cooperating and defecting. Defecting provides an agent with a higher payoff, but they must betray their partner. This, in turn, makes it more likely that the partner will also defect. However, if the game is repeated over and over, cooperation results in a better payoff for both agents.
Titanforge 3D Printing & Hobbies will open in downtown Harrisonburg on Friday, bringing cutting-edge technology to the forefront of the city’s cultural district.
For weeks, the massive Elegoo Giga 3D printer in the shop’s front window has elicited excitement from people walking along Main Street near Court Square, with passersby wondering what the huge device could be printing. On Friday, Titanforge will hold its grand opening, giving community members the opportunity see what can be made when materials are piled over three feet high on a 2.6-foot square printing bed.
The shop, spearheaded by Erin Tutwiler, manager of Titanforge, will offer 3D-printed tabletop gaming accessories as well as other retail supplies like trading cards, dice, and game mats. Two kittens, named Titan and Forge, will also be present to greet customers.