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The human eye performs an amazing task every day without us even noticing. It can quickly shift focus from a book in our hands to a person standing across the room or a bird flying in the sky. This ability to adjust focus almost instantly is natural for us, but creating technology that can do the same has been a major engineering challenge. Now, researchers at Queen Mary University of London, led by Professor James Busfield, have developed a promising new approach. Their work combines a soft, electrically responsive material with transparent graphene-based electrodes to create a compact lens that can change its focus electronically. The research, published in Advanced Functional Materials , could help make future optical devices smaller, lighter and more efficient. Potential applications include autofocus cameras, wearable displays, virtual and augmented reality headsets, miniature medical imaging systems and scientific instruments. A Lens Inspired by the Human Eye Traditional cameras ...

Imagine a 3D-printed object that does not simply sit in one shape but can change its form when heated . One part could stretch while another contracts, allowing the object to move, bend or transform without motors, gears or complicated mechanical systems. This idea could become a reality thanks to a new development in shape-changing soft materials . Researchers have created a new type of 3D-printable material that can be programmed to either elongate or contract when heated , simply by changing how it is printed. The breakthrough could open new possibilities for soft robotics, wearable technology, artificial muscles, medical devices and advanced 4D printing . The Problem With Conventional 3D Printing Materials that respond to heat are already being studied for applications in soft robotics and biomedical devices. Among them are liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) —rubber-like materials containing specially organized molecules. When these materials are heated, their internal molecular arr...

For decades, scientists have relied on highly controlled laser light to perform some of the most delicate experiments in quantum physics. Lasers provide the precise, synchronized light waves that researchers need to manipulate individual photons and create quantum effects such as entanglement. Now, scientists at the University of Ottawa in Canada have demonstrated something that could challenge a long-standing assumption in quantum optics: quantum entanglement between photons can be generated using sunlight instead of a laser. The researchers found that the entanglement produced using sunlight was 94 percent similar to a perfectly entangled state . The result could eventually help make some quantum technologies more energy-efficient and easier to deploy, particularly in places where sunlight is readily available. Why Is This Discovery Important? Quantum technologies promise powerful new capabilities, including highly secure communications, advanced sensing, and potentially computers ca...

Imagine generating electricity without batteries, fuel, or traditional solar panels—simply by using water evaporation and the heat naturally present in the surrounding environment. Researchers led by Wu have developed a new technology called a vertical microrod generator (VMG) that could make this idea much more practical. The device uses evaporation-driven water movement to generate electricity, while a machine-learning-guided design helps water and ions move much faster and in a more organized direction. The result is a compact energy generator that reaches a power density of 14.3 watts per square meter and a power conversion efficiency of 21.5% . Even more importantly, the system can operate for at least 30 days under normal ambient conditions and maintain an efficiency above 20% across a 30-kelvin temperature range . This could open a new pathway for producing electricity in places where conventional power sources are difficult to use. The Untapped Energy Around Us The atmosphe...

Fuel cells are often described as a promising clean-energy technology because they can produce electricity from hydrogen without directly releasing carbon dioxide at the point of use. But making fuel cells powerful, durable and practical at the same time remains a major engineering challenge. Now, researchers led by Zhenguo Zhang and his team have developed an unusually thin membrane that could help solve one of the biggest problems in high-temperature polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (HT-PEMFCs) . The new membrane is only 20 micrometres thick , yet it is mechanically strong, can repair itself, and helps the fuel cell operate efficiently at temperatures as high as 200°C . Even more impressive, a fuel cell using this membrane reached a peak power density of 3.08 watts per square centimetre at 200°C and showed almost no performance degradation during a 503-hour test . Why high-temperature fuel cells matter Polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells generate electricity through an e...

Imagine a building painted in a beautiful blue, green, or red color that stays noticeably cooler than the surrounding air—even under strong sunlight. Normally, dark and colorful surfaces absorb sunlight and become hot. But scientists have developed a new type of coating that could change this problem. Researchers led by Ying Liu have developed a biomass-derived, colorful cooling coating made from ethyl cellulose. The material can reflect most of the sunlight that hits it while also releasing heat into the coldness of outer space. Most importantly, it can produce different colors without sacrificing its cooling performance . The technology could eventually help make buildings, vehicles, outdoor equipment and other surfaces cooler without requiring electricity. Why Is Passive Cooling Important? Buildings absorb a huge amount of solar energy during the day. As roofs and walls heat up, people often rely on air conditioners to maintain comfortable indoor temperatures. Air conditioning can...

For more than five decades, physicists have searched for something that sounds almost impossible: a new form of matter made entirely from the particles that carry a force . Now, scientists working at the Beijing Spectrometer III (BESIII) experiment in China have reported experimental evidence confirming the existence of a glueball — a particle believed to be made entirely of gluons, the particles responsible for carrying the strong nuclear force. If confirmed as described, the result would be a major achievement in particle physics. It would provide evidence that force-carrying particles can interact with one another and form a completely new type of matter. What exactly is a glueball? To understand why this discovery is so important, we first need to look at what ordinary matter is made of. According to the Standard Model of particle physics, matter is built from fundamental particles called fermions . Quarks are among them. Different combinations of quarks form larger particles such...