Ultrafast probing reveals intricate dynamics of quantum coherence

Ultrafast, multidimensional spectroscopy unlocks macroscopic-scale effects of quantum electronic correlations. Researchers found that low-energy and high energy states are correlated in a layered, superconducting material. Exciting the material with an ultrafast beam of near-infrared light produces coherent excitations lasting a surprisingly 'long' time of around 500 femtoseconds, originating from a quantum superposition of excited states within the crystal.

Cold sintering produces capacitor material at record low temperatures

Barium titanate is an important electroceramic material used in trillions of capacitors each year and found in most electronics. Researchers have produced the material at record low temperatures, and the discovery could lead to more energy efficient manufacturing.

Stress-relief substrate helps OLED stretch two-dimensionally?

Highly functional and free-form displays are critical components to complete the technological prowess of wearable electronics, robotics, and human-machine interfaces. A team created stretchable OLEDs (Organic Light-Emitting Diodes) that are compliant and maintain their performance under high-strain deformation. Their stress-relief substrates have a unique structure and utilize pillar arrays to reduce the stress on the active areas of devices when strain is applied.

Bluetooth, transistors, and buck-converters

Hey there,

This is Oyvind checking in from Valencia in Spain.

In the last few weeks, I’ve been busy recording podcasts, designing circuits, and creating electronics courses for Ohmify.

If I were to summarize my last few weeks in three words, they would be:

Bluetooth, transistors, and buck-converters.

I feel very lucky, and very nerdy, for being able to fill my time with these things.

For those of you who are members of Ohmify, you’ve already seen some of the courses I’ve published over the last weeks. And there is much more to come. I have several half-finished courses (and a million ideas for new courses) that are on the way.

If you’re not a member, you can join us here: https://ohmify.com/join/

I’m also working on a new podcast with my pal Elias Bakken. But I’m going to wait a bit more before saying too much about it, as it is a very unpolished project. We have no idea what we’re doing yet. And I want the first episode you hear to give a lot of value. Hopefully, the next episode will be “the one”.

And by the way, my Youtube channel just reached 10.000 subscribers!

I upload videos from my electronics-related travels (Berlin, China, Colombia, Florida) – and lessons on how different things in electronics work.

Check it out here:
https://youtube.com/c/build-electronic-circuits

Keep On Soldering!
Oyvind @ build-electronic-circuits.com

Copyright Build Electronic Circuits

Portable 'electronic nose' can accurately pick up esophageal cancer precursor

A portable 'electronic nose' can accurately pick up the precursor condition to food pipe (esophageal) cancer, known as Barrett's esophagus, indicates a proof of principle study.

New study allows brain and artificial neurons to link up over the web

Research on novel nanoelectronics devices has enabled brain neurons and artificial neurons to communicate with each other over the Internet.

Silicon's exact conductivity for future solar cell, semiconductor applications

Researchers have made the most sensitive measurements to date of how quickly electric charge moves in silicon, a gauge of its performance as a semiconductor.

Using light to put a twist on electrons

Method with polarized light can create and measure nonsymmetrical states in a layered material.

Perovskite solar cells made with peppermint oil and walnut aroma food additives, preventing lead leakage

Engineers have developed eco-friendly-solvent processable hole transport polymers by using peppermint oil and walnut aroma food additives and the polymer can prevent lead leakage.

Simple self-charging battery offers power solutions for devices

A new type of battery combines negative capacitance and negative resistance within the same cell, allowing the cell to self-charge without losing energy, which has important implications for long-term storage and improved output power for batteries. Researchers report making their very simple battery with two different metals, as electrodes and a lithium or sodium glass electrolyte between them.

What if we could teach photons to behave like electrons?

The researchers tricked photons - which are intrinsically non-magnetic - into behaving like charged electrons. They accomplished this by sending the photons through carefully designed mazes in a way that caused the light particles to behave as if they were being acted upon by what the scientists called a ''synthetic'' or ''artificial'' magnetic field.

Shaping the rings of molecules

Chemists discover a natural process to control the shape of 'macrocycles,' molecules of large rings of atoms, for use in pharmaceuticals and electronics.

Magnet-controlled bioelectronic implant could relieve pain

An electrical and computer engineer has introduced the first neural implant that can be programmed and charged remotely with a magnetic field.

Study uncovers new electronic state of matter

The discovery shows that when electrons can be made to attract one another, they can form bunches of two, three, four and five electrons that behave like new types of particles.

Advance in next-generation lithium metal batteries

A research team has developed a way to address a major safety issue with lithium metal batteries - an innovation that could make high-energy batteries more viable for next-generation energy storage.

Topological materials outperform through quantum periodic motion

Scientists have discovered that applying vibrational motion in a periodic manner may be the key to preventing dissipations of the desired electron states that would make advanced quantum computing and spintronics possible.

Ultrasound device improves charge time and run time in lithium batteries

Researchers have developed an ultrasound-emitting device that brings lithium metal batteries, or LMBs, one step closer to commercial viability. Although the research team focused on LMBs, the device can be used in any battery, regardless of chemistry.

New green technology generates electricity 'out of thin air'

Electrical engineers and microbiologists have created a device they call an 'Air-gen.' or air-powered generator, with electrically conductive protein nanowires produced by the microbe Geobacter. The Air-gen connects electrodes to the protein nanowires in such a way that electrical current is generated from the water vapor naturally present in the atmosphere.

New material has highest electron mobility among known layered magnetic materials

A new material has properties that make it a promising candidate for new areas like magnetic twistronic devices and spintronics, as well as advances in data storage and device design.

Deep learning can fool listeners by imitating any guitar amplifier

A study demonstrates that digital simulations of guitar amplifiers can sound just like the real thing. The implications are that as the software models continue to improve, they can replace traditional analogue guitar amplifiers, which are bulky, fragile and expensive.

Making the internet more energy efficient through systemic optimization

Researchers recently completed a 5-year research project looking at how to make fibre optic communications systems more energy efficient. Among their proposals are smart, error-correcting data chip circuits, which they refined to be 10 times less energy consumptive.

First electrically-driven 'topological' laser

Scientists and engineers have created the first electrically-driven 'topological' laser, which has the ability to route light particles around corners -- and to cope with defects in the manufacture of the device.

Something from nothing: Using waste heat to power electronics

Researchers have developed an improved thermocell design to convert heat into electricity. The thermocell contained a material that exhibited a phase transition from one arrangement of atoms to another when heated to 50 °C. The phase transition caused the output voltage of the thermocell to increase substantially to a level sufficient to power electronics. This thermocell shows promise as a way to use waste environmental heat to power electronic devices.

Studying electrons, bridging two realms of physics: Connecting solids and soft matter

Condensed matter physics, which analyzes the behavior of electrons in organized solid matter, has been treated as a completely separate field of study from soft matter physics, which deals with liquids, gels, etc. But in a new study, researchers have now revealed that under certain special conditions, the electrons in solid matter exhibit similar properties to the constituent particles of soft matter.

Moving precision communication, metrology, quantum applications from lab to chip

Photonic integration has focused on communications applications traditionally fabricated on silicon chips, because these are less expensive and more easily manufactured, and researchers are exploring promising new waveguide platforms that provide these same benefits for applications that operate in the ultraviolet to the infrared spectrum. These platforms enable a broader range of applications, such as spectroscopy for chemical sensing, precision metrology and computation.

New air-pressure sensor could improve everyday devices

A team of mechanical engineers investigating a revolutionary kind of micro-switch has found another application for its ongoing research.

Graphene forms under microscope's eye

Scientists record the formation of foamy laser-induced graphene made with a small laser mounted to a scanning electron microscope. The reduced size of the conductive material may make it more useful for flexible electronics.

Researchers develop smaller, lighter radiation shielding

Researchers have developed a new technique for shielding electronics in military and space exploration technology from ionizing radiation. The new approach is more cost effective than existing techniques, and the secret ingredient is...rust.

'Atomic dance' reveals new insights into performance of 2D materials

A team used electron microscopy to observe the cause of failure in a widely used 2D material, which could help researchers develop more stable and reliable materials for flexible electronic devices.

New threads: Nanowires made of tellurium and nanotubes hold promise for wearable tech

Wearable tech requires both strength and flexibility. A new nanowire design -- a boron nitride nanotube (BNNT) filled with tellurium atomic chains -- holds promise for electronics triggered by light and pressure. Physicists have now created and tested the new nanowire alongside carbon nanotubes.

Using sound and light to generate ultra-fast data transfer

Researchers have made a breakthrough in the control of terahertz quantum cascade lasers, which could lead to the transmission of data at the rate of 100 gigabits per second -- around one thousand times quicker than a fast Ethernet operating at 100 megabits a second.

How to Build an Arduino Theremin

In this short tutorial, you will learn how to build an Arduino Theremin. You only need three components plus the Arduino, wires, and breadboard.

Use the breadboard diagram or the video below to see how to connect everything.

The Components You’ll Need

• Buzzer (passive)
• Photoresistor
• Resistor 220Ω
• Arduino
• Wires
• Breadboard

How The Arduino Theremin Works

An Arduino theremin isn’t the same as the original theremin invented by Léon Theremin where you can control both amplitude and frequency.

But it’s a fun and simple project anyway!

The photoresistor is connected with the resistor to form a voltage divider. The Arduino reads the voltage out from the voltage divider.

This means that when the photoresistor changes its resistance (that is when the light changes) the voltage that the Arduino reads changes.

The Arduino controls the frequency of the buzzer. By using the voltage value the Arduino reads in, the Arduino changes the tone of the buzzer so that the tone you hear is directly dependent on the light that the photoresistor sees.

The Arduino Code

Copy and paste the code below into a new project. Then compile and upload the code to your Arduino.

int analogPin = A0; // Input from photoresistor connected to A0
int buzzerPin = 4; // Positive buzzer pin connected to pin 4

long max_frequency = 2500; // Max frequency for the buzzer

long frequency; // The frequency to buzz the buzzer
int readVal; // The input voltage read from photoresistor


void setup() {
    pinMode(buzzerPin, OUTPUT); // set a pin for buzzer output
}

void loop() {
    readVal = analogRead(analogPin); // Reads 0-1023
    frequency = (readVal * max_frequency) / 1023;
    buzz(buzzerPin, frequency, 10);
}

void buzz(int targetPin, long frequency, long length) {
    long delayValue = 1000000/frequency/2;
    long numCycles = frequency * length/ 1000;

    for (long i=0; i < numCycles; i++) {
        digitalWrite(targetPin,HIGH);
        delayMicroseconds(delayValue);
        digitalWrite(targetPin,LOW);
        delayMicroseconds(delayValue);
    }
}

Questions?

Did you build this Arduino Theremin? Are you having problems building it? Let me know in the comments below.

Copyright Build Electronic Circuits

Diagnostics: Thermometer can be stretched and crumpled by water

A research team developed a flexible ionic conductor that is water-processable and thermal stable.

Rolled up carbon nanotubes

For decades, carbon nanotubes held great promise of developments in the field of electronics and more. But one drawback to realizing these innovations has been the difficulty of incorporating additional materials into nanotubes. For the first time, researchers have grown crystals of various materials uniformly onto the surface of carbon nanotubes. They hope these modified structures will exhibit functions useful in electronic, chemical or other applications.

Fireproof, lightweight solid electrolyte for safer lithium-ion batteries

Lithium-ion batteries are in everything from cell phones to cars. However, recent incidents involving fires or explosions of these devices show there's a need for safer batteries. One option is to replace the flammable liquid electrolyte with a solid-state electrolyte (SSE). But some of the most-studied SSEs are themselves flammable, leaving the original safety concern unaddressed. Researchers now report that they have developed an SSE that won't burn up.

Engineers mix and match materials to make new stretchy electronics

A new process may be the key to manufacturing flexible electronics with multiple functionalities in a cost-effective way.

A gold butterfly can make its own semiconductor skin

A nanoscale gold butterfly provides a more precise route for growing/synthesizing nanosized semiconductors that can be used in nano-lasers and other applications.

Crystal-stacking process can produce new materials for high-tech devices

Stacking ultrathin complex oxide single-crystal layers allows researchers to create new structures with hybrid properties and multiple functions. Now, using a new platform, researchers will be able to make these stacked-crystal materials in virtually unlimited combinations.

Controlling light with light

Researchers have developed a new platform for all-optical computing, meaning computations done solely with beams of light.

New quantum switch turns metals into insulators

Researchers have demonstrated an entirely new way to precisely control electrical currents by leveraging the interaction between an electron's spin and its orbital rotation around the nucleus.

Research zeroing in on electronic nose for monitoring air quality, diagnosing disease

Research has pushed science closer to developing an electronic nose for monitoring air quality, detecting safety threats and diagnosing diseases by measuring gases in a patient's breath.