Browse Physics

A new self-assembly process creates nanowires of germanium without the metal catalyst required in earlier experiments.

Single-molecule microscopy reveals the nature of the chemical bonds between a large organic molecule and a metallic surface.

Atomic simulations of aluminum show how charge transfer from surface impurities can accelerate the growth of a crack tip.

A new model for DNA-covered nanoparticles predicts their stable crystal structures and may one day help in finding the optimal building blocks for self-assembling materials.

Microscopic distribution of alloy constituents explains the puzzling magnetic anisotropy in (Ga,Mn)As films.

New experiments on an organic ferroelectric verify that its electric polarization is driven primarily by an electron shift, rather than the ion shift that characterizes most other ferroelectrics.

To calculate the electronic properties of complex materials, researchers have developed an algorithm that harnesses the computing power of tens of thousands of processors.

Changes in plant tissue geometry with humidity explain how some species bend and turn to disperse their seeds.

Simulations help to visualize the propagation of structural excitations, called phasons, that occur in quasicrystals.

Single atoms deposited on an iron oxide surface provide a valuable model system for studying catalysis.

Alternating layers of insulating materials form a rudimentary device that controls thermal currents.

Piles of staples stand up to shaking better if the staple prongs have an intermediate length.

Metallic glasses, new materials that are strong and durable, are not entirely disordered on the atomic scale but can have regions of near-crystalline order.

Researchers have found an exact solution to an equation describing growth of materials at interfaces.

A spherically symmetric interaction force between particles can cause them to self-assemble into a surprisingly asymmetric (chiral) pattern in two dimensions, according to simulations.

A waveguide’s dielectric properties could result in an effective gauge field for photons even though they have no charge.

Hard spheres may favor one structural arrangement over others that are less mechanically stable during assembly.

Fast excitations of lattice vibrations in a substrate can alter the electronic properties of an oxide thin film.

In some transition metal oxides, disorder makes  the dielectric constant highly sensitive to an applied magnetic field over a broad range of temperatures.

Theoretical models show fractal hierarchical teeth can make joints stronger and more fail-resistant.