In a recent experiment at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, plasma electrons in the paths of intense laser light pulses were almost instantly accelerated close to the speed of light. Physics professor Donald Umstadter, who led the research, said the new application might aptly be called an “optical rocket” because of the tremendous amount of force […]
Smartphone-Controlled Smart Bandage For Better, Faster Healing
Researchers from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Harvard Medical School and MIT have designed a smart bandage that could eventually heal chronic wounds or battlefield injuries with every fiber of its being. The bandage consists of electrically conductive fibers coated in a gel that can be individually loaded with infection-fighting antibiotics, tissue-regenerating growth factors, painkillers or […]
Are Magnets The Secret To Elastigirl’s Powers?
If Plastic Man, Elastigirl or Mr. Fantastic ever encounter Magneto, they’d better hope the iconic X-Men figure hasn’t read the latest research from Christian Binek. The University of Nebraska-Lincoln physicist has found that, under certain conditions, the magnetic properties of a material can predict the relationship between its elasticity and temperature. His finding may point […]
One Billion Suns: World’s Brightest Laser Sparks New Behavior in Light
Physicists from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln are seeing an everyday phenomenon in a new light. By focusing laser light to a brightness one billion times greater than the surface of the sun – the brightest light ever produced on Earth – the physicists have observed changes in a vision-enabling interaction between light and matter. Those […]
Conductive Concrete Could Keep Roads Safer In Winter Weather
A 200-square-foot slab of seemingly ordinary concrete sits just outside the Peter Kiewit Institute as snowflakes begin parachuting toward Omaha on a frigid afternoon in late December. The snow accumulates on the grass surrounding the slab and initially clings to the concrete, too. But as the minutes pass and the snow begins melting from only […]
X-ray Vision? Laser-Derived X-ray Method Finds Hidden Nuclear Materials
Physicists at the Diocles Extreme Light Laboratory at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln have demonstrated that their unconventional laser-based X-ray machine could provide a new defense against nuclear terrorism. In proof-of-principle experiments, the UNL scientists used the laser-driven X-ray source to produce an image of a uranium disk no bigger than a stack of three nickels […]
Nobel Prize-Winning Material Used to Improve Digital Memory
The improvements in random access memory that have driven many advances of the digital age owe much to the innovative application of physics and chemistry at the atomic scale. Accordingly, a team led by UNL researchers has employed a Nobel Prize-winning material and common household chemical to enhance the properties of a component primed for […]
Less Is More with Adding Graphene to Nanofibers
Figuring that if some is good, more must be better, researchers have been trying to pack more graphene, a supermaterial, into structural composites. Collaborative research led by University of Nebraska-Lincoln materials engineers discovered that, in this case, less is more. The team, led by Yuris Dzenis, McBroom professor of mechanical and materials engineering and a […]