Researcher's Digest

20/09/2023

Decades after a Tanzanian teenager initiated study of the “Mpemba effect,” the effort to confirm or refute it is leading physicists toward new theories about how substances relax to equilibrium.

13/08/2023

Researcher’s Digest is back! Be sure to tune in on Mondays from 5-6pm at https://www.woroni.com.au/radio where we will be discussing the latest and most exciting researches going on around the world in science and engineering!

The Australian National University newspaper since 1950

15/03/2023

Artificial pollination??

The loss of pollinators, such as bees, is a huge challenge for global biodiversity and affects humanity by causing problems in food production. Researchers have now developed the first passively flying robot equipped with artificial muscle. Could this artificial fairy be utilized in pollination?

15/03/2023

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/03/230308171709.htm

One month after announcing a ferroelectric semiconductor at the nanoscale thinness required for modern computing components, a team has now demonstrated a reconfigurable transistor using that material. Their work paves the way for single amplifiers that can do the work of multiple conventional ampli...

15/03/2023

Robot: I'm sorry.
Human: I don't care anymore!

Humans are less forgiving of robots after multiple mistakes -- and the trust is difficult to get back, according to a new study.

15/03/2023

Strange high-energy gamma-rays signal found!

There appear to be too many gamma rays coming from the sun. New higher-energy measurements reveal that this excess continues for a bit, then disappears — a cutoff that could help clarify what’s going on.

15/03/2023

Are black holes actually sources of dark energy?!

The origin of dark energy has been perplexing scientists for decades.

15/03/2023

How a tank of water can do sub-atomic physics experiments 😱

Researchers have captured the signal of neutrinos from a nuclear reactor using a water-filled neutrino detector, a first for such a device.

15/03/2023

Ever wondered how we can modell Octopuses using soft robots? 🤔

Octopus arms coordinate nearly infinite degrees of freedom to perform complex movements such as reaching, grasping, fetching, crawling, and swimming. How these animals achieve such a wide range of activities remains a source of mystery, amazement, and inspiration. Part of the challenge comes from th...

15/03/2023

Do you know that there are researchs on person-shaped robots that can liquify and escape jail, all with the power of magnets!

Inspired by sea cucumbers, engineers have designed miniature robots that rapidly and reversibly shift between liquid and solid states. On top of being able to shape-shift, the robots are magnetic and can conduct electricity. The researchers put the robots through an obstacle course of mobility and s...

22/12/2022

In a year filled with sweet new observations in astronomy and tantalizing breakthroughs in condensed matter physics, the brand-new space telescope takes the cake.

07/10/2022

THEY'RE FINALLY HERE!!! Here is the list of all the previous topics and the article links:

Week 2 (3/8)
Physics:
Mass and Angular Momentum, Left Ambiguous by Einstein, Get Defined
https://www.quantamagazine.org/mass-and-angular-momentum-left-ambiguous-by-einstein-get-defined-20220713/

The Spooky Quantum Phenomenon You’ve Never Heard Of
https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-spooky-quantum-phenomenon-youve-never-heard-of-20220622/

Engineering:
Shapeshifting microrobots can brush and floss teeth
https://penntoday.upenn.edu/news/penn-dental-engineering-shapeshifting-microrobots-can-brush-and-floss-teeth

Researchers’ 3D print sensors for satellites
https://news.mit.edu/2022/rpa-sensors-satellites-3d-print-0727

Week 3 (10/8)
Physics:
Particle Physicists Puzzle Over a New Duality
https://www.quantamagazine.org/particle-physicists-puzzle-over-a-new-duality-20220801/

At Long Last, Mathematical Proof That Black Holes Are Stable
https://www.quantamagazine.org/black-holes-finally-proven-mathematically-stable-20220804/

Engineering:
The Fiddler crab’s eye view inspires researchers to develop novel artificial vision
https://phys.org/news/2022-08-fiddler-crab-eye-view-artificial.html

Team engineer’s biofilm capable of producing long-term, continuous electricity from your sweat:
https://techxplore.com/news/2022-08-biofilm-capable-long-term-electricity.html

Week 4 (17/8)
Science Week - Glass
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glass
http://www.historyofglass.com/glass-history/glass-timeline/
https://waspecialprojects.com.au/types-of-glass/
https://dmgschoolproject.org/beginners-guide-to-glassblowing/ #:~:text=The%20simplified%20glass%20blowing%20process,furnace)%20to%20be%20reheated%20again
https://www.glassallianceeurope.eu/en/what-is-glass #:~:text=Glass%20is%20made%20from%20natural,temperature%20it%20behaves%20like%20solids.
https://studiousguy.com/optical-fibre-uses/ https://greenlightsurfsupply.com/blogs/news/e-glass-vs-s-glass-for-surfboards
https://medium.com//the-uses-of-glass-in-daily-life-b9cb0936551a glassallianceeurope.eu/en/applications
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_glass https://www.scienceweek.net.au/about/

Week 5 (24/8)
Physics:
Fusion turns up the heat - A laser-fusion scheme has achieved ignition—an important step on the road to energy production.
https://physics.aps.org/articles/v15/67

Twinkle, Twinkle, star no more - New forecasting approaches could help users of ground-based telescopes predict when the atmosphere will most blur incoming light, allowing them to better remove the effect.
https://physics.aps.org/articles/v15/125

Engineering:
The world's first-ever international holographic teleportation has just been conducted
https://interestingengineering.com/innovation/first-international-holographic-teleportation

Week 6 (31/8)
Physcs:
What Drives Galaxies? The Milky Way’s Black Hole May Be the Key.
https://www.quantamagazine.org/what-drives-galaxies-the-milky-ways-black-hole-may-be-the-key-20220823/

Engineering:
Engineering enzymes to help solve the planet's plastic problem
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/08/220811135329.htm

Researchers invent self-charging, ultra-thin device that generates electricity from air moisture
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/08/220817104036.htm

Week 7 (21/9)
Physics:
Chameleon theory on dark energy
https://futurism.com/chameleon-theory-dark-energy-galaxies
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/chameleon-force-new-dark-energy-experiment
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41567-022-01706-9

Webb Space Telescope Snaps Its First Photo of an Exoplanet
https://www.quantamagazine.org/webb-space-telescope-snaps-its-first-photo-of-an-exoplanet-20220901/

Engineering:
Organic bipolar transistor developed
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/06/220622130801.htm
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-04837-4

Quantum heat pump: A new measuring tool for physicists
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/08/220826141753.htm

New breathable gas sensors may improve monitoring of health, environment
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/05/220519161957.htm

Week 8 (28/9)
Physics:
A Black Hole’s Orbiting Ring of Light Could Encrypt Its Inner Secrets
https://www.quantamagazine.org/black-holes-ring-of-light-could-encrypt-its-inner-secrets-20220908/
https://arxiv.org/abs/2205.05064

Engineering:
Helping autonomous vehicles navigate tricky highway merges
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/08/220824103037.htm

Artificial soft surface autonomously mimics shapes of nature:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/09/220921113103.htm

Week 9 (4/10)
Physics:
Satellite Confirms the Principle of Falling
https://physics.aps.org/articles/v15/95
https://physics.aps.org/articles/v15/94

Chaos Researchers Can Now Predict Perilous Points of No Return
https://www.quantamagazine.org/ai-algorithm-foresees-chaotic-tipping-points-20220915/

Engineering:
Battery-free wireless imaging of underwater environments:
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-33223-x

Thank you to all those who have tuned in to our show! We will continue to provide new contents every week till the end of the semester. Be sure to tune in on Wednesdays at 2pm at Woroni Radio! 🤩🤩

The authors present an approach to underwater imaging, which does not require tethering or batteries. The low-power camera uses power from harvested acoustic energy and communicates colour images wirelessly via acoustic backscatter.