Doping graphene
An organic molecule that has been found to be effective in making silicon-based electronics may be viable for building electronics on sheets of carbon only a single molecule thick. Researchers at the Max Plank Institute for Metals Research in Stuttgart report the advance in a paper appearin ... more
A predilection for certain symmetries: Researchers discover why atoms in solids show a preference for certain structures
The process involved here sounds unwieldy, but is, in fact, quite simple: a material has a 6-fold rotation symmetry if the arrangement of its atoms remains unchanged when it is rotated by 60 degrees – one sixth of a circle. The atoms in metals often order themselves in this way. However, mo ... more
Getting to the roots of lethal hairs
A short circuit can be quite hairy: satellites have failed, a NASA computer centre was repeatedly paralysed and the US public heath authority recalled thousands of pacemakers - all because tin whiskers caused a short circuit in the electronic components of these devices. A team of scientist ... more