MRI

By Ty Tkacik

By combining approaches from two rapidly growing fields of quantum physics, researchers at Penn State and Saint Louis University have demonstrated a novel specialized material can naturally enable a new way to study unusual physical phenomena known as non-Hermitian dynamics.

Discovering the physical principles of superconductivity in diamond opens the door for new quantum technologies, scientists report

Diamond is extremely valuable to science and technology not for its sparkle but for its extreme hardness, ability to transfer heat, transparency to a large fraction of the light spectrum and a host of other exceptional properties. Two decades ago, scientists discovered another advantage: under the right conditions, diamond can become a superconductor — allowing electricity to flow through it with zero resistance.

By Jamie Oberdick

In a Penn State lab, a small cylinder of soil sits wired with sensors, slowly cooling as it mimics conditions thousands of miles away.

At first, it looks unremarkable, like dirt from an average backyard mixed with water. But as the temperature drops, the sample begins to freeze, and its internal structure shifts in ways that are invisible to the eye. Each measurement adds another piece to a complex puzzle, one that connects microscopic structures in a lab to vast landscapes in the Arctic and to global systems that affect people everywhere.

By Ty Tkacik

A plastic bottle tossed into a recycling bin could one day help power an electric vehicle, smartphone or renewable energy storage system, according to a team of Penn State researchers.