Indian Researchers Develop Energy-Efficient Method to Create Glass
A recent discovery at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) offers an energy-efficient method to achieve glassy transformations in indium selenide, a material that could change the face of data storage technology. The study was conducted in a collaboration between the University of Pennsylvania and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The research demonstrates that continuous electric current can transform the crystalline structure of indium selenide into glass, using a billion times less energy than the traditional melt-quench process.
Unusual Transformation Mechanism Revealed
The study, published on November 6, 2024, in Nature, details how this crystalline-to-glass transformation in indium selenide occurs. The study claims that unlike conventional processes that require high temperatures and sudden cooling, researchers found that mechanical shocks triggered by continuous electric currents achieved the same result. This discovery eliminates the need for the energy-intensive heating and rapid cooling stages typically used to create glassy phases in materials. Gaurav Modi, former PhD student at Penn Engineering, expressed initial surprise at the finding, noting that a continuous current alone disrupted the material’s structure.
Collaborative Microscale Analysis
IISc’s in situ microscopy tools were used extensively to observe the transformation at both atomic and micrometer scales. Assistant Professor Pavan Nukala from IISc’s Centre for Nano Science and Engineering, with PhD student Shubham Parate, collaborated with Penn Engineering’s Srinivasa Ramanujan Distinguished Scholar, Ritesh Agarwal, to investigate the transformation. By passing electric current through indium selenide, the team discovered that the 2D material’s layers moved against each other, generating small-scale electrical and mechanical shocks similar to seismic activity, ultimately leading to glass formation.
Future Implications for Phase-Change Memory
According to Agarwal, energy requirements have been a limiting factor for phase-change memory devices in widespread applications. This discovery, therefore, has significant implications for the efficiency of data storage technologies in computers and mobile devices. Nukala has indicated that the next steps will involve efforts to integrate these materials with CMOS technology, potentially paving the way for more sustainable memory solutions.
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A stunning solar eruption captured on video on the night of May 12-13 has revealed a 600,000-mile-long filament blasting away from the sun’s northern hemisphere. The outburst occurred around 8 p.m. EDT (0000 GMT) and spanned a distance more than twice that between Earth and the moon. A massive solar filament suspended above the sun’s surface became unstable and erupted, blasting a CME into space along with a cloud of plasma and magnetic energy. Preliminary models show Earth is nowhere in the firing range of this fiery ejection, but researchers are still watching the phenomenon closely.
Sun’s 600,000-Mile-Long ‘Angel-Wing’ Eruption Stuns Skywatchers, Signals Rising Solar Activity
As per the Space.com report, the eruption originated from a filament structure composed of dense, cooler solar plasma held aloft by magnetic fields. These structures often appear as dark ribbons across the sun’s disk and can become unstable without warning. Solar observers noted that this latest eruption dwarfed similar recent events, both in scale and intensity. Aurora chaser Jure Atanackov remarked that the CME from the blast was among the most spectacular seen this year, although fortunately, it is headed north and will miss Earth.
The event, dubbed the “angel-wing” or “bird-wing” eruption by observers online, was widely shared among solar watchers. Vincent Ledvina, another aurora chaser, noted its incredible visual impact, describing it as a sight worth watching on loop. The eruption is, in fact, so long, by more than a million kilometres, that it is of scientific interest and visually striking as well. Geomagnetic storms resulting from this kind of CME can affect satellites, communication systems, and even Earth.
Although it foreshadows the unpredictable nature of our host star, this particular CME does not pose a threat to Earth at the moment. Solar activity is ramping up as we approach the peak of Solar Cycle 25 in 2025. What’s more, more — and maybe more Earth-threatening — solar explosions could follow.
As a reminder of the formidable and delicate forces at play relatively close by on Earth, the sun remains a source of wonder for astronomers and skywatchers alike.
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Over 80 years, dark matter has been a great mystery for the researchers. Elusive of direct observation, it has made its existence known only by the gravitational impacts it makes on cosmic structures. Even though there is a lot of indirect evidence of its existence, the real nature of dark matter is still unknown. An important attribute of its particle is mass. While past studies have constrained the mass of fermionic dark matter using quantum principles like Pauli’s exclusion principle, bosonic dark matter remained less constrained. In a recent study, scientists have estimated a new lower bound on the mass of ultra-lightweight bosonic dark matter particles.
About the study
According to the study published in Physical Review Letters, the mass of ultralight bosonic dark matter must be more than 2 × 10-21 electron volts (eV), 100 times more than previous estimates using Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle.
The team of researchers, led by the first author of the study, Tim Zimmermann, a Ph.D. candidate at the Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics, University of Oslo, focused their method on the data of Leo II, the Milky Way’s satellite galaxy. It is a dwarf galaxy 1,000 times smaller than the Milky Way. By analyzing the internal motions of stars within Leo II—heavily influenced by dark matter—the team derived 5,000 possible dark matter density profiles using a tool called GRAVSPHERE.
They compared these with profiles generated by quantum wave functions of various dark matter particle masses. If the particle is too light, quantum fuzziness spreads it too thinly, preventing it from forming the observed structures. The study concluded that the dark matter particle must have a mass greater than 2.2 × 10⁻²¹ electron volts (eV)—over 100 times more than previous lower estimates.
Impact on dark matter studies
The findings have significant implications for popular ultralight dark matter models, particularly fuzzy dark matter, which typically proposes particles with masses around 10-22 ev.
Looking ahead, the team plans to extend their methodology to mixed dark matter scenarios, where dark matter is composed of particles with different masses.
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