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By Birgit Baustädter Researchers use test beds to test a variety of components for structural durability and behaviour. But there is often no suitable infrastructure on the market. How do researchers deal with this? "This question is quickly answered," says Christian Ellersdorfer with a laugh. "We design and build a test bed according to our own requirements." Together with his colleagues, the researcher has already implemented several test beds for the Institute of Vehicle Safety at Graz University of Technology.

A wide array of technologies, ranging from lasers and optical telecommunication to quantum computing rely on nonlinear optical interaction. Typically, these nonlinear interactions, which allow a beam of light, for example, to change its frequency, are implemented by bulk materials. In a new study an international research team led by the University of Vienna have shown that structures built around a single layer of graphene allow for strong optical nonlinearities that can convert light.

By Christoph Pelzl The SABATLE project coordinated by TU Graz focuses on the sustainability and safety of redox flow technologies, which are of immanent importance for the stabilization of the power grid. The increasing use of battery technologies in the mobility sector and in stationary applications has been leading to increasing efforts in battery research of operational safety and battery recycling.

What causes the weathering of the Mars moon Phobos? Results from TU Wien give new insights, soon a spacecraft will retrieve soil samples. Of course, there is no weather in our sense of the word in space - nevertheless, soil can also "weather" in the vacuum of space if it is constantly bombarded by high-energy particles, such as those emitted by the sun.

Infrared light can be used to detect molecules - but it is hard to create strong, short laser pulses. A new solution was found at TU Wien. Ordinary solid-state lasers, as used in laser pointers, generate light in the visible range. For many applications, however, such as the detection of molecules, radiation in the mid-infrared range is needed.

By Susanne Eigner The focus of the new CD laboratory is the reduction of interface resistances within the solid-state battery. The aim is to make this particularly safe energy storage system fit for electric vehicles and other high-energy applications. In recent years, intensive research has been carried out on solid-state electrolytes and materials have been developed which have a similarly high ionic conductivity to liquid electrolytes.

The focus of the new CD laboratory is the reduction of interface resistances within the solid-state battery. The aim is to make this particularly safe energy storage system fit for electric vehicles and other high-energy applications. In recent years, intensive research has been carried out on solid-state electrolytes and materials have been developed which have a similarly high ionic conductivity to liquid electrolytes.

For years, physicists at TU Wien have been studying strange phenomena - now they have found an explanation that could help to understand unconventional types of superconductivity. Materials can assume completely different properties - depending on temperature, pressure, electrical voltage or other physical quantities.

By Susanne Eigner Similar to batteries, supercapacitors are suitable for the repeated storage of electrical energy. TU Graz researchers have presented a particularly safe and sustainable variant of such a supercapacitor in Nature Communications. Additional at the end of the text Limited safety, sustainability and recyclability are key drawbacks of today's lithium-ion battery technology, along with restricted availability of starting materials (e.g.

Similar to batteries, supercapacitors are suitable for the repeated storage of electrical energy. TU Graz researchers have presented a particularly safe and sustainable variant of such a supercapacitor in Nature Communications. Additional at the end of the text Limited safety, sustainability and recyclability are key drawbacks of today's lithium-ion battery technology, along with restricted availability of starting materials (e.g.

By Christoph Pelzl Researchers at TU Graz have found a way to convert the aromatic substance vanillin into a redox-active electrolyte material for liquid batteries. The technology is an important step towards ecologically sustainable energy storage. Additional at the end of the text "It is ground-breaking in the field of sustainable energy storage technology," says Stefan Spirk from the Institute of Bioproducts and Paper Technology at Graz University of Technology.

Researchers at TU Graz have found a way to convert the aromatic substance vanillin into a redox-active electrolyte material for liquid batteries. The technology is an important step towards ecologically sustainable energy storage. Additional at the end of the text "It is ground-breaking in the field of sustainable energy storage technology," says Stefan Spirk from the Institute of Bioproducts and Paper Technology at Graz University of Technology.

Why do different measurements of material properties sometimes give different results? A research team led by the TU Vienna has now found an important answer. It is very hard to take a photo of a hummingbird flapping its wings 50 times per second. The exposure time has to be much shorter than the characteristic time scale of the wing beat, otherwise you will only see a colorful blur.

Scientists reveal key steps in the formation of the recycling cen-ters of the cell Autophagy, from the Greek for 'self-eating', is an essential process that isolates and recycles cellular components under conditions of stress or when resources are limited. Cargoes such as misfolded proteins or damaged organelles are captured in a double membrane-bound com-partment called the autophagosome and targeted for degradation.

How can you perforate an atomic layer of material and leave the one underneath intact? Scientists at TU Wien (Vienna) developed a technique for processing surfaces on an atomic scale. Nobody can shoot a pistol bullet through a banana in such a way that the skin is perforated but the banana remains intact.

For a long time, something important has been neglected in electronics: If you want to make electronic components smaller and smaller, you also need the right insulator materials. Ever smaller and ever more compact - this is the direction in which computer chips are developing, driven by industry. This is why so-called 2D materials are considered to be the great hope: they are as thin as a material can possibly be, in extreme cases they consist of only one single layer of atoms.

Magnetism offers new ways to create more powerful and energy-efficient computers, but the realization of magnetic computing on the nanoscale is a challenging task. A critical advancement in the field of ultralow power computation using magnetic waves is reported by a joint team from Kaiserslautern, Jena and Vienna in the journal Nano Letters.

Using an ultra-thin gold layer, scientists at TU Wien (Vienna) succeeded in creating an almost optimal infrared absorber. Possible applications range from astrophysics to virus detection. Infrared detectors play an important role in research: many molecules absorb electromagnetic radiation in the infrared range in a very characteristic way.

Rapidly cooling magnon particles proves a surprisingly effective way to create an elusive quantum state of matter, called a Bose-Einstein condensate. The discovery can help advance quantum physics research and is a step towards the long-term goal of quantum computing at room temperature. An international team of scientists have found an easy way to trigger an unusual state of matter called a Bose-Einstein condensate.

Actually they had been looking for something completely different, but they found a previously unknown quasi-particle: A bound state of two electrons, two holes and light. In physics, there are very different types of particles: Elementary particles are the fundamental building blocks of matter. Other particles, such as atoms, are bound states consisting of several smaller constituents.