Science

Over 40% Deliberately Limit AI Use: UK Survey Reveals Pushback Against "Convenience"

Breaking Free from Lithium Dependence: A New Discovery Elevates Next-Generation Sodium Metal Batteries to Practical Levels

In next-generation sodium metal batteries, a research team has introduced a unique design combining two salts, successfully achieving both electrolyte robustness and high-speed ion conduction. This breakthrough overcomes conventional technical barriers such as ultra-fast charging and long cycle life, marking major progress toward practical application.

A new world record above 30% efficiency: the full story of EPFL's 'triple-junction' perovskite solar cell

A Swiss research team has achieved a power conversion efficiency of 30.02% with a triple-junction solar cell stacking silicon and perovskite, breaking through the theoretical limit of a single material. The fusion of low-cost materials and nanotechnology is paving the way to bring ultra-high-efficiency power generation—once confined to space exploration—down to Earth.

2D Semiconductors Opening the Door to Sub-1nm Nodes: How "Self-Alignment" and "Interface Purification" in MoS2 Wafers Are Driving a Transfer-Free Manufacturing Revolution

To overcome the scaling limits of silicon, a new technology has been developed for synthesizing single-crystal molybdenum disulfide at wafer scale. Through self-aligned crystal growth and an automatic thickness self-limiting mechanism, an atomically thin semiconductor film with extremely few defects has been realized, marking a major step forward in the practical implementation of next-generation devices.

2027 and 2028 Are Now the Make-or-Break Years for Space-Based Solar Power Demonstrations

Three U.S. startups have successively revealed commercial contracts and demonstration plans for space-based solar power, while NASA's independent estimates swing by roughly 20-fold depending on assumptions. The industry's targets align almost exactly with the best-case scenario in those estimates, leaving feasibility hinging on verification of launch costs and power-transmission efficiency.

Undersea Habitat Vanguard Installed Off Florida Coast, Acceptance Testing and DNV Classification Continue Toward Crewed Operations

Ocean engineering company DEEP has installed a crewed undersea habitat on the seafloor off the coast of Florida, entering the final phase of verifying the entire system. By leveraging saturation diving, the facility enables extended coral reef research with reduced decompression burden, aiming to accumulate operational records toward the development of future large-scale facilities.

"One-Way Electron Circuits" That Overturn the Premises of Physical Law──Non-Hermitian Phenomena Demonstrated in a Quantum Topological Material

A research team used a quantum anomalous Hall insulator to realize, inside a solid-state material, a theoretical model of non-Hermitian physics in which electrons flow in only one direction. They demonstrated the "skin effect," in which electrons pile up at a specific edge as boundary conditions change, a finding expected to contribute to the development of next-generation quantum devices.

The grid sits at 70% idle most of the year. What AI proved with 650MW in the US—and what a 300GW forecast still needs to show

GridCARE's AI "Energize" has uncovered idle capacity in the US grid, securing over 650MW of actual connection capacity with National Grid and PGE. The 300GW figure the CEO cites, however, remains a forward-looking projection on a different scale entirely from that track record.

Fuel-Free Satellite Attitude Control Becomes Possible: Zenno's Supertorquer Achieves World's First In-Space Demonstration

New Zealand's Zenno has successfully completed the world's first on-orbit demonstration of a magnetic actuator using superconducting magnets. The device generates torque by interacting with Earth's magnetic field while maintaining extremely low temperatures, positioning it as a next-generation technology for satellite attitude control and momentum management without consuming fuel.

Quantum-Hybrid Computing That Breaks Through Supercomputer Limits Is Accelerating the Practical Use of Fusion Energy

To control tritium formation in molten salt—essential for fusion reactors to breed their own fuel—a new method combining quantum computers with classical computation has been developed. By simulating the complex behavior of electrons with high precision, it tackles the prediction of corrosive compound formation and efficient fuel recovery.