Physics Mechanics

Researchers from the University of Osaka have developed a new class of chiral semiconducting polymers that can generate highly spin-polarized electrical currents. The team’s unique molecular design allows the polymers to self-assemble into helical structures that efficiently filter electron spins, offering a promising platform for future spintronic devices and clean-energy technologies.

Researchers at The University of Osaka have developed novel kirigami structures with periodic parallel inclined cuts. Stretching these materials longitudinally causes them to twist and rotate. Thus, these structures provide a mechanism for coupling tension and rotation. The mechanical deformation of these structures can be characterized in terms of a geometrical property, the chirality. Some of the developed chiral structures were auxetic, longitudinal stretching resulting in lateral expansion, instead of contraction. The findings have applications in soft robotics and soft actuators.

Tohoku University scientists in Japan have developed a mathematical description of what happens within tiny magnets as they fluctuate between states when an electric current and magnetic field are applied. Their findings, published in the journal Nature Communications, could act as the foundation for engineering more advanced computers that can quantify uncertainty while interpreting complex data.

Researchers analyze the collapse of the Misasa Railroad Bridge in Japan — an infrastructure failure caused by unprecedented flooding back in 2018 — to inform future flood-resistant designs.