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Bahamut

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Diamond in the rough: Physicists invent super-rigid material using gemstones
Science & Space
March 16, 15:32 UTC+3
Fullerite is a molecular crystal where fullerene molecules are located in the lattice points with the fullerene being a football-shaped molecule consisting solely of carbon atoms
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© Kirill Kukhmar/TASS


MOSCOW, March 16. /TASS/. Russian physicists modeled a fullerite and diamond-based structure and demonstrated that when pressure was applied the fullerite acquired a super-strong rigidity, the MIPT press office said. This breakthrough sets the stage for estimating the possible conditions to produce the super-rigid materials. The results of the study were published in the journal Carbon.

Fullerite is a molecular crystal where fullerene molecules are located in the lattice points with the fullerene being a football-shaped molecule consisting solely of carbon atoms. The fullerene possesses an outstanding rigidity, whereas the fullerite is a rather soft material, which nevertheless upon pressure becomes harder than a diamond.



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"We hope that through our work, we will bring us closer to unlocking the mystery of ultrahard carbon. The developed model will help bring to light its properties and in synthesizing new ultra-hard carbon materials," Pavel Sorokin, the author of the research commented.

The reasons why fullerite becomes extremely hard once pressure is applied have been clarified by a group of scientists from Technological Institute for Superhard and Novel Carbon Materials (TISNCM), Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT), Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology (Skoltech), and the National University of Science and Technology "MISIS" under the guidance of Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Professor Leonid Chernozatonsky from the N.M. Emmanuel Institute of Biochemical Physics RAS, and Pavel Sorokin, Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, leading researcher at the laboratory "Inorganic Nanomaterials" at MISIS and MIPT lecturer.


The researchers believe that upon contraction part of the fullerite evolves into a diamond-like carbon while the rest preserve its structure. The scientists developed a model where the structure in the contracted state has been encapsulated in a diamond, and have studied its properties. Essentially, the contracted fullerite is kept by the diamond’s shell giving an extreme rigidity to the whole structure.

During the course of the research, it turned out that with an increase in the size of fullerite cluster, while retaining the sizes of the diamond’s shell, the characteristics became very similar to the experimental one, with the material’s rigidity notably outdoing the features for diamonds.

The researchers believe that the results will promote further steps in researching fullerite.
 
Bahamut

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Will Intel buy a stake in a leading Russian AI developer?
March 16, 2017 VICTORIA ZAVYALOVA, RBTH
Following acquisition of Mobileye, the Israeli company that makes vision-based collision avoidance systems, Intel is looking for other opportunities in autonomous driving technology. According to RBTH’s source, the American tech giant is in talks with Cognitive Technologies, a leading Russian AI developer.
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Intel agreed to buy Mobileye for $15.3 billion. Source: Mobileye

On March 13, Intel agreed to buy Mobileye for $15.3 billion, and when the deal closes in about nine months the American company will be a leader on the autonomous driving market.

Intel’s voracious appetite, however, has also brought it to Russia where it’s already in talks with Cognitive Technologies, a pioneer of AI-based driver assistance systems. Olga Uskova, president of Cognitive Technologies, confirmed that her company is in discussions with seven investment funds, including Intel Capital, a division of Intel Corporation.

“We’re now offering 15-20 percent of our company to investors and planning to close the deal by the end of 2017,” said Uskova.

Intel spokesmen declined to comment on the company's plans.

Advanced Driver Assistance Systems. / Photo: Mobileye

The main reason for the additional investment is to speed up the process of entering global markets, Uskova told RBTH. The Russian company already opened an office in the Netherlands and plans to establish a subsidiary in California.

“Our goal is to accelerate our access to the international market and take advantage of the window of opportunity open now,” Uskova said. “The market of computer vision systems and unmanned vehicles is in the early stage of formation. If we do not secure a place now, then there’s the risk that we’ll fall behind competitors who develop unmanned technologies and remain a local player.”

The Russian AI developer claims its main advantage over competitors is a more advanced artificial intelligence that allows the autonomous-driving system to work well even in bad weather, as well as on bad roads when street signs are lacking and the road surface is damaged.

Cognitive Technologies is also discussing supply deals with three international companies. In 2016, the company has developed C-Pilot, an intelligent autonomous driving system that can be installed in cars and other vehicles. The technology can be embedded in international automakers systems.

Earlier, Cognitive Technologies reported plans later in 2017 to unveil an advance driver assistance system with artificial intelligence, ADAS, for Russia's KAMAZ truck. The prototype is now released and can be industrially produced at the end of 2017.
 
Bahamut

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New material helps use light to record data

17 Mar '17
Physicists at the St. Petersburg-based ITMO University have partnered with colleagues in Germany and the Netherlands in research and experiments that change parameters of the light to create quasiparticles known as excitons, which are fully controlled and enable the recording of data at room temperatures.

The particles are a transitional form between photons and electrons, and the researchers hope the discovery will help develop compact optoelectronic devices for fast recording and processing of an optical signal. The proposed method is based on a novel class of material known as metal-organic framework with van der Waals forces operating in between the layers of the material.

The scientists not only succeeded in creating excitons at room temperatures but also learned how to control the quasiparticles with an ultra-high sensitivity of a few hundred femtoseconds. On top of that, they now know how to activate the excitons by changing distance between the layers.

The exciton is no news to scientists in the world, and it could already have been used to develop a fundamentally new family of super-compact and remarkably energy-efficient devices. All the prototypes of exciton-based devices, however, either can only operate at very low temperatures or are too complicated to make.
Siberian georadar to look for road defects in real time

15 Mar '17
Scientists at the Tomsk State University (TSU) in Siberia are working on software for real-time analysis of data obtained with a georadar during road scanning, TSU announced. The software is expected to be able to generate 3D images of roadbed layers for composition analysis and identification of construction flaws and/or defects caused by vehicles or weather conditions.

“Today, to check the roadbed specialists have to break it to take a piece and then analyze in a lab. Our georadar is fixed on a vehicle and can scan the roadbed with radio waves in real time as the vehicle is moving, leaving the road intact. The radar can “see” a line of the road two meters wide,” said Ilya Tseplyaev, a TSU postgraduate and the developer of the project.

Data collected by the radar is then processed with the help of proprietary software Mr. Tseplyaev has developed. Based on fast radio image development algorithms, the software is said to be able to generate 3D images of every crack, air inclusion or alien object, and other defects roads typically have. Monitoring the situation will help authorities better supervise the construction of new roadbeds and repairs of old ones.

The system is GPS compatible and will show the exact location of a flaw on a road for repair crews to be able to swiftly arrive and address the problem, and also create a map of dangerous spots on the road.

The GRT-XX georadar was designed by Radiovidenie, a TSU spinoff start-up, in collaboration with Moscow’s Gelion Group.
 
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