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Five high-performance microscopes at the University of Münster Many people are as fascinated by the microworld and the nanoworld as others are by the cosmos or the deep seas. These worlds seem to be inaccessible, apparently hidden from human eyes. However, across a wide range of disciplines, microscopes make it possible to take ever deeper and more precise looks at the smallest of details, and in ever higher resolutions - right down to atomic structures.

Physicists investigate 2D materials with very special properties Postdoc Dr. Nihit Saigal, a member of Prof. Ursula Wurstbauer's team at Münster University's Institute of Physics, has got everything ready in the laboratory to produce an ultra-thin, two-dimensional material - a silver-coloured crystal of molybdenum disulphide, a viscoelastic polymer film.

Water is a major driving force in the formation of separate reaction compartments within cells. In order to fulfil their function, biological cells need to be divided into separate reaction compartments. This is sometimes done with membranes, and sometimes without them: the spontaneous segregation of certain types of biomolecules leads to the formation of so-called condensates.

Interview with Prof. Robert Wille on quantum computing software Most of us use software applications on a daily basis, for example when writing emails or surfing the internet. But how will future programs look like when new technologies such as quantum computers arrive on the scene? Prof. Robert Wille and his team are already developing the software of tomorrow today.

Scientists from the Friedrich Schiller University Jena and the Friedrich Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg have successfully developed nanomaterials using a so-called bottom-up approach. As reported in the scientific journal ACS Nano, they exploit the fact that crystals often grow in a specific direction during crystallisation.

Team of researchers including Göttingen University detect Magnus effect at microscopic level Whether you are familiar with the term -Magnus effect- or not, you have certainly seen it in action. It is when a spinning ball - for instance in football, cricket or baseball - bends away from its expected trajectory, often to the surprise of the opposing team.

Before the light comes on and a new star shines, enough gas and dust must accumulate in a very small space for a star's energy source, nuclear fusion, to ignite. This by no means happens at rest. Matter swirls around, and before the star sees the light of day, violent birth labour is not uncommon. The new James Webb Space Telescope has turned its lens on such a spectacle, which reveals itself in unprecedented detail.

Research team at Göttingen University develops plasmonic molecules from nanoparticles In the incredibly small world of molecules, the elementary building blocks - the atoms - join together in a very regular pattern. In contrast, in the macroscopic world with its larger particles, there is much greater disorder when particles connect.

Theoretical extension of parametric amplification Possibility discovered for more sensitive sensors Sensors in electronic devices work with high-frequency signals. For maximum accuracy in the measurements, the parametric amplification effect is used. Researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) are investigating how this effect can significantly expand the functionality of sensors.

Göttingen researchers use mathematical model to identify new mechanism for control of phase separation The very first life on earth is thought to have developed from -protocells liquid mixtures of many different types of molecules. Researchers from the University of Göttingen have now shown that in such mixtures, small imbalances in the number of molecules of different types can have an unexpected effect.

New physics-based self-learning machines could replace the current artificial neural networks and save energy Artifical intelligence not only affords impressive performance, but also creates significant demand for energy. The more demanding the tasks for which it is trained, the more energy it consumes.

Chemical on-surface synthesis under extremely clean conditions permits controlled synthesis of N'heterocyclic ballbot-type polymers N'heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) are small, reactive ring molecules which bond well with metallic surfaces and which, over the past few years, have attracted a great deal of interest in the field of the stable chemical modification of metallic surfaces.

Research team led by physicist from Freie Universität Berlin develops quality tests for quantum computers Quantum technologies, and especially quantum computers, are considered a promising technology for the future. It is hoped that they will solve problems that even the fastest supercomputers are currently practically unable to handle.

A research team led by a physicist at Freie Universität Berlin has developed a series of quality control tests for quantum computers and published a study in Nature Communications on the topic Quantum technologies - and quantum computers in particular - have the potential to shape the development of technology in the future.

Organogels: New cleaning agent for artworks investigated with neutrons at the FRM II The restoration of artworks often involves solvents which have toxic properties. Now researchers have succeeded for the first time in creating a non-toxic and sustainable cleaning agent for paintings. Scientists at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) Research Neutron Source Heinz Maier-Leibnitz (FRM II) investigated the structure of the agent, referred to as an organogel.

Researchers from the Department of Physics at Universität Hamburg, observed a quantum state that was theoretically predicted more than 50 years ago by Japanese theoreticians but so far eluded detection. By tailoring an artificial atom on the surface of a superconductor, the researchers succeeded in pairing the electrons of the so-called quantum dot, thereby inducing the smallest possible version of a superconductor.

Catalysis scheme developed at the University of Bonn is inexpensive, sustainable, and effective A novel catalysis scheme enables chemical reactions that were previously virtually impossible. The method developed at the University of Bonn is also environmentally friendly and does not require rare and precious metals.

Researchers at the Humboldt University of Berlin have demonstrated a surprising effect present in the fluorescent light of a single atom. Researchers headed by Jürgen Volz and Arno Rauschenbeutel from the Department of Physics at the Humboldt University of Berlin have gained new insights into the scattering of light by a fluorescent atom, which could also be useful for quantum communication.

An international team has fitted the core element of the Belle II experiment at the KEK research center in Japan The Belle II cooperation project at the Japanese research center KEK is helping researchers from all over the world to hunt for new phenomena in particle physics. The international experiment has now reached a major milestone after a team successfully installed a new pixel detector in its final location in Japan.

Freiburg physicist provided evidence for interdisciplinary project by the Natural History Museum Bern In an interdisciplinary study by the Natural History Museum Bern, led by geologist Beda Hofmann , researchers have proven that a Bronze Age arrowhead found in Mörigen on Lake Biel, Switzerland, was definitely made of meteoritic iron.