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Recent advances have brought negative index materials and their fascinating properties from their theoretical origins into the domain of experimental physics and device engineering.
The realization of metamaterials with a negative index of refraction has created great opportunities for novel applications. John Pendry talks to Nature Materials about his key contributions to the field and his passion for physics.
Since the 1940s DNA has been known as the genetic material connected to heredity, and from the early 1980s it has also been considered as a potential structural material for nanoscale construction. Now, a hydrogel made entirely of DNA brings this molecule into the realm of bulk materials.
Despite their huge commercial success, the physical reasons for the high luminescence efficiency of (In,Ga)N light-emitting diodes are poorly understood. New experiments provide direct evidence for the crucial role of local atomic configurations on the material's high brightness.
Hypersonic phononic crystals provide a wealth of opportunities to reflect, focus and localize high-frequency acoustic waves. Using colloidal crystals for this purpose provides opportunities for simplified fabrication and flexible tuning of the properties.
New research results emerging from semiconductor physics and technology continue to surprise us. At a recent conference, it was nanoscale structures that captured particular attention.