In the drive to find new ways to extend electronics beyond the use of silicon, physicists are experimenting with other properties of electrons, beyond charge. In work published today (Dec 7) in the journal Science, a team led by Penn State professor of physics Jun Zhu describes a way to manipulate electrons based on their energy in relation to momentum — called “valley degree of freedom.”

A team of materials scientists from Penn State, Cornell and Argonne National Laboratory have, for the first time, visualized the 3D atomic and electron density structure of the most complex perovskite crystal structure system decoded to date.

An undesirable trait found in traditionally processed superalloys does not exist in a 3D-printed, nickel-based superalloy, according to a team of materials scientists who think this could lead to new manufacturing techniques that allow for alloys with tailored properties.