Aestus Ajith

This shows the atomic structure of SrTiO3(110). Credit: Vienna University of Technology Usually, microelectronic devices are made of silicon or similar semiconductors. Recently, the electronic properties of metal oxides have become quite interesting. These materials are more complex, yet offer a broader range of possibilities to tune their properties. An important breakthrough has now been achieved at the Vienna University of Technology: a two dimensional electron gas was created in strontium titanate. In a thin layer just below the surface electrons can move freely and occupy different quantum states. Strontium titanate is not only a potential future alternative to standard semiconductors, it could also exhibit interesting phenomena, such as superconductivity, thermoelectricity or magnetic effects that do not occur in the  materials  that are used for today's electronic devices. The Surface Layer and the Inside This project closely links theoretical calculations an...

Scientists in Germany said Wednesday they had made the most precise measurement yet of the mass of the electron, one of the building blocks of matter.  PLAY VIDEO LHC Collides At Record Speeds The Large Hadron Collider is breaking records by smashing protons together at record energies. Discovery News' James Williams and Ian O'Neill explain what's going on and why it matters. GETTY IMAGES The feat should provide a useful tool for scientists testing the "Standard Model" of physics -- the most widely-accepted theory of the particles and forces that comprise the Universe, they said. ANALYSIS: Higgs Boson Discovery = Cosmic Doomsday? Electrons are particles with a negative electrical charge that orbit the nucleus of an atom. They were discovered in 1897 by Britain's Joseph John ("J.J.") Thomson, who dubbed them "corpuscles" -- a name later changed to "electron" because of its connection with electrical char...