At the core of this discovery, published in Science Advances, is barium titanate (BaTiO₃), a material known for its ability to convert light into electricity, though not very efficiently on its own.

The scientists found that by embedding thin layers of barium titanate between two other materials – strontium titanate and calcium titanate – they could create a structure that produces significantly more electricity than barium titanate alone, even while using less of it.

The improvement is striking. The layered structures generated up to 1,000 times more electricity than the same amount of standalone barium titanate. The researchers were also able to fine-tune this effect by adjusting the thickness of each layer, giving them control over the system’s performance.

The concatenation of both ideas allows us to conclude that entropy exchanges tend to zero when the temperature tends to zero (which is Nernst’s theorem) and that absolute zero is inaccessible.

Martin-Olalla points out that a fundamental problem in thermodynamics is to distinguish the sensation of temperature, the sensations of hot and cold, from the abstract concept of temperature as a physical quantity. In the discussion between Nernst and Einstein, temperature was merely an empirical parameter: the absolute zero condition was represented by the condition that the pressure or volume of a gas became close to zero.

Formally, the second principle of thermodynamics provides a more concrete idea of the natural zero of temperature. The idea is not related to any sensation, but to that engine imagined by Nernst but which has to be virtual. This radically changes the approach to the proof of the theorem.

Artificial light may be lengthening the growing season in urban environments by as much as 3 weeks compared to rural areas, according to an analysis of satellite data from 428 urban centers in the Northern Hemisphere over 7 years, published in Nature Cities.

Rapid urbanization is leading to hotter and brighter cities. More specifically, buildings and concrete absorb and radiate heat, causing urban heat islands, in which urban areas have higher atmospheric temperatures throughout the day and night compared to their surroundings. Likewise, the amount of artificial light at night has increased by 10% in cities within the past decade.

Light and temperature also largely regulate plant growing seasons. For example, increased lighting and temperature cause trees in cities to bud and flower earlier in the spring and change color later in the autumn than trees in rural surroundings. However, research has not thoroughly studied the magnitude of their individual or combined impacts.

Researchers have created a new ultra-strong carbon called MAC, eight times stronger than graphene, opening the door to durable technologies.

Cellulose, the main component of paper, can be turned into clear, waterproof objects such as cups that are almost indistinguishable from plastic, but break down more quickly