Concrete contains a diversity of materials that scatter sound waves and make clear imaging difficult to obtain. In Applied Physics Letters, researchers created a high-resolution 3D ultrasonic imaging system for concrete that automatically adapts to different types of structures, sending frequencies into the material and using a vibrometer to capture the outcoming waves. The system can handle a wide range of frequencies, which means that even if ultrasonic waves are scattered by materials in the concrete, those that do make it through are still detected.

Researchers at the University of Rochester’s Institute of Optics have developed a new process that turns ordinary metal tubes unsinkable—meaning they will stay afloat no matter how long they are forced into water or how heavily they are damaged. The researchers describe their process for creating aluminum tubes with remarkable floating abilities in a study published in Advanced Functional Materials. By etching the interior of aluminum tubes, the researchers create micro- and nano-pits on the surface that turn it superhydrophobic, repelling water and staying dry.

Sunbeams contain a lot of energy. But current technology for harvesting solar power doesn’t capture as much as it could. Now, in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, researchers report that gold nanospheres, named supraballs, can absorb nearly all wavelengths in sunlight — including some that traditional photovoltaic materials miss. Applying a layer of supraballs onto a commercially available electricity converter demonstrated that the technology nearly doubled solar energy absorption compared to traditional materials.

Researchers at AppliedPhysics.org report early evidence that cells respond selectively to mathematically structured sound, not just acoustic power. In an exploratory Biosystems study, Fibonacci based acoustic signals triggered distinct responses across different cell types, suggesting sound can be tuned to cellular size and mechanics rather than applied as brute force.

The findings point to a potential new direction for cancer research: using low intensity, physics driven acoustic design to target physical differences between cancer and healthy cells. While preliminary and based on model organisms, the work opens the door to a future of more precise, less invasive, mechanically selective therapies.

Carbon nanohoops, or [n]cycloparaphenylenes ([n]CPPs), are ring-shaped molecules with exceptional optical properties but are difficult to synthesize and functionalize. Researchers in Japan have now used a gold-mediated synthetic strategy to construct a hexabrominated [9]CPP derivative, providing a versatile and scalable platform for post-functionalization. Using this scaffold, they created π-extended chiral nanohoops that exhibit extremely high g_lum value in their circularly polarized luminescence, opening new pathways for advanced optoelectronic materials and precisely designed nanocarbon architectures.