AI Simulates Billions of Atoms — A New Era in Green Materials Begins
Researchers at USC have developed Allegro-FM, a groundbreaking AI model capable of simulating the behavior of over 4 billion atoms simultaneously — 1,000× more than previous methods, and with 97.5% accuracy.
Why does it matter? The goal is nothing short of revolutionary: to create carbon-neutral concrete.
Professor Nakano explains:
“Just place CO₂ into the concrete, and it becomes carbon neutral.”
This means we could trap greenhouse gases inside building materials — turning one of the world’s most polluting industries into a climate solution. (Cement production currently accounts for 8% of global emissions.)
Bonus: this concrete could last centuries, not decades. Inspired by ancient Roman materials that have survived 2,000 years, researchers aim to far exceed today’s standard concrete lifespan of just 100 years.
The future of construction may be built not just by hands — but by atomically-precise AI.
#AI #MaterialsScience #ClimateTech #Simulation #GreenBuilding
@science
Researchers at USC have developed Allegro-FM, a groundbreaking AI model capable of simulating the behavior of over 4 billion atoms simultaneously — 1,000× more than previous methods, and with 97.5% accuracy.
Why does it matter? The goal is nothing short of revolutionary: to create carbon-neutral concrete.
Professor Nakano explains:
“Just place CO₂ into the concrete, and it becomes carbon neutral.”
This means we could trap greenhouse gases inside building materials — turning one of the world’s most polluting industries into a climate solution. (Cement production currently accounts for 8% of global emissions.)
Bonus: this concrete could last centuries, not decades. Inspired by ancient Roman materials that have survived 2,000 years, researchers aim to far exceed today’s standard concrete lifespan of just 100 years.
The future of construction may be built not just by hands — but by atomically-precise AI.
#AI #MaterialsScience #ClimateTech #Simulation #GreenBuilding
@science
USC Viterbi | School of Engineering
Discovering New Materials: AI Can Simulate Billions of Atoms Simultaneously
Allegro-FM achieves breakthrough scalability for materials research, enabling simulations 1,000 times larger than previous models.
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💡 Scientists Made a Semiconductor That Can Be Reprogrammed With Light
Most computer chips are born with a fixed job. Once a semiconductor is fabricated, its electrical properties are largely locked in.
Researchers at Princeton have now created an ultrathin semiconductor — only a few molecules thick — that can repeatedly change how it conducts electricity in response to different wavelengths of light. The effect is reversible, meaning the material can be programmed, erased and programmed again.
The team achieved this by combining a two-dimensional semiconductor with light-sensitive molecules that physically change shape when illuminated. Those molecular changes alter the semiconductor’s electronic and optical behavior. And unlike a simple binary switch, the response can be adjusted gradually rather than just flipped between “0” and “1.”
The researchers have already produced uniform samples about one inch across and built arrays of programmable electronic switches. Their next goal is to connect them into functioning circuits.
The broader idea is striking: instead of manufacturing a chip for one fixed purpose, future electronics might be able to change their own physical behavior after they are built.
Software is already reprogrammable.
Now the hardware itself is starting to learn the trick.
#Semiconductors #Computing #MaterialsScience #Photonics #Technology #Science
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.aee1510
Most computer chips are born with a fixed job. Once a semiconductor is fabricated, its electrical properties are largely locked in.
Researchers at Princeton have now created an ultrathin semiconductor — only a few molecules thick — that can repeatedly change how it conducts electricity in response to different wavelengths of light. The effect is reversible, meaning the material can be programmed, erased and programmed again.
The team achieved this by combining a two-dimensional semiconductor with light-sensitive molecules that physically change shape when illuminated. Those molecular changes alter the semiconductor’s electronic and optical behavior. And unlike a simple binary switch, the response can be adjusted gradually rather than just flipped between “0” and “1.”
The researchers have already produced uniform samples about one inch across and built arrays of programmable electronic switches. Their next goal is to connect them into functioning circuits.
The broader idea is striking: instead of manufacturing a chip for one fixed purpose, future electronics might be able to change their own physical behavior after they are built.
Software is already reprogrammable.
Now the hardware itself is starting to learn the trick.
#Semiconductors #Computing #MaterialsScience #Photonics #Technology #Science
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.aee1510
Science Advances
Large-area, photo-programmable 2D semiconductors with chromic molecular functionalization
Large-area films of atomically thin hybrid heterostructures enable light-programmable electronics.
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