News & Intelligence

Researchers at EPFL developed a graphene device to measure fractional electric charges in quasiparticles during the quantum Hall effect, revealing charges of one-third and two-thirds of an electron.

EPFL researchers, led by Nikita Kavokine at the Quantum Plumbing Lab, are studying water confined to nanometer-scale channels and found that electromagnetic coupling between water molecules and channel wall electrons creates a friction mechanism not predicted by classical hydrodynamics. For the carbon nanotubes sector, this work helps explain the anomalously fast water flow observed through carbon nanotubes and points toward nanotube-based systems capable of converting hydraulic energy or improving filtration efficiency.