Kenji Watanabe

Two sheets of graphene, pressed together through an ultra-thin spacer thinner than a human hair, work like a pair of mutual ironing boards: each layer smoothes out the other's bumps. Under these ideal conditions, electrons become incredibly light, and quantum marvels—like the fractional quantum Hall

Scientists built a sensor from boron nitride — a transparent cousin of graphite. It contains a glowing speck whose hue shifts with heat and flicker rate changes with magnetism. So one miniature device replaces both thermometer and magnetometer, with no cross-talk. The technology will find use in mic