Biosolar breakthrough promises cheap, easy green electricity

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 09:22:22 EST

Scientists are turning the term "power plant" on its head. A team of researchers has developed a system that taps into photosynthetic processes to produce efficient and inexpensive energy.
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Powering pacemakers with heartbeat vibrations

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 18:14:14 EST

Aerospace engineers have developed a prototype device that could power a pacemaker using a source that is surprisingly close to the heart of the matter: vibrations in the chest cavity that are due mainly to heartbeats.
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Data storage: Magnetic memories

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 10:28:28 EST

Magnetic random-access memory based on new spin transfer technology achieves higher storage density by packing multiple bits of data into each memory cell.
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New tool determines value of solar photovoltaic power systems

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 09:49:49 EST

Consistent appraisals of real estate outfitted with photovoltaic installations are a challenge for the nation's real estate industry, but a new tool addresses that issue.
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Terahertz polarizer nears perfection: Research leads to nanotube-based device for communication, security, sensing

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 17:26:26 EST

Researchers are using carbon nanotubes as the critical component of a robust terahertz polarizer that could accelerate the development of new security and communication devices, sensors and non-invasive medical imaging systems as well as fundamental studies of low-dimensional condensed matter systems.
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Superfluorescence seen from solid-state material: Many bodies make one coherent burst of light

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 17:26:26 EST

In a flash, the world changed for Tim Noe -- and for physicists who study what they call many-body problems. The graduate student was the first to see, in the summer of 2010, proof of a theory that solid-state materials are capable of producing an effect known as superfluorescence.
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Rap music powers rhythmic action of medical sensor

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 15:21:21 EST

The driving bass rhythm of rap music can be harnessed to power a new type of miniature medical sensor designed to be implanted in the body.
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In solar cells, tweaking the tiniest of parts yields big jump in efficiency

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 18:45:45 EST

By tweaking the smallest of parts, engineers are hoping to dramatically increase the amount of sunlight that solar cells convert into electricity.
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Transparency limits on transparent conducting oxides identified

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 10:15:15 EST

Computational materials researchers have used cutting-edge calculations to determine fundamental optical transparency limits in conducting oxide material tin oxide.
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Perfectly spherical gold nanodroplets produced with the smallest-ever nanojets

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 20:54:54 EST

Scientists have developed a new method for optical manipulation of matter at the nanoscale. Using ‘plasmonic hotspots’ – regions with electric current that heat up very locally – gold nanostructures can be melted and made to produce the smallest nanojets ever observed. The tiny gold nanodroplets formed in the nanojets, are perfectly spherical, which makes them interesting for applications in medicine.
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Superconducting current limiter guarantees electricity supply of the Boxberg power plant

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 10:20:20 EST

For the first time, a superconducting current limiter based on YBCO strip conductors has now been installed at a power plant. At the Boxberg power plant of Vattenfall, the current limiter protects the grid for own consumption that is designed for 12,000 volts and 800 amperes against damage due to short circuits and voltage peaks.
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Particle-free silver ink prints small, high-performance electronics

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 09:36:36 EST

Materials scientists have developed a new reactive silver ink for printing high-performance electronics on ubiquitous, low-cost materials such as flexible plastic, paper or fabric substrates. The reactive ink has several advantages over particle-based inks: low processing temperature, high conductivity, and the ability to print very small features.
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Improving performance of electric induction motors

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 11:26:26 EST

New research describes advanced motor control devices. These control devices are units designed to correct errors and improve the performance of the motors. This researcher has opted for cutting-edge models and has developed them so that they can be applied to an induction motor, and in this way he has transferred them from theory to practice.
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Quick-cooking nanomaterials in microwave to make tomorrow's air conditioners

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 14:04:04 EST

Engineering researchers have developed a new method for creating advanced nanomaterials that could lead to highly efficient refrigerators and cooling systems requiring no refrigerants and no moving parts. The key ingredients for this innovation are a dash of nanoscale sulfur and a normal, everyday microwave oven.
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3-D view of 1-D nanostructures

Fri, 06 Jan 2012 11:06:06 EST

Semiconductor gallium nitride nanowires show great promise in the next generation of nano- and optoelectronic systems. Recently, researchers have found new piezoelectric properties of the nanowires that could make them more useful in self-powered nanodevices.
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Graphene rips follow rules

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 14:57:57 EST

Researchers may give science and industry a new way to manipulate graphene, which naturally rips along armchair and zigzag paths.
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Go to work on a Christmas card: UK's wrapping paper and festive cards could provide energy to send a bus to the moon more than 20 times

Fri, 23 Dec 2011 09:13:13 EST

If all the UK's discarded wrapping paper and Christmas cards were collected and fermented, they could make enough biofuel to run a double-decker bus to the moon and back more than 20 times, according to the researchers behind a new scientific study.
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Paint-on solar cells developed

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 21:13:13 EST

Imagine if the next coat of paint you put on the outside of your home generates electricity from light -- electricity that can be used to power the appliances and equipment on the inside. Scientists have just created an inexpensive "solar paint" that uses semiconducting nanoparticles to produce energy.
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Record conductivity achieved in strained lattice organic semiconductor

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 14:03:03 EST

By packing molecules closer together, chemical engineers have dramatically improved the electrical conductivity of organic semiconductors. The advance could herald flexible electronics, more efficient solar panels, and perhaps even better television screens.
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Prototype device measures absolute optical power in fiber at nanowatt levels

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 10:58:58 EST

Researchers have demonstrated the first prototype device that measures optical power delivered through optical fiber at nanowatt levels.
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Mystery of car battery's current solved

Tue, 20 Dec 2011 19:33:33 EST

Chemists have solved the 150 year-old mystery of what gives the lead-acid battery, found under the bonnet of most cars, its unique ability to deliver a surge of current.
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New method significantly reduces production costs of fuel cells

Tue, 20 Dec 2011 13:37:37 EST

Researchers have developed a new and significantly cheaper method of manufacturing fuel cells. A noble metal nanoparticle catalyst for fuel cells is prepared using atomic layer deposition.
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Researchers measure nanometer scale temperature

Mon, 19 Dec 2011 20:39:39 EST

Researchers have developed a new kind of electro-thermal nanoprobe that can independently control voltage and temperature at a nanometer-scale point contact. It can also measure the temperature-dependent voltage at a nanometer-scale point contact.
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The onset of electrical resistance

Fri, 16 Dec 2011 08:42:42 EST

Researchers have observed the extremely fast onset of electrical resistance in a semiconductor by following electron motions in real-time.
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Discovery of a 'dark state' could mean a brighter future for solar energy

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 14:16:16 EST

The efficiency of conventional solar cells could be significantly increased, according to new research on the mechanisms of solar energy conversion.
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Ramping up wind energy research

Wed, 14 Dec 2011 12:58:58 EST

As the percentage of wind energy contributing to the power grid continues to increase, the variable nature of wind can make it difficult to keep the generation and the load balanced. But recent work may help this balance through a project that alerts control room operators of wind conditions and energy forecasts so they can make well-informed scheduling decisions. This is especially important during extreme events, such as ramps, when there is a sharp increase or decrease in the wind speed over a short period of time, which leads to a large rise or fall in the amount of power generated.
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New game to raise awareness of energy

Sun, 11 Dec 2011 22:19:19 EST

An energy quiz which tests people's knowledge of the amount of energy used by various devices and processes, such as leaving the lights switched on the Christmas tree, has now been developed.
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New solar-powered classroom brings science to schools in developing countries

Fri, 09 Dec 2011 12:31:31 EST

An innovative project is using solar generators to provide IT resources and 'hands-on' science for students in developing countries.
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Building a sustainable hydrogen economy

Thu, 08 Dec 2011 12:10:10 EST

The concept of the hydrogen economy (HE), in which hydrogen would replace the carbon-based fossil fuels of the twentieth century was first mooted in the 1970s. Today, HE is seen as a potential solution to the dual global crises of climate change and dwindling oil reserves. A research article suggests that HE is wrong and SHE has the answer in the sustainable hydrogen economy.
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Proton beam experiments open new areas of research

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 14:06:06 EST

By focusing proton beams using high-intensity lasers, a team of scientists has discovered a new way to heat material and create new states of matter in the laboratory. In a new report, researchers unveiled new findings about how proton beams can be used in myriad applications.
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