HEADLINES ARCHIVE
Solar Cell Performance Improved with Blu-ray Disc
A solar cell scatters light more effectively when it is textured rather than smooth, increasing its efficiency. Scientists have searched for the most effective texture with a reasonable manufacturing cost.
Industrial Pump Derived from Bird Wing Motion
Birds manipulate airflow each time they flap their wings, pushing air in one direction and moving themselves in another. Two New York University researchers, Benjamin Thiria and Jun Zhang, have created a pump that moves fluid using vibration similar to a bird's motion.
Paper-thin Nanofiber Has Potential for Electronics and EVs
Researchers have developed a paper-like material for lithium-ion batteries that has the potential to boost by several time the amount of energy that can be delivered per unit weight of the battery.
Engineers Could Learn About Material Strength from Limpet Teeth
Researchers from the University of Portsmouth have found that the material that makes up the teeth of small aquatic snails known as limpets may be the strongest natural material on Earth.
Leap in Conductivity Measured When a Semiconductor Is Exposed to High Pressure
Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICN2) obtained conductivity values for stroncium iridate that were 250 times higher than in normal conditions.
Researchers Identify Possible Silicon Substitute for Future Electronics
A new form of germanium, germanane, may emerge as a viable replacement to silicon in future electronic devices, leading to more efficient LEDs and lasers, according to researchers at Ohio State University.
Web Surfing Using Light: Is LiFi Coming?
Researchers at Oxford University are developing a wireless networking technology that uses light to beam information through the air at more than 100 gigabits per second, according to a report in The New Zealand Herald.
Gases Excluded from Montreal Climate Deal Are Harming Ozone, Researchers Say
A report finds that a man-made chemical, dichloromethane, which is not included in a United Nations treaty aimed at protecting the ozone layer, is contributing to ozone depletion.
Engineering Buildings That Rock in an Earthquake
Buildings that rock during an earthquake and return to plumb would withstand seismic shaking better than structural designs commonly used in vulnerable zones, according to a researcher at Case Western Reserve University in Ohio.
Hawaiian Utility to Double Its Solar Hosting Capacity
Hawaiian Electric Cos. (HECO) is proposing to double its hosting capacity for solar energy. The utility announced its intentions in late January to increase its penetration limits for rooftop solar minimum daytime load (MDL) from 120% to 250% of MDL. Those increases would be among the highest thresholds for solar penetration on distribution circuits in the U.S.
Bendable Implant Taps Nervous System without Damaging It
Body implants that can interface with the nervous system run up against a basic material problem: wires are stiff and bodies are soft. Researchers at the École Polytechnique Fédérale, in Lausanne, Switzerland, have designed a soft, flexible electronic implant, which they say has the same ability to bend and stretch as dura mater, the membrane that surrounds the brain and spinal cord.
Method Recovers High-value Metals for Industry
Researchers at the University of Guanajuato (UGTO) in Mexico have developed an extraction column which recovers metals companies use in their production processes to avoid environmental pollution and lessening economic losses.
Device Could Strengthen Security Screening Capabilities
Engineers at Northwestern University built a compact version of a device that uses terahertz waves for the purpose of imaging, to identify explosives, chemical agents and dangerous biological substances from safe distances.
Nanoscale Mirrors Make Data Transfers More Secure
New research performed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory reveals the constructing of tiny "mirrors" to trap light around impurity atoms in diamond crystals, the team dramatically increased the efficiency with which photons transmit information about those atoms' electronic spin states, which can be used to store quantum information.
Safran Opens Research and Technology Center
Safran has inaugurated a research and technology center in Paris, France, to focus on electric aircraft, new aircraft propulsion architectures and information and communications technologies.
Kevlar Barrier Could Lead to Safer Lithium-ion Batteries
The battery technology innovation is an advanced barrier between the electrodes in a lithium-ion battery, reports University of Michigan.
Carbon Sequestration: Less Rock Created than Expected?
Carbon sequestration is a process that injects carbon dioxide deep below the Earth’s surface where it solidifies into rock.
Engineers Aim to Bring "Cold Spray" 3D Printing to Space
A team of engineers from Trinity College Dublin are leading a project to fine-tune “cold spray” (CS), a technology that deposits materials onto engineering components.
Engineers Build a Hand-held Lab
Engineers at University of British Columbia’s (UBC) Okanagan campus have developed a lab powerful enough to look at microscopic drops of fluid and identify harmful pathogens, like those responsible for HIV, AIDS, and hepatitis, but also small enough to fit in your hand.
Signal Amplification Process Could Transform Communications
Researchers at the University of California, San Diego (USCD), say they have discovered a new signal amplification process that may fuel new generations of electrical and photonic devices.