Dec
21
A Third Kind of Magnetism Proven
December 21, 2012 | 1 Comment
MIT researchers working from earlier theoretical predictions have just demonstrated experimentally, in a mineral called herbertsmithite, the existence of a fundamentally new kind of magnetic behavior, adding a third magnetism to the two previously known states of magnetism. MIT professor of physics Young Lee said, “We’re showing that there is a third fundamental state for […]
Dec
20
A Lower Cost Method to Capture Sulfur From Fuels
December 20, 2012 | 1 Comment
University of Illinois (UI) researchers have developed mats of metal oxide nanofibers that more effectively scrub sulfur from petroleum-based fuels than traditional materials. Sulfur is the chemical element that made acid rain such a nasty event downwind from coal and oil burning facilities. When burned sulfur is reformed into toxic acids that persist a short […]
Dec
19
A Higher Mileage Airplane
December 19, 2012 | Leave a Comment
Things in flight do entrance some of us. So news of a way to enhance the fuel economy is welcome news. Whether it’s the joy of watching the maneuvers in mid air or simply getting somewhere at lower cost to just cutting the effluent produced – more distance per fuel unit is a good thing. […]
Dec
18
A Deep Look Into Wood to Bio-Oil By Pyrolysis
December 18, 2012 | 7 Comments
North Carolina State University’s chemical and biomolecular engineer Dr. Phillip Westmoreland and doctoral student Vikram Seshadri looked at the molecular level when wood is rapidly heated to high temperatures in the absence of oxygen, a decomposition process known as pyrolysis. Much of the energy that can be extracted from wood exists in the cell wall […]
Dec
17
A Practical Way to Use Expensive Platinum
December 17, 2012 | 1 Comment
A research group at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has developed a method of depositing ultrathin layers of platinum atoms on a surface. Using a revised method of electrodeposition that’s relatively simple, fast and effective the team achieves the highly desired uniformity. Uniformity offers greatly reduced costs of the platinum and improves […]