Aug
31
Electrons Can Be Ultra Fast
August 31, 2016 | Leave a Comment
Researchers at ETH Zurich have investigated how fast electrons can ultimately be controlled with electric fields. The ETH team’s work is important for the petahertz electronic speed ranges of the future. Electronic components have become faster and faster over the years, thus making powerful computers and other technologies possible. Speed is the basis for technologies […]
Aug
30
A New Catalyst Turns CO2 Back Into a Fuel Precursor
August 30, 2016 | 1 Comment
Scientists from the University of Toronto (UT) believe they’ve found a catalytic way to convert CO2 emissions back into energy-rich fuel precursor. They have developed a process to convert these emissions in a carbon-neutral cycle that uses a very abundant natural resource: silicon. Readily available in sand, it’s the seventh most-abundant element in the universe […]
Aug
25
Penn State Offers A New Ultra Capacitor Design
August 25, 2016 | 1 Comment
Penn State Materials Research Institute scientists have developed a polymer dielectric material with high energy density, high power density and excellent charge-discharge efficiency for electric and hybrid vehicle use. The key is a unique three-dimensional sandwich-like structure that protects the dense electric field in the polymer/ceramic composite from dielectric breakdown. The team’s results have been […]
Aug
24
Breakthrough Polymer Sets Up Low Cost Fuel Cell Development
August 24, 2016 | Leave a Comment
A newly discovered polymer-based material could bridge the gap between the operating temperature ranges of two existing types of polymer fuel cells. The breakthrough offers the potential of a new class of fuel cells to accelerate the commercialization of low-cost fuel cells for automotive and stationary applications. The Los Alamos National Laboratory team, in collaboration […]
Aug
23
The Cleverest Steam Generator Ever
August 23, 2016 | Leave a Comment
MIT engineers have invented a bubble-wrapped, sponge-like device that soaks up natural sunlight and heats water to boiling temperatures, generating steam through its pores. Bubble wrap and a sponge? The design the researchers call a ‘solar vapor generator’ requires no expensive mirrors or lenses to concentrate the sunlight, but instead relies on a combination of […]