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Showing posts from February, 2022

Metasurface-based antenna turns ambient radio waves into electric power

https://phys.org/news/2022-02-metasurface-based-antenna-ambient-radio-electric.html "device, which measured 16 cm by 16 cm... changing the power and frequency of a radio source between 0.7 and 2.0 GHz... ability to harvest 100 microwatts of power from radio waves with an intensity of just 0.4 microwatts per centimeter squared... intensity of the radio waves 100 meters from a cell phone tower... placed a cell phone very close to the antenna during a phone call, and it captured enough energy to power an LED... more practical to harvest energy from cell phone towers" Related: Decreasing transmission power with antenna-based focused radiation power https://techxplore.com/news/2022-03-decreasing-transmission-power-antenna-based-focused.html Solar Antenna technology from NovaSolix: Twice as efficient and 80% less expensive than photo-voltaic technology https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2017/04/05/1376406/0/en/Solar-Antenna-technology-from-NovaSolix-Twice-as-efficient-and-8

A potential breakthrough for production of superior battery technology

https://www.chalmers.se/en/departments/mc2/news/Pages/A-potential-breakthrough-for-production-of-superior-battery-technology.aspx "spin coating, a cornerstone technique in many manufacturing processes... alkylamine chains in reduced graphene oxide, to show how that leads to a higher charging and storage capacity... scalable and would involve reduced costs for the manufacturing process... micro-supercapacitors of up to ten different materials in one unified manufacturing process, which means that properties can be easily tailored to suit several different end applications"
  https://today.umd.edu/30m-investment-charges-up-battery-company-founded-at-umd "ION Storage Systems de-risks electrification for (original equipment manufacturers) with a safer, lower cost and more energy dense battery that is also robust to critical battery materials, such as lithium, cobalt and nickel. Automotive and aviation OEMs are already gaining competitive advantages through partnership with ION"

Ferroelectric tunnel junction enables superior neuro-inspired computing

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-02-ferroelectric-tunnel-junction-enables-superior.html "novel FTJ synapse based on Ag/PbZr0.52Ti0.48O3 (PZT, (111)-oriented)/Nb:SrTiO3... target of the simulation was to recognize fashion product images in F-MNIST dataset, and a high recognition of 94.7% based on 256 states was achieved. The performance was comparable to that achieved by floating-point-based software... ON/OFF ratio was as high as 200, and an endurance up to 109 was also achieved"

Stronger materials could bloom with new images of plastic flow

https://phys.org/news/2022-02-stronger-materials-bloom-images-plastic.html "Most people are using relatively small electron energies in UED experiments, but we are using 100 times more energetic electrons in our experiment... At high energy, you get more particles in a shorter pulse, which provides 3-dimensional images of excellent quality and a more complete picture of the process... hope to apply their new understanding of plasticity to diverse scientific applications, such as strengthening materials that are used in high-temperature nuclear fusion experiments" Related: Clowd "Mozaic Tech" (tiled) Bottles; Squeezable Glass, Aluminum and Hybrid Mozaic Tech Bottles https://www.clowdfoundry.com/clowd-mozaic-tech-bottles.html For glass discovery, machine learning needs human help https://techxplore.com/news/2023-01-glass-discovery-machine-human.html

Solving a decades-old structural mystery surrounding the birth of energy-storing lipid droplets

https://phys.org/news/2022-02-decades-old-mystery-birth-energy-storing-lipid.html "Cryo-EM uses flash-frozen samples, electron beams, and an electron detector rather than a camera to gather data on biological structures at near-atomic scale. Using cryo-EM enabled the researchers to determine that the donut they hypothesized was actually a 10-unit cage... passing enzymes can break down the LDs and free the fatty acids inside to provide energy such as during times of starvation"

A promising method to produce fiber batteries on an industrial scale

https://phys.org/news/2022-02-method-fiber-batteries-industrial-scale.html "10 m2 of fiber battery-based woven textiles. These textiles were specifically designed to be used to create smart and responsive tents and the fiber battery used to power them had an energy density of 550mWhm-2... can yield a remarkable 1,500 km of continuous fiber batteries for each individual spinneret unit used. This is over three times more batteries than those produced by the best performing echniques... remarkable production rates of 250 m h-1"

Perfect photons feed new quantum processor

https://phys.org/news/2022-02-photons-quantum-processor.html "The photons move through the channels, with many channel splitters. These 'switches' can be geered from the outside, by local heating... photon can be sent from one mode to another, but also somewhere in between, following the typical quantum phenomenon of superposition... works at room temperature, like the photons... quantum bits are more robust and less noisy than superconducting qubits. Measurements at the 12 outputs show what has happened in all channels along the way"

Breakthrough discovery in light interactions with nanoparticles paves the way for advances in optical computing

https://phys.org/news/2022-02-breakthrough-discovery-interactions-nanoparticles-paves.html "nanoscale object made of silicon so that, when interrogated with light waves carrying an arbitrary input signal, it is able to encode the corresponding solution of a complex mathematical problem into the scattered light... very energy-efficient, ultrafast, ultracompact nanoscale optical computers and other nanophotonic technologies that can be used for classical and quantum computations"

AeroSHARK thin film reduces drag on airplanes

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-02-aeroshark-thin-airplanes.html "shark skin is covered with millions of riblets, which are protrusions that run the length of their bodies... result was the creation of AeroSHARK, a clear, thin skin with millions of riblets, each just 50 micrometers high. Testing showed that the material reduces drag... reduce fuel consumption by 1.1%... reductions in fuel consumption across its fleet by 4,800 metric tons a year... equivalent to 87 long-haul flights from Zurich to Mumbai. Swiss plans to coat all 12 of its 777-300ER airplanes"

Live wire: New research on nanoelectronics

https://e360.yale.edu/features/after-a-shaky-start-airborne-wind-energy-is-slowly-taking-off "nanowires could be used to connect an enzyme known as a DNA polymerase to electrodes, resulting in a device that could potentially sequence an entire human genome at low cost in under an hour. A similar approach could allow the integration of proteosomes into nanoelectronic devices able to read amino acids for protein sequencing"

Improvements in the material that converts X-rays into light could allow a tenfold signal enhancement

https://phys.org/news/2022-02-material-x-rays-tenfold.html "for the first time opens up this field of scintillation, fully opens it, for the application of nanophotonics techniques... combination of nanophotonic and scintillators might ultimately enable higher resolution, reduced X-ray dose, and energy-resolved X-ray imaging...  photonic crystals should be applied to scintillators... up to 100 times [improvement], and we believe we also have a path toward making it even better"

World’s smallest .56-micron pixel heralds the end of camera bumps

https://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/worlds-smallest-56-micron-pixel-will-revolutionize-smartphone-cameras/ "Measuring just .56 microns, Omnivision has developed the world’s smallest pixel for smartphone cameras... Omnivision used proprietary technology that they have developed to embed the photodiode deeper into silicon, which enabled them to develop the world’s smallest pixel... these 200-megapixel sensors to hit the market in early 2023... Smartphones may finally be able to rid themselves of that ungainly bump"

World’s First Flexible Solar Manufacturing Facility to Use Micro-groove Technology Opens in the UK

https://www.azocleantech.com/news.aspx?newsID=31224 "uses widely available materials and familiar production processes, yields a carbon footprint that is up to 20 times lower than silicon PV. When the film is produced at scale, manufacturing costs are forecast to be as low as a tenth of the cost of other flexible PV... to be deployed more easily in the built environment, off-grid, on vehicles and other applications where traditional silicon solar panels are too heavy or too expensive to be used" Related: NexWafe Secures €30M to Break Ground on First Commercial-Scale Green Solar Wafer Plant https://finance.yahoo.com/news/nexwafe-secures-30m-break-ground-070000431.html

Turning PPE into water: sounds like a miracle?

https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/news/2022/02/16/turning-ppe-into-water-miracle.html "The PPE-to-liquid process is carried out at a temperature of 300°C and takes about an hour in a small prototype machine in a laboratory in the faculty... liquid produced in the process is safe, inert and can be reused – the vinegar or acetic acid can be used for disinfecting and the water can be reused for the processing cycle therefore minimising water consumption and helping with sustainability"

Development of a diamond transistor with high hole mobility

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-02-diamond-transistor-high-hole-mobility.html "gate insulator instead of conventionally used oxides (e.g., alumina), and by employing a new fabrication technique capable of preventing the surface of hydrogen-terminated diamond from being exposed to air. At high hole densities, the hole mobility of this FET was five times that of conventional FETs with oxide gate insulators... allows reduced conduction loss and higher operational speed" Related: Are diamonds GaN's best friend? Revolutionizing transistor technology https://phys.org/news/2023-12-diamonds-gan-friend-revolutionizing-transistor.html

Solar panels built from waste crops can make energy without direct light

https://www.euronews.com/green/2022/02/19/solar-panels-built-from-waste-crops-can-make-energy-without-direct-light "luminescent particles from fruit and vegetable waste... prototype was a three-by-two foot panel installed in a window of Maigue’s apartment, capable of generating enough electricity to charge two phones each day... could absorb UV that bounces off walls, pavements and other buildings... We are also looking to create curved plates, for use on electric cars, aeroplanes and even boats" Related: Clean energy revolution: award winning solar panels don't need sunlight to produce energy https://www.thebrighterside.news/post/clean-energy-revolution-award-winning-solar-panels-don-t-need-sunlight-to-produce-energy

Portable generator powers small safety devices

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-02-portable-powers-small-safety-devices.html "polymer material is negatively charged. The water moves up and down when the device is shaken, acquiring a positive charge that is transferred to the electrodes to generate a high electrical output... high electrical output reaching 710 volts when it had adequate space for water movement and a high electrode area... can power 100 LED lights, meaning it could be used as a traffic safety light baton that illuminates when shaken"

Researchers are one step closer to making quantum batteries a Rreality

https://www.astrolightmediagroup.com/quantum-energy/506/researchers-are-one-step-closer-to-making-quantum-batteries-a-reality   "active layer of the microcavity contains organic semiconductor materials that store the energy. Underlying the superabsorbing effect of the quantum batteries is the idea that all the molecules act collectively through a property known as quantum superposition... microcavity size increased and the number of molecules increased, the charging time decreased"

World's smallest battery can power a computer the size of a grain of dust

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-02-world-smallest-battery-power-size.html "significantly less than one square millimeter across and integrable on a chip, which still has a minimum energy density of 100 microwatt hours per square centimete... could power the world's smallest computer chips for about ten hours... areas such as the Internet of Things, miniaturized medical implants, microrobotic systems and ultra-flexible electronics"

New fast-switching electrochromic devices based on an all-solid-state tandem structure

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-02-fast-switching-electrochromic-devices-based-all-solid-state.html "flexible structures with a large area of 30x40 cm2... high contrast ratios (more than 90% at 650 nm), fas responses (coloration to 90% in 0.7 s and bleaching to 65% in 0.9 s and 90% in 7.1s), good coloration efficiency (109 cm2 C-1 at 670nm) and excellent cycling stability (less than 10% degradation of contrast ratio after 3000 cycles)"

Aqueous zinc-ion battery with cycling stability of over 3,000 cycles

https://www.pv-magazine.com/2022/02/21/aqueous-zinc-ion-battery-with-cycling-stability-of-over-3000-cycles/ "The copolymer of acrylamide and N,N ‘-methylene diacrylamide is the 3D framework of hydrogel electrolyte, and zinc salt is the zinc source... The battery showed high cycling stability of over 3,000 cycles, a high reversibility thanks to a Coulombic efficiency of up to 99.5%, and electrochemical performance of 185 mAh·g over 10,000 cycles... voltage of the zinc-ion battery device remained constant after it was bent at different angles" Related: Salient Energy zinc-ion battery passes UL safety testing https://pv-magazine-usa.com/2022/10/19/salient-energy-zinc-ion-battery-passes-ul-safety-testing/ Prominent Swedes invest in zinc-ion batteries that solve raw material supply challenges https://www.enerpoly.com/article/seed-funding Novel method helps stabilize zinc-ion batteries https://phys.org/news/2023-02-method-stabilize-zinc-ion-batteries.html Scientists suggest new sol

A promising method to produce fiber batteries on an industrial scale

https://phys.org/news/2022-02-method-fiber-batteries-industrial-scale.html "composed of a parallel cathode and anode, encapsulated by an electrolyte, with remarkable production rates of 250 m h-1... "Our three-channel industrial spinneret simultaneously extrudes and combines the electrodes and electrolytes... can yield a remarkable 1,500 km of continuous fiber batteries for each individual spinneret unit used. This is over three times more batteries than those produced by the best performing techniques developed so far"

Ultrashort visible light pulses made easy

https://physicsworld.com/a/ultrashort-visible-light-pulses-made-easy/ "Using an industrial-grade ytterbium laser system, they began by propagating a much longer (175 fs) infrared pulse centred at a wavelength of 1035 nm through a 3-m-long hollow-core fibre filled with argon gas at a pressure of about 3 bar. As the different modes mixed with each other, a nonlinear effect within the gas generated intense, 4.6-fs-long pulses of visible light at the fibre output"

Epson's New Laser Projector Takes a Clever Approach to Achieve Full 4K

https://gizmodo.com/epson-pro-cinema-4k-projector-price-specs-1848451440 "utilizes three LCDs inside—one for red, green, and blue light—but each one is limited to just HD resolutions, or 1920 x 1080 pixels...  runs at a faster refresh rate and features a redesigned “precision shift glass plate” that subtly shifts the position of projected pixels on screen for every frame, increasing the resolution.  can deliver 2,700 lumens with a contrast ratio of over 2,500,000:1... image up to 300 inches in size, but that requires enough room to position the projector more than 60 feet away from the screen" Related: Light guide plate based on perovskite nanocomposites https://phys.org/news/2023-11-plate-based-perovskite-nanocomposites.html

Novel IBC solar cell architecture based on crystal photonics shows efficiency potential of 29.1%

https://pv-magazine-usa.com/2022/02/21/novel-ibc-solar-cell-architecture-based-on-crystal-photonics-shows-efficiency-potential-of-29-1/ "improving the hydrogenation process of the POLO junctions by a rear-side dielectric layer stack made of aluminum oxide and silicon nitride (Al2O3/SiNx/Al2O3) may further raise the device’s efficiency for the same standard thickness. This configuration was found to have the potential to reach an efficiency of up to 29.1%"

Hiddenite: A New AI Processor Based on a Cutting-Edge Neural Network Theory

https://scitechdaily.com/hiddenite-a-new-ai-processor-based-on-a-cutting-edge-neural-network-theory/ "the on-chip weight generation for re-generating weights by using a random number generator. This eliminates the need to access the external memory and store the weights.on-chip supermask expansion which reduces the number of supermasks... high-density four-dimensional (4D) parallel processor that maximizes data re-use during the computational process, thereby improving efficiency"

Harnessing sea pineapples and blood waste for metal-air-battery catalysts

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-02-harnessing-sea-pineapples-blood-metal-air-battery.html "carbonization of cellulose nanofibers within sea pineapple shells produces high-quality carbon that, when mixed with blood waste from the livestock industry, boasts electrical performances similar to that of rare metals. The finding is expected to be applied to next-generation energy devices such as fuel cells, metal-air batteries, and shows the potential to act as the electrocatalyst for water electrolysis systems" Related: Novel porous materials are ideal for metal-air batteries, researchers report https://phys.org/news/2023-03-porous-materials-ideal-metal-air-batteries.html

Quantum Holograms Don’t Even Need to “See” Their Subject; technique could be used for indirect medical imaging and more

https://spectrum.ieee.org/quantum-holography-using-undetected-light "nonlinear crystal to split a violet laser beam into two beams, one far-red, the other near-infrared... far-red beam to illuminate a sample—a glass plate engraved with symbols—whereas they used a camera to record the near-infrared light. With the help of entanglement, they could use data from the near-infrared light to reconstruct a hologram based off the details of the object the far-red beam scanned... could use, say, a midinfrared beam to scan an object while using the partner visible light beam" Related: Visualizing the inside of cells at previously impossible resolutions https://phys.org/news/2023-01-visualizing-cells-previously-impossible-resolutions.html Holographic hybridization technique allows changes of depth of field in recorded pictures and videos https://phys.org/news/2023-09-holographic-hybridization-technique-depth-field.html Liquid lens–based holographic camera captures real 3D scenes https:/

Google’s DeepMind AI can now control superheated plasma in a nuclear fusion reactor

https://interestingengineering.com/google-ai-controls-plasma?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=mailing&utm_campaign=Newsletter-18-02-2022 "The AI closely monitored the plasma by taking in 90 different measurements ten thousand times a second. It then adjusted the voltage accordingly for the reactor's 19 magnets. The researchers said this type of AI could allow them to tightly control future tokamak experiments, meaning they will be able to experiment with a greater number of conditions"

Bionic Eyes Give Sheep Sight, Heading to Humans Next

https://futurism.com/bionic-eyes-sheep-humans "wirelessly relaying a camera feed from a small camera attached to a pair of sunglasses in the form of electric signals directly to the wearer’s retinas, according to the BBC‘s reporting. These signals then get processed by the optical nerve and sent into the brain... Phoenix 99 could become commonplace in a matter of years" Related: Their bionic eyes are now obsolete and supported https://spectrum.ieee.org/bionic-eye-obsolete Google teases smart glasses prototype that translates languages in real time https://www.cnbc.com/2022/05/11/google-smart-glasses-prototype-translates-languages-in-real-time.html A step closer to treatment for the most common form of blindness https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-closer-treatment-common.html Lab-grown retinal eye cells make successful connections, open door for clinical trials to treat blindness https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-01-lab-grown-retinal-eye-cells-successful.html Researchers

Researchers combine piezoelectric thin film and metasurfaces to create lens with tunable focus

https://phys.org/news/2022-02-combine-piezoelectric-thin-metasurfaces-lens.html "thin-film PZT film, which allows the PZT to move the metasurface when a voltage is applied... placed a second metasurface lens after the MEMS-metasurface. Varying the separation distance between the lenses through MEMS displacement allows researchers to tune the focal point of the lens doublet... applying 23 volts allowed the PZT membrane to move the metasurfaces 7.2 microns, producing a focal length change of around 250 microns"

Wide-temperature-window hydrogel electrolyte developed for aqueous zinc-ion battery

https://phys.org/news/2022-02-wide-temperature-window-hydrogel-electrolyte-aqueous-zinc-ion.html "bonding interaction regulation can reduce the chance of freezing at low temperature and evaporation at high temperature... Another advantage... good mechanical properties for flexible device applications... voltage... remained constant after it was bent at different angles... electrochemical performance of the hydrogel electrolyte at 5 A·g-1 is 185 mAh·g-1. In Zn//Zn battery, the capacity retention rate of 10,000 cycles is 88 percent, and the cycle stability of 3,000 cycles is improved" Related: Biocompatible zinc batteries with Zn-alginate polymer electrolyte https://techxplore.com/news/2023-03-biocompatible-zinc-batteries-zn-alginate-polymer.html

New studies highlight the potential of self-heating plasmas for fusion energy

https://phys.org/news/2022-02-highlight-potential-self-heating-plasmas-fusion.html "Using their unique experimental design, the two teams were ultimately able to prompt plasma to 'heat itself up.' This could ultimately help to produce larger fusion reactions, without requiring more advanced and expensive equipment"

Bolstering sustainable tire production for electric vehicles with ENSO

https://www.azocleantech.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=1440 "Particles that enter the air as a result of tire wear not only contribute to air pollution, which has been shown to reduce life expectancy, but it also contributes to the pollution of our oceans... ENSO has created durable designs that prevent tire wear particles from leaving the road and entering the air and ocean" Related: Agricultural waste, converted into material that cleans air https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/986632 Bees and ETRVs: An unlikely match-up of the natural world and electric trackless rubber-tired vehicles https://techxplore.com/news/2023-08-bees-etrvs-match-up-natural-world.html Tire maker honored for tackling electric car pollution https://techxplore.com/news/2023-09-maker-honored-tackling-electric-car.html New technology for customized air purification of toxic gases https://www.newswise.com/articles/new-technology-for-customized-air-purification-of-toxic-gases One Nigerian entrepreneur'

Highly efficient, all-polymer solar cells prepared under meniscus-assisted coating strategy

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-02-highly-efficient-all-polymer-solar-cells.html "solution printing strategy for meniscus-assisted-coating (MAC)...  more ordered molecular packing and better nanofiber interpenetrating network structure for active layer prepared by MAC... extended the MAC method to the preparation of 1×1 cm2 devices with power conversion efficiency (PCE) over 12 percent. Various active layer films with PCE>15 percent are also prepared"

Leap-ahead technology generates terahertz radiation

https://www.laserfocusworld.com/science-research/article/14232942/leapahead-technology-generates-terahertz-radiation "demonstrated a compact terahertz laser that operates at room temperature and can produce 120 individual frequencies spanning the 0.25–1.3 THz region—far more than previous terahertz sources... we can make the laser itself be the size of a cube about 15 × 15 × 15 cm... short-range communications... methyl fluorid, a molecule that interacts strongly with optical fields, instead of nitrous oxide... short-range radar, biomedicine, and imaging" Related: Wallet-sized device focuses terahertz energy to generate high-resolution images https://techxplore.com/news/2022-02-wallet-sized-device-focuses-terahertz-energy.html

Amazing Nanoparticles from Maize: A Potent and Economical Anti-Cancer Therapeutic

https://www.tus.ac.jp/en/mediarelations/archive/20220214_5834.html "cNPs only significantly inhibited the growth of colon26 cells, indicating their selectivity for carcinogenic cell lines... TNFα is primarily secreted by macrophages, natural killer cells, and lymphocytes―three key ingredients of our highly evolved immune system and which help mount an anticancer response. "The strong TNFα response was encouraging and indicated the role of cNPs in treating various types of cancer" Related: Comprehensive Cancer Treatment Technique Developed by IBS and UNIST http://www.businesskorea.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=88131 In Mice, a Potential New Treatment Eradicates Ovarian And Colorectal Cancer in Days https://www.sciencealert.com/new-drug-factory-beads-can-wipe-out-some-cancers-in-mice Stealth nanomedicines combat cancer and cut toxic effects of chemo https://phys.org/news/2022-03-stealth-nanomedicines-combat-cancer-toxic.html Scientists discover part of the origins of m

Researchers Use Solar Cells to Achieve Fast Underwater Wireless Communication

https://www.optica.org/en-us/about/newsroom/news_releases/2022/february/researchers_use_solar_cells_to_achieve_fast_underw/ "3×3 solar array to create a detection area of 3.4 × 3.4 centimeters, in a 7-meter-long water tank that emulated an underwater channel. Mirrors were used to extend the pathlength of the optical signal, creating a transmission distance of 35 meters. The system showed reliable stability, low power consumption and high performance. As the size of the solar array increases from 1×1 to 3×3, the −20-dB bandwidth increases from 4.4 MHz to 24.2 MHz"

Breakthrough in Cathode Chemistry Clears Path for Lithium-Sulfur Batteries' Commercial Viability

https://drexel.edu/now/archive/2022/February/lithium-sulfur-cathode-carbonate-electrolyte/ "performance has not degraded in 4,000 charge-discharge cycles, which is equivalent to 10 years of regular use. And, as predicted, the battery’s capacity is more than three-fold that of a Li-ion battery... Replacing the cathode in Li-ion batteries with a sulfur one would alleviate the need for sourcing cobalt, nickel and manganese" Related: Eliminating the bottlenecks in performance of lithium-sulfur batteries https://phys.org/news/2022-03-bottlenecks-lithium-sulfur-batteries.html An accidental discovery could change the world https://www.freethink.com/environment/lithium-sulfur-battery Study shows that creating highly performing cobalt-free cathodes is possible https://techxplore.com/news/2022-10-highly-cobalt-free-cathodes.html Toshiba developed a lithium battery that does not use cobalt and can charge 80% in 5 minutes. https://ev-riders.com/news/toshiba-developed-a-lithium-battery-th

Exciton surfing could enable next-gen energy, computing and communications tech

https://phys.org/news/2022-02-exciton-surfing-enable-next-gen-energy.html "new "2D" semiconductors made of single crystal layers,,, a class of materials known as transition-metal dichalcogenides... tungsten diselenide, to support the excitons. To create the acoustic waves for surfing, they placed that single-layer-semiconductor on a material that stretches and contracts in the presence of an electric field, lithium niobate. They used a set of electrodes on the lithium niobate to create a waving electric field"

Researchers create molecule that can pave way for mini-transistors

https://www.lunduniversity.lu.se/article/researchers-create-molecule-can-pave-way-mini-transistors "simple hydrocarbon molecule that changes its form, and at the same time goes from insulating to conductive, when exposed to electric potential. The successful formula was to design a so-called anti-aromatic ring in a molecule so that it becomes more robust and can both receive and relay electrons... could make electric components on a molecular scale possible in the future"

Four dollars for a 10.8 ft2 (1 m2) model of a new device that can provide daily clean drinking water for a family; also built using easily procured everyday materials

https://interestingengineering.com/4-dollar-desalination-system "solar desalination device without a wick — a part that typically needs a lot of cleaning or even replacing due to a buildup of salts... comprised of several layers that float atop a container of saltwater... a little warm salt water remains behind after the process, which is then naturally drawn into the rest of the cool water below where it becomes diluted" Related: From seawater to drinking water, with the push of a button https://techxplore.com/news/2022-04-seawater-button.amp The future of desalination? A fast, efficient, selective membrane for purifying saltwater https://phys.org/news/2022-05-future-desalination-fast-efficient-membrane Direct oxidative transfer process contributes to water purification https://phys.org/news/2022-06-oxidative-contributes-purification.html Not all of us have access to safe drinking water. This clever rainwater collector can change that https://techxplore.com/news/2022-08-acce

Scientists discover new electrolyte for solid-state lithium-ion batteries

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-02-scientists-electrolyte-solid-state-lithium-ion-batteries.html "needed to make sure that the electrons could not move easily through the electrolyte to trigger its decomposition at high voltage... not yet clear why the electronic conductivity is lower than many previously reported chloride electrolytes, but it helps establish a clean interface between the cathode material and solid electrolyte, a fact that is largely responsible for the stable performance even with high amounts of active material in the cathode"

Disorder-engineered inorganic nanocrystals set a new efficiency record for ultrathin solar cells

https://phys.org/news/2022-02-disorder-engineered-inorganic-nanocrystals-efficiency-ultrathin.html "set a record among low-temperature and solution processed, environmentally friendly inorganic solar cells in terms of stability, form factor and performance. The engineering of the multinary systems with cation disordered AgBiS2 colloidal nanocrystals has proven to offer an absorption coefficient higher than any other photovoltaic material used to date, enabling highly efficient extremely thin absorber photovoltaic devices" Related: SunPower, First Solar in late-stage discussions to develop ‘world changing’ residential solar module https://www.pv-tech.org/sunpower-first-solar-in-late-stage-discussions-to-develop-world-changing-residential-solar-module/ Solar Inventions’ Breakthrough Cell Architecture Awarded Patents in China and Israel, and a Second Patent in the U.S. https://www.pvtime.org/solar-inventions-breakthrough-cell-architecture-awarded-patents-in-china-and-israel-and-

Rare form of sulfur offers a key to triple-capacity EV batteries

https://newatlas.com/energy/rare-form-sulfur-lithium-ion-battery-triple-capacity/ "The cathode remained stable across a year of testing and 4,000 charge-discharge cycles, which the scientists say is equivalent to 10 years of regular use. The prototype battery the team made featuring this cathode offered triple the capacity of a standard lithium-ion battery, paving the way for more environmentally friendly batteries that allow electric vehicles to travel much farther on each charge"

By putting cancer cells to sleep, new drug could prevent tumor metastasis

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-cancer-cells-drug-tumor-metastasis.html "treating patient-derived HNSCC cells with C26 boosted the levels of NR2F1 and arrested cell proliferation.... Treatment with C26 reduced the size of primary tumors, and, after surgery, further doses of C26 completely blocked the growth of metastatic tumors. Instead, the rodent's lungs contained just a few dormant disseminated cancer cells unable to proliferate even after cessation of the treatment" Related: Stealth nanomedicines combat cancer and cut toxic effects of chemo https://phys.org/news/2022-03-stealth-nanomedicines-combat-cancer-toxic.html

Panasonic, Tesla’s oldest industrial partner, said to have sold off its entire Tesla Stake

"Panasonic initially bought 1.4 million shares at $21.15 each around the time of Tesla’s June 2010 IPO. The company reported its stake was worth about $730 million at the end of March 2020... supplied ever greater quantities of lithium-ion cells for Tesla vehicles, working closely with Tesla engineers to modify the chemistry and design to optimize them for use in high-powered electric cars"

Printed 3D OLEDs enable DIY screens nearly anywhere; tabletop print-your-own electronics tech could even put displays on the human body

https://spectrum.ieee.org/3d-printed-tvs "six-layer, 1.5-inch square flexible display, in which the electrodes, interconnects, insulation, and encapsulation were extrusion-printed... potential in soft electronics and wearables, this one-pot methodology allows for other unique form factors beyond the typical 2D layout... maintained high electrical conductivities, such as silver-based inks for our electrodes. For the encapsulation, we used a common transparent and flexible polymer, PDMS, to coat the device on top" Related: Stretchy color-changing display points to future of wearable screens https://techxplore.com/news/2023-07-stretchy-color-changing-display-future-wearable.html Organic light emitting diodes operated by 1.5 V battery https://phys.org/news/2022-01-emitting-diodes-battery.html Samsung unveils foldable smartphones in a bet on devices with bending screens https://techxplore.com/news/2023-07-samsung-unveils-foldable-smartphones-device.html Research team develops mech

Form Energy announces partnership with Georgia Power to test 100-hour iron-air battery

https://www.utilitydive.com/news/form-energy-announces-partnership-with-georgia-power-to-test-100-hour-iron-/618626/ "Georgia Power will collaborate with... Form Energy to deploy an energy storage project of up to 15 MW/1500 MWh using a novel iron-air-exchange flow battery... has a battery design it says can offer up to 100 hours of electricity storage at a price of less than $20/kWh... Georgia Power requested approval to own and operate 1,000 MW of energy storage by 2030" Related: Rusty metal could be the battery the energy grid needs https://www.popsci.com/science/metal-air-batteries/ 140-year-old rusty batteries offer huge breakthrough for energy storage https://www.independent.co.uk/tech/batteries-lithium-ion-metal-air-b2036356.html Multi-day iron-air batteries reach commercialization… at one tenth of the cost of lithium https://pv-magazine-usa.com/2021/07/23/multi-day-iron-air-batteries-reach-commercialization-at-one-tenth-of-the-cost-of-lithium/ Metal electrolysis could

Adding more lidar wavelengths can provide richer details about the environment around the vehicle

https://www.laserfocusworld.com/test-measurement/article/14223715/automotive-lidar-gains-multispectral-capabilities "we scan a complete frame at one wavelength and switch wavelengths between frames. By combining this data with our specialized simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) software, we can build up the multispectral information on a frame-by-frame basis. If we are scanning at a 20 Hz frame rate, we get the traditional 3D data at the full 20 Hz"

A Transistor-Like Device for Light

https://physics.aps.org/articles/v15/s5 "metamaterial whose permittivity changes with an applied static electric field. The nonlinear response is such that an electric field applied along one axis can change the material’s permittivity along another axis... amplitude change means the metamaterial could be engineered to either amplify or attenuate an incoming light signal "

Researchers design molecule that boosts performance of lithium-oxygen car batteries

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-02-molecule-boosts-lithium-oxygen-car-batteries.html?utm_source=nwletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily-nwletter "an Li-O2 battery operated via a new quenching/mediating mechanism that relies on the direct chemical reactions between a versatile molecule and superoxide radical/Li2O2. The battery exhibits a 46-fold increase in discharge capacity, a low charge overpotential of 0.7 V, and an ultralong cycle life greater than 1400 cycles. "PDI-TEMPO molecule opens a new avenue" Related: It’s in the air – battery research takes up the charge https://www.uts.edu.au/news/health-science/its-air-battery-research-takes-charge "aimed to deliver maximum energy density through breathing air to generate electricity... capacity of next-generation lithium-oxygen batteries to extend the driving range between charges... created the possibility of developing a long-life, energy-dense lithium-oxygen battery that was highly efficient" Re

Fusion race kicked into high gear by smart tech

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-60319398?xtor=AL-72-%5Bpartner%5D-%5Bgnl.newsletters%5D-%5Bheadline%5D-%5Bnews%5D-%5Bbizdev%5D-%5Bisapi%5D&xtor=ES-213-[BBC%20News%20Newsletter]-2022February10-[technology] "they're not doing this through heat, but through particle acceleration... goal within a decade is to produce net energy, where the output from fusion exceeds the energy supplied to initiate reactions. It is refining a technique called boron neutron capture therapy with a view to its use in cancer treatment" Related: Fast-action method for countering disruptions on ITER fusion experiment https://phys.org/news/2022-02-fast-action-method-countering-disruptions-iter.html?utm_source=nwletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily-nwletter Major breakthrough on nuclear fusion energy https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-60312633 First measurements of hydrogen-boron fusion in a magnetically confined fusion plasma https://phys.org/news/2023-02-hydro

Zinc batteries: Old technology brings new values

https://www.pv-magazine.com/2022/02/09/zinc-batteries-old-technology-brings-new-values/ "zinc-based batteries are edging closer to commercialization, leveraging their unique ability to be configured for short and long duration operation. They are safer, longer lasting and, in some cases, reportedly up to 50% cheaper than lithium-ion batteries and, following recent game-changing advances, the prospects for zinc look much more exciting" Related: Move over lithium-ion: Zinc-air batteries a cheaper and safer alternative https://www.timeshighereducation.com/hub/p/move-over-lithium-ion-zinc-air-batteries-cheaper-and-safer-alternative

It’s in the air – battery research takes up the charge

  https://www.uts.edu.au/news/health-science/its-air-battery-research-takes-charge "aimed to deliver maximum energy density through breathing air to generate electricity... capacity of next-generation lithium-oxygen batteries to extend the driving range between charges... created the possibility of developing a long-life, energy-dense lithium-oxygen battery that was highly efficient"

Tiny antenna enables portable biomedicine, food analysis, and other nano- and terahertz technologies

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-02-tiny-antenna-enables-portable-biomedicine.html "You put a drop between the two antennas. The transmitter sends THz waves to the receiver, which picks up their modulation by the substance undergoing analysis—in this case milk—to infer its composition. But remember: THz radiation is also good for wireless communication, so the beauty of this setup is that this same antenna can also relay the analysis results to a smartphone or wherever it is you want them"

Flexible supercapacitors could boost battery life for Internet of Things

https://phys.org/news/2022-02-flexible-supercapacitors-boost-battery-life.html "involves transferring aligned carbon nanotube (CNT) arrays from a silicon wafer to a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) matrix. This is then coated in a material called polyaniline (PANI), which stores energy through a mechanism known as "pseudocapacitance,"offering outstanding energy storage properties with exceptional mechanical integrity... numerous cycles at different bending conditions, demonstrating its robustness, longevity, and efficiency" Related: Nexeon heads for production of silicon battery materials https://www.eenewspower.com/en/nexeon-heads-for-production-of-silicon-battery-materials/ The power to make a difference https://www.nexeon.co.uk/ PPES and Nexeon Extend Partnership to Develop High-Performance Silicon Materials for EV Batteries https://www.nexeon.co.uk/panasonic-toyota-partnership/ Nexeon Raises Significant Funding to Scale-up Production of Step Change Battery Materials

Electrostatic engineering gets the lead out for faster batteries

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-02-electrostatic-faster-batteries.html "It's hard to see metastable things; even the theorists hadn't realized that bismuth ferrite could assume this form... What's beautiful about this material is the theory shows that strain alone cannot stabilize this antiferroelectric state. So this is a new knob," Schlom said... where you want to get the lead out. Antiferroelectrics are used in capacitors; it's already in thin film form. That makes our stacking approach to nullify the need for lead quite applicable"

A CMOS-based chip that integrates silicon quantum dots and multiplexed readout electronics

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-02-cmos-based-chip-silicon-quantum-dots.html "In contrast with other previously developed chips, the IC can be used to readout larger quantum systems, while retaining a flexible architecture... The structure of our chip is based on the dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) architecture, i.e., a row-column structure, to control/access the MOSFET array"

Scientists delineate process which drives tumor formation by Kras oncogenes

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-scientists-delineate-tumor-formation-kras.html?utm_source=nwletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily-nwletter " "revealed that Kras-induced chromatin remodeling was mediated by a protein complex called AP-1, which binds and opens chromatins to rewire the cell's fate. The AP-1 mediated chromatin accessibility mechanism seems to be a common process in tumor initiation, including in the lung, skin, and intestine"

Recycled silicon used in 19.7% efficient PERC solar cells

https://pv-magazine-usa.com/2022/02/07/recycled-silicon-used-in-19-7-efficient-perc-solar-cells/ "cell fragments with sizes from 0.1 to 1 millimeter are first freed from the glass and plastic by various sorting processes... followed by the step-by-step removal of the backside contact, the silver contacts, the anti-reflective layer and finally the emitter by wet chemical etching... achieve a power conversion efficiency of 19.7%. “This is below the efficiency of today’s premium PERC solar cells, which have an efficiency of around 22.2 percent" Related: Dead solar panels are about to become a lot more valuable https://www.theverge.com/2022/7/8/23200153/solar-panel-value-recycling-renewable-energy New effort aims to mine silver from old solar panels using laser ablation https://techxplore.com/news/2022-07-effort-aims-silver-solar-panels.html Recycling process promises ‘better than new’ silicon wafers https://www.pv-magazine.com/2022/06/16/recycling-process-promises-better-than-ne

New record for solar cell efficiency signals bright future for solar tech

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-02-solar-cell-efficiency-bright-future.html "achieved an efficiency record of 22.6 percent. This means the cells can convert 22.6 percent of sunlight into energy. They also demonstrated a "fill factor" of more than 86 percent, which is one measure of the quality of the solar cell. We're always trying to reach the highest efficiency we can. Commercialisation won't happen without high efficiency... modeling we've done shows this was a limitation in previous types of solar cells" Related: CHG EnSOL hits record 26.31%! efficiency on its TOPCon Cell https://www.pv-magazine.com/press-releases/26-31-chg-ensol-hits-new-high-on-its-topcon-cell/

Nanowires under tension create the basis for ultrafast transistors

https://phys.org/news/2022-02-nanowires-tension-basis-ultrafast-transistors.html "choice of sample was also a critical step... average of around 20,000 to 100,000 nanowires on a piece of substrate measuring roughly one square millimeter. If the wires are spaced even closer together on the sample... next step will be to develop the first prototypes based on the studied nanowires and to test their suitability for use. To do this, they intend to apply, test and enhance metallic contacts on the nanowires, as well as testing the doping of nanowires with silicon and optimizing manufacturing processes"

Quantum Computing: Researchers Achieve 100 Million Quantum Operations

https://www.tomshardware.com/news/quantum-computing-researchers-achieve-100-million-quantum-operations "useful work from quantum computers - one that should scale quantum computing's performance towards the much-sought-after quantum supremacy moment... qubit information and qubit connection (entanglement) usually deteriorates in scales much lower than a second... Using a technique they've termed single shot readout... can measure our state much, much more easily. With this signal boost, we can get a reliable answer every time we check what state the qubit is in"

Scientists just created magnetic 'seeds' to heat up and kill cancer

https://interestingengineering.com/scientists-just-created-magnetic-seeds-to-heat-up-and-kill-cancer "Cancer is a leading cause of mortality worldwide, accounting for almost 10 million deaths in 2020, making enhancing the precision of our cancer treatments one of the most pressing unmet needs we face today.“One in 8 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer. While treatments such as radiotherapy and surgery can be effective, they often cause unwanted and debilitating side effects such as incontinence and impotence" Related: Scientists just created magnetic 'seeds' to heat up and kill cancer https://interestingengineering.com/scientists-just-created-magnetic-seeds-to-heat-up-and-kill-cancer Could tiny devices made out of DNA treat cancer? https://phys.org/news/2022-03-tiny-devices-dna-cancer.html Scientists discover molecule that kills pancreatic cancer cells https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-03-scientists-molecule-pancreatic-cancer-cells.html A potential new target