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Showing posts from March, 2022

Ultrathin films of cesium antimonide used to make more efficient photocathodes

https://phys.org/news/2022-03-ultrathin-cesium-antimonide-efficient-photocathodes.html "when converting green light into electrons, the efficiency of their photocathode was greater than 2% and its process was as short as 10 fs, significantly faster than conventional photocathodes. They conclude that similar photocathodes could be used to create new devices with significant brightness enhancements"

Self-standing mesoporous Si film can power lithium-ion batteries

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-03-self-standing-mesoporous-si-power-lithium-ion.html "Using the electrochemical etching method, they developed a self-standing mesoporous Si film anode for lithium-ion batteries. The idea is that the pores of mesoporous silicon can accommodate the volume expansion during cycling, thus leading to stable battery cycling" Related: Porsche joins $400M bet on lithium-silicon batteries to juice up future EVs https://techcrunch.com/2022/05/04/porsche-joins-400m-bet-on-lithium-silicon-batteries-for-future-electric-vehicles/ Double-shell interphase design enabling suppressed side reactions for stable Si battery anode https://aip.scitation.org/doi/abs/10.1063/5.0117229 Sunrise New Energy makes breakthrough in manufacturing process for Silicon-based anode; reduces manufacturing facility cost by 80%; silicon-based anode product by 50% https://www.benzinga.com/news/22/10/29379372/sunrise-new-energy-makes-breakthrough-in-the-manufacturing-process-for-silic

Printing optical chips as a layer cake

https://phys.org/news/2022-03-optical-chips-layer-cake.html "silicon nitride wafer containing the passive components of the ultimate chip is produced with an extremely flat and clean top layer... release layer of material is grown. This is topped with the indium phosphide layer containing the active components such as lasers, optical amplifiers or photodetectors. The release layer underneath is then etched away, leaving behind a series of very small anchors that hold the separate devices in place. Then the thin indium phosphide coupon is picked up"

LONGi sets new record for p-type HJT silicon solar cell efficiency

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/longi-sets-new-record-for-p-type-hjt-silicon-solar-cell-efficiency-301513002.html "p-type wafer processing solution for HJT cells and combined it with interface passivation technology to achieve a Voc of 747.6 mV for p-HJT cells. It should be noted that the processing of the low-cost p-HJT cell solution applied in this record has not yet been fully optimized and LONGi is convinced that this technology route still has great potential for further development" Related: At 26.81%, LONGi sets a new world record efficiency for silicon solar cells https://www.longi.com/en/news/propelling-the-transformation/

Study shows how superconductivity can be switched on and off in superconductors

https://phys.org/news/2022-03-superconductivity-superconductors.html "currents leaking from the gates (not electric fields) are needed to suppress superconductivity in metallic nanowires... current does not have to flow necessarily from the gate to the nanowire... 500 nm deep trench in the substrate... shields the nanowire from the phonons... The researchers attained similar results when the current of high-energy electrons flowed out of the wire and when it flowed between two electrodes placed in the vicinity of the nanowire (without any electrons reaching the nanowire itself" Related: Study: Superconductivity switches on and off in 'magic-angle' graphene https://phys.org/news/2023-01-superconductivity-magic-angle-graphene.html Discovering the magic in superconductivity's 'magic angle' https://phys.org/n ews/2023-02-magic-superconductivity-angle.html Boosting superconductivity in graphene bilayers https://phys.org/news/2023-02-boosting-superconductivity-g

NPS Team Handed Provisional Patent for an Innovative Liquid Air Energy Storage Platform

https://www.azocleantech.com/news.aspx?newsID=31457 "dual-Stirling engine charge and recovery technique for liquid air energy storage (LAES) platforms... isolated microgrids, this LAES system could solve resiliency troubles seen with renewable sources like wind or solar energy sources. Such use cases even have some applicability inside the Department of the Navy like small Marine detachments forward deployed away from infrastructure" Related: Scientists Discover Insane Battery That Uses nothing But Air https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alWZ7GtVNHo California Moves Closer to Carbon-Free Electricity Goals as Central Coast Community Energy Signs 25-Year Power Purchase Agreement with Hydrostor https://www.hydrostor.ca/california-moves-closer-to-carbon-free-electricity-goals-as-central-coast-community-energy-signs-25-year-power-purchase-agreement-with-hydrostor/ The world’s largest advanced compressed air energy storage is ready for commercial operation https://interestingengineerin

Scientists achieve record efficiency for ultra-thin solar panels

https://www.azocleantech.com/news.aspx?NewsID=31455 "increased the levels of energy absorbed by wafer-thin photovoltaic panels by 25%. Their solar panels, just one micrometer thick (1μm), convert light into electricity more efficiently... absorption rates of 26.3 mA/cm2, a 25% increase on the previous record of 19.72 mA/cm2...They secured an efficiency of 21% but anticipate that further improvements will push the figure higher, resulting in efficiencies that are significantly better"  Related: Chemists propose ultrathin material for doubling solar cell efficiency https://phys.org/news/2023-04-chemists-ultrathin-material-solar-cell.html

This axil-flux motor with PCB stator is ripe for an electrified world

https://spectrum.ieee.org/axial-flux "generates as much power as a traditional AC induction motor but has half the weight and size, makes a fraction of the noise, and emits at least 25 percent less carbon... By combining the lightness of an air-core motor with the high torque density of an axial-flux machine, the Infinitum motor is well suited for building ventilation and HVAC systems... EVs are another big market for this new motor... projected to make up 31 percent of the global fleet by 2050"

Team achieves 30-fold enhancement of thermoelectric performance in polycrystalline tin selenide

https://phys.org/news/2022-03-team-fold-thermoelectric-polycrystalline-tin.html "isovalent Te ion substitution increases σ and reduces κ, simultaneously... first-principles calculations to elucidate the mechanism underlying the improvement in ZT. The calculations showed that the large Te ion in SnSe formed weak Sn-Te bonds... Sn-Te bond is easily dissociated and a high density of Sn vacancies is formed in the structure, leading to a high hole concentration.... weak Sn-Te bonds reduce phonon frequency (frequency of lattice vibration) and enhance the phonon scattering, resulting in low κ"

Printing circuits on rare nanomagnets puts a new spin on computing

https://phys.org/news/2022-03-circuits-rare-nanomagnets.html "artificial spin glass as a proof-of-principle Hopfield neural network, which mathematically models associative memory to guide the disorder of the artificial spin systems... links two or more memory patterns related to an object... memories of these networks correspond to ground states of a spin system and are less disturbed by noise than other neural networks"

Cathode formation issue could drive improvements in battery resiliency

https://www.pv-magazine.com/2022/03/28/cathode-formation-issue-could-drive-improvements-in-battery-resiliency/ "During rapid cooling in cathode synthesis, the particle surface became rough, and large areas showed strain on the material. The effect was also found when cycling the cathode at high temperatures above 130 F or when performing fast-charging of one hour versus a 10-hour charge cycle... pairing the two will have dramatic effects. Now, we should be able to match our improved cathode with the anode to attain a 20% to 40% increase in performance" Related: Modification and degradation of Ni-rich cathode-based Li-ion batteries https://phys.org/news/2022-04-modification-degradation-ni-rich-cathode-based-li-ion.html

Engineering team develops approach to enable simple cameras to see in 3D

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-03-team-approach-enable-simple-cameras.html?utm_source=nwletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily-nwletter "acoustic modulator using a thin wafer of lithium niobate... coated with two transparent electrodes... piezoelectric... crystal lattice at the heart of its atomic structure changes shape... vibrates at very high, very predictable and very controllable frequencies... strongly modulates light; with the addition of a couple polarizers, this new modulator effectively turns light on and off several million times a second"

Researchers Propose a Unified Approach to Electrochemical Energy Storage

https://www.azocleantech.com/news.aspx?newsID=31395 "hybrid devices, ions are nearly absorbed between the layers of electrode materials. In others, where porous nanomaterials in electrodes have been designed to maximize the full chemical intake, or adsorption, of ions, researchers have seen much faster energy discharges, likely due to the persistence of the electrolyte substance preventing the ions from fully intercalating"

Semi-transparent organic photovoltaic filters for agrivoltaic greenhouses

https://www.pv-magazine.com/2022/03/21/semi-transparent-organic-photovoltaic-filters-for-agrivoltaic-greenhouses/ "physiology of the plants was altered by the differences in light quality under the OSC filters, on a molecular and transcriptomic level. According to them, the boxes are not only able to produce different crop species at an affordable cost but also to enable growers to fine-tune plant characteristics by selecting from the wide range of OSC transmission spectra" Related: Harvesting light to grow food and clean energy together https://techxplore.com/news/2022-12-harvesting-food-energy.html

Supplement slows aging process in mice, and possibly humans

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/supplement-slows-aging-process-in-mice-and-possibly-humans#Limited-trials-involving-humans-so-far "GlyNAC to younger mice extended their life span by 24%. GlyNAC is a mixture of an amino acid called glycineTrusted Source and the medication N-acetylcysteine (NAC)Trusted Source. Together, these serve as precursors for glutathioneTrusted Source, an important natural antioxidant. Glutathione levels in mice typically decrease at about 65 weeks in age" Related: Glycine Amino Acid Powder https://www.walmart.com/ip/Carlson-Labs-Glycine-Amino-Acid-Powder-3-53-oz-100-g/138106867 NAC Detox Regulators https://www.walmart.com/ip/Doctor-s-Best-NAC-Detox-Regulators-with-Seleno-Excell-Non-GMO-Vegetarian-Gluten-Free-Soy-Free-60-Veggie-Caps/133861702 The 'Benjamin Button' effect: Scientists can reverse aging in mice. The goal is to do the same for humans https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/02/health/reverse-aging-life-itself-scn-wellness/index.html Sta

Monolithic integration of GaN components boosts power integrated circuits

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-03-monolithic-gan-components-boosts-power.html "We have improved the performance of GaN ICs by co-integrating d-mode HEMTS on our functional e-mode HEMT platform on SOI. Enhancement and depletion mode refer to an ON (d-mode) or OFF (e-mode) state at zero source voltage, resulting in a current flow (or not) in the transistor. We expect that taking the step from RTL to direct-coupled FET logic will improve speed and reduce the power dissipation of the circuits" Related: Quantum Physics Sets a Speed Limit to Electronics https://www.tuwien.at/en/tu-wien/news/news-articles/news/bitte-erst-ab-1100-die-hoechstgeschwindigkeit-der-quanten

Creative thinking for vertical east-west bifacial PV projects

https://www.pv-magazine.com/2022/03/24/creative-thinking-for-vertical-east-west-bifacial-pv-projects/ "VBPV outperforms conventionally mounted MPV in the Nordic countries... VBPV can help to improve the match between production and the load for house-integrated PV systems... residential and commercial VBPV systems are a grid-friendly solution for low-voltage networks... improved match between production and load decreases the chance of overvoltage occurrence... correlation between production peak and electricity demand can reduce the need for balancing power solutions"

Quantum physics sets a speed limit to electronics

https://phys.org/news/2022-03-quantum-physics-limit-electronics.html "These are hit by an ultra-short laser pulse with a wavelength in the extreme UV range. This laser pulse shifts the electrons into a higher energy level, so that they can suddenly move freely. That way, the laser pulse turns the material into an electrical conductor for a short period of time... freely moving charge carriers in the material, they can be moved in a certain direction by a second, slightly longer laser pulse... electric current that can then be detected with electrodes on both sides of the material" Related: Quantum Chip Brings 9,000 Years of Compute Down to Microseconds https://www.tomshardware.com/news/quantum-chip-brings-9000-years-of-compute-down-to-microseconds

Duration of utility-scale batteries depends on how they’re used

https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=51798 "Battery operators report that more than 40% of the battery storage energy capacity could perform both grid services and electricity load shifting applications. About 40% performed only electricity load shifting, and about 20% performed only grid services. Batteries with a duration of less than two hours are considered short-duration batteries... Batteries providing grid services discharge power for short periods of time, sometimes even for only seconds or minutes economical to deploy short-duration batteries"

Artificial neurons go quantum with photonic circuits

https://phys.org/news/2022-03-artificial-neurons-quantum-photonic-circuits "device that has the same behavior as a memristor, while acting on quantum states and being able to encode and transmit quantum information... single photons propagate along waveguides laser-written on a glass substrate and are guided on a superposition of several paths... Besides demonstrating the quantum memristor, the researchers have provided simulations showing that optical networks with the quantum memristor can be used to learn on both classical and quantum tasks"

Development of stretchable and printable free-form lithium-ion batteries

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-03-stretchable-printable-free-form-lithium-ion-batteries.html "new soft and stretchable organic gel material was developed and applied based on the existing binder material... able to incorporate existing lithium-ion battery materials, as they exhibit excellent energy storage density (~2.8 mWh/cm2) of a level similar to that of commercially available hard lithium-ion batteries at a driving voltage of 3.3 V or higher... mechanical stability to maintain their performance even after repeated pulling of the battery 1,000 or more times, a high stretchability of 50% or above"

Argonne researchers find cathode material synthesis a key reason for performance degradation of sodium-ion batteries

https://www.greencarcongress.com/2022/03/20220325-argonne.html "degradation intensified when cycling cathodes at high temperature (130 degrees Fahrenheit) or with fast charging (one hour instead of 10 hours). Our insights are extremely important for the large-scale manufacturing of improved sodium-ion cathodes. Because of the large amount of material involved, say, 1000 kilograms, there will be a large temperature variation, which will lead to many defects forming unless appropriate steps are taken" Related: Re-jigged cathode recipe gives new hope to solid-state batteries for electric vehicles https://phys.org/news/2022-03-re-jigged-cathode-recipe-solid-state-batteries.html Capacity of new electrode material improved in new study https://phys.org/news/2023-01-capacity-electrode-material.html Cathode innovation makes sodium-ion battery an attractive option for electric vehicles https://techxplore.com/news/2024-01-cathode-sodium-ion-battery-option.html Sustainable battery elect

Don't underestimate undulating graphene: Unique electronics made possible by wavy patterns that channel electrons

https://phys.org/news/2022-03-dont-underestimate-undulating-graphene-unique.html "growing atom-thick graphene on a gently textured surface creates peaks and valleys in the sheets that turn them into "pseudo-electromagnetic" devices... promise a way to achieve a Hall effect — a voltage difference across the strongly conducting graphene —that could facilitate valleytronics applications that manipulate how electrons are trapped in "valleys"... in valleytronics, electrons have degrees of freedom in the multiple momentum states (or valleys) they occupy. These can also be read as bits" Related: Physicists Build Circuit That Generates Clean, Limitless Power From Graphene https://news.uark.edu/articles/54830/physicists-build-circuit-that-generates-clean-limitless-power-from-graphene

A highly performing transistor based on an inorganic metal halide perovskite

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-03-highly-transistor-based-inorganic-metal.html?utm_source=nwletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily-nwletter "outperformed all previously developed transistors based on metal halide perovskites... performance is comparable to that of polysilicon transistors that are currently used to fabricate driving circuits for OLED displays... contain a significant lower quantity of lead. This could facilitate their widespread use, as lead is known to be highly toxic and harmful to the environment on Earth" Related: 1000X More Efficient Neural Networks: Building An Artificial Brain With 86 Billion Physical (But Not Biological) Neurons https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnkoetsier/2022/03/25/1000x-more-efficient-neural-networks-building-an-artificial-brain-with-86-billion-physical-but-not-biological-neurons/?sh=65203e04408e p Toshiba Paving the way for a solar future with perovskite photovoltaic modules https://www.yahoo.com/now/toshiba-paving-way-s

Autonomous nanomachines inspired by nature

https://phys.org/news/2022-03-autonomous-nanomachines-nature.html "first synthetic system that has used this so called 'multi-site competitive exchange' principle... engineered molecular machines by folding DNA strands into three-dimensional shapes, a technique called DNA origami... could carry both DNA and protein cargo, and would generally be compatible with other biomolecules and nanoparticles. The cargo binds at multiple sites to the DNA receptor, and can be displaced by new cargo via a competitive-binding process, when other cargo is present in solution" Related: Revamped design could take powerful biological computers from the test tube to the cell https://phys.org/news/2022-03-revamped-powerful-biological-tube-cell.html

Bionic wing flaps improve wind energy efficiency

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-03-bionic-wing-energy-efficiency.html "imitates... words, wings and feathers... feathers on the top of a bird's wings will pop out, creating a natural flap... increase lift and delay the onset of stalling at high angles of attack... simulated the use of the combined flow control accessory in a variety of situations, including high and low angle of attack and pre- and post-stall scenarios. They compared their computational simulations to experimental results for an aircraft wing undergoing a dynamic stall" Related: Feathered robotic wing paves way for flapping drones https://techxplore.com/news/2023-01-feathered-robotic-wing-paves-drones.html

A way to deliver oxygen directly to the bloodstream intravenously

  https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-03-oxygen-bloodstream-intravenously.html "The researchers tested their machine on human donor blood and in rats and found it passed as a proof of concept. In human blood, their machine could increase blood oxygen saturation from 15% to over 95% within seconds to minutes. And they increased saturation from 20% to 50% inside of rats. They acknowledge that it is not yet ready for testing in humans. They plan to continue with tests on larger animals before testing on humans"

Three ways 3D chip tech Is upending computing AMD, Graphcore, and Intel show why the industry’s leading edge is going vertical

"higher-than-normal voltage (1.8 volts)... current would be low enough to simplify the package... reduce the voltage to something closer to 0.7 V for use on the compute tiles, and each compute tile had to have its own power domain... coaxial magnetic integrated inductors. Because these are built into the package substrate, the circuit actually snakes back and forth between the base tile and the package before supplying the voltage to the compute tile"

Researchers develop silicon cuboid nanoantenna

https://phys.org/news/2022-03-silicon-cuboid-nanoantenna.html "silicon dielectric nanoantenna for simultaneously enhancing electric dipole, magnetic dipole and electric quadrupole emission... ED, MD and EQ emitters at different orientations within the nanoantenna is 18, 150 and 118 respectively, occurring at the resonance wavelength of 475, 750, and 562 nm, respectively, matching with the resonance modes in the nanoantenna and corresponding to the blue, red and green colors" Related: Smaller, more versatile antenna could be a communications game-changer https://techxplore.com/news/2022-03-smaller-versatile-antenna-game-changer.html Nanoantennas combined with phosphor plates enable increased photoluminescence https://phys.org/news/2022-12-nanoantennas-combined-phosphor-plates-enable.html

Monolithic fuel cell with power density of 5.6kW/L

https://www.focustechnica.com/monolithic-fuel-cell-with-power-density-of-5-6kw-l/ "integrates the cell support, gas channels, and the interconnects into a single layer, thereby reducing the stack height by a factor of 2–4...  increases the volumetric density and specific power... monolith SOCF with an active cell area of around 18 cm2... tape casting, lamination, co-sintering, and catalyst infiltration... open-circuit voltage of 1065mV and a power density of5.6 kW/L... large-scale production electrified transportation powered by fuel cells increased range, decreased charging times, lower cost"

New quantum-based technology could make charging of electric cars as rapid as pumping gas

https://www.azocleantech.com/news.aspx?newsID=31400 "Employing quantum charging would lead to a 200 times speedup in a typical EV, which means that the charging time would be cut from 10 hours to about 3 minutes (at home), or 30 minutes to 9 seconds at a charging station"

Tiny magnets could hold the secret to new quantum computers

https://phys.org/news/2022-03-tiny-magnets-secret-quantum.html "allow magnetic excitations to talk to one another... This would allow the magnons to form a quantum computer... used two small yttrium iron garnet (YIG) magnetic spheres embedded on the circuit. This material, which supports magnonic excitations, ensures efficient and low-loss coupling for the magnetic spheres... two spheres both magnetically coupled to a shared superconducting resonator... almost a centimeter away from each other—30 times the distance of their diameters" Related: Scientists reveal mysterious and unique behavior in a quantum magnetic material https://phys.org/news/2024-01-scientists-reveal-mysterious-unique-behavior.html

Ionic liquids make a splash in next-gen solid-state lithium metal batteries

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-03-ionic-liquids-splash-next-gen-solid-state.html "ionically conductive but almost non-volatile and usually non-flammable... minimal effect on the slurry from which the cathode is formed, leaving manufacturing process virtually untouched... prototype battery made with their quasi-solid-state cathode and a solid "garnet" electrolyte (referring to its structure), which showed good rechargeability, with 80% capacity retention after 100 charge/discharge cycles at an elevated temperature of 60°C... optimal ionic liquid content of 11wt%" Related: Electrovaya Announces Breakthrough Performance for Proprietary Solid State Hybrid Battery Technology https://greenstocknews.com/news/otcmkts/eflvf/electrovaya-announces-breakthrough-performance-for-proprietary-solid-state-hybrid-battery-technology

Acoustic propulsion of nanomachines depends on their orientation

https://phys.org/news/2022-03-acoustic-propulsion-nanomachines.html "traveling ultrasound waves would be used... propulsion of nanoparticles depends on their orientation... particles will behave in applications and that the propulsion has the right properties for the particles to actually be used in these applications... nanoparticles could move through the bloodstream without blocking up the finest blood vessels... propulsion is also suitable for other fluids and for tissue" Related: Discovery of new mechanisms to control the flow of sound https://phys.org/news/2022-05-discovery-mechanisms.html Breaking boundaries in tiny labs: New technology using sound waves has implications for nanoparticle manipulation https://phys.org/news/2024-04-boundaries-tiny-labs-technology-implications.html

Intensity control of projectors in parallel: A doorway to an augmented reality future

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-03-intensity-projectors-parallel-doorway-augmented.html?utm_source=nwletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily-nwletter "method to calculate the intensity of each pixel on a target in parallel, reducing the need for a single large optimization calculation. Their method relies on the principle that if pixels are small enough, they can be evaluated independently... could achieve the same quality of images as conventional, more computationally expensive methods, while drastically increasing the mapping speed and thereby reducing the latency"

Quantus Innovatus LLC announces breakthrough in power gathering spanning DC systems proven to help extend battery llfe

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/quantus-innovatus-llc-announces-breakthrough-in-power-gathering-spanning-dc-systems-proven-to-help-extend-battery-life-301501850.html "acquiring energy from the environment has been found... supplement its existing power... DC system to run longer and produce savings... 6.8 MM cars are on the roads and projected to increase to 10.2 MM by 2026... size of the DC power market to be $15.6B by 2026... multiple industries to extend the ability... run on current DC platforms... will help relieve the stress on the current energy grids around the world. Oil could be replaced at a faster rate than initially projected"

Researchers design holographic lenses based on plasma

https://phys.org/news/2022-03-holographic-lenses-based-plasma.html " constructive and destructive interference of light produces a high-intensity focal spot after the lens... p asma is created and modified by the interference between a pair of weaker pump lasers... resilient to imperfections in plasma density; plasma is difficult to control... based on two collinear pump lasers, with different foci overlapping in a gas jet... can tolerate very high light intensities, a thousand to a million times higher"

How removing hotspots from hybrid solar panels improves electrical and thermal energy output

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-03-hotspots-hybrid-solar-panels-electrical.html " researchers modeled the performance of such a system that uses an additional vertical mirror as a homogenizer to distribute the concentrated sunlight more evenly across the cells. The model demonstrated how this addition improved  electrical output —showing an increase of 12% against the standard compound parabolic concentrator—and with thermal performance also rising by between one to two percent"

Researchers develop the world's first power-free frequency tuner using nanomaterials

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-03-world-power-free-frequency-tuner-nanomaterials.html "million times more efficiently than commercial frequency synthesizers while offering 10 to 100 times faster tuning. Although improving the cyclability rates and the readout techniques is a necessity for commercialization, these initial results might mean higher data rates with longer-lasting batteries in the future"

A unified theory of electrochemical energy storage: Bridging batteries and supercapacitors

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-03-theory-electrochemical-energy-storage-bridging.html "binary view of electrochemical charge storage in nanoconfined spaces as either a purely electrostatic phenomenon, or a purely Faradic phenomenon... transition between the two determined by the extent of ion solvation and ion-host interaction... one end of the spectrum is a chemical bond—the basic mechanism of connection, a physical link at the atomic level. The other end is an electrostatic attraction that temporarily entraps ions within and on the surface of a material" Related: Home-grown energy storage technology secures US$20 million funding from global infrastructure firm https://energyreviewmena.com/index.php/article/renewables/item/1185-home-grown-energy-storage-technology-secures-us-20-million-funding-from-global-infrastructure-firm Enhanced Energy Storage Capacity of Graphene Supercapacitors via Solar Heating https://scitechdaily.com/enhanced-energy-storage-capacity-of-graphene-s

AI computer maker Graphcore unveils 3-D chip, promises 500-trillion-parameter 'ultra-intelligence' machine

https://www.zdnet.com/article/ai-computer-maker-graphcore-unveils-3-d-chip-promises-500-trillion-parameter-ultra-intelligence-machine/ "two die stuck together will speed performance by 40%... EfficientNet... melding two wafers before the wafers are cut into separate die... joins the metal circuitry of each wafer. The top wafer is then shaved down to a very thin, film-like quality that is "floppy." The bottom wafer carries the structural support for the two... extremely high density of interconnect between the two wafers... It is more sophisticated than typical "chip on wafer"... wafer-on-wafer achieves ten times the density of interconnects"

Scientists managed to take pure energy and create matter

https://www.inverse.com/science/einstein-light-matter "polarized light is split into different paths by the very strong magnetic fields surrounding the gold nuclei. “It’s not just proving the Breit-Wheeler process... magnetic field around highly-charged nuclei as well as better understand the physics of atomic nuclei. What the nucleus looks like at high energies is still very much unanswered... critical for the next-generation BNL’s Electron-Ion Collider"

An indium oxide-based transistor created using atomic layer deposition

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-03-indium-oxide-based-transistor-atomic-layer.html "atomic layer deposition to deposit thin indium oxide films on a substrate create highly performing transistors... channel lengths of 8 nm and thicknesses of 0.5nm... integrated into a variety of existing and newly developed devices... reduce their size and improve their performance... ultra-low contact resistance scaled device make the unprecedented drain current possible on BEOL compatible oxide semiconductor transistors... deliver drain currents of 10 mA/um or even 20 mA/um" Related: A method to reliably fabricate transition metal dichalcogenide field-effect transistors on a wafer-scale https://techxplore.com/news/2023-01-method-reliably-fabricate-transition-metal.html

Flexible LEC components for efficient light emission

https://phys.org/news/2022-03-flexible-lec-components-efficient-emission.html "control the position of the light emission through rational changes to material composition in active layer... fabricated three almost identical LECs in terms of materials, but with clearly distinct efficiencies differing up to 60%... achieved through chemical changes to... ion-transporter molecule... compound that helps ions move within active layer... modify capability of the electronic charges to travel through the material... effectively changes... position... within... active layer and... from where the light is generated"

Blatter Radicals as Bipolar Materials for Symmetrical Redox-Flow Batteries

  https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/jacs.1c13543 " use of Blatter radicals in electrochemical energy-storage applications and a stepping stone toward innovative all-organic, symmetrical battery chemistries...  1,2,4-benzotriazin-4-yl radicals combine bipolar electrochemistry high chemical stability in all states of charge... energy-storage materials for symmetric redox-flow batteries... derivatives with a C(3)–CF3 substituent (compounds 3)... minimal capacity fade during battery cycling... stability of charged states (3a+ and 3a–) was confirmed through independent chemical synthe"

Developing a new layered material for future electronics

https://phys.org/news/2022-03-layered-material-future-electronics.html "ultra-low energy technologies beyond CMOS electronics... avenue towards multiferroic nanodevices, the work will motivate experimentalists in this field to explore further opportunities for the use of In2Se3/FGT in future low-energy electronic devices... Synthesizing a new multiferroic heterojunction that has the ability to "tune" the Schottky barrier height, and switch between an n-type and p-type, via a switch in ferroelectric polarization... Exploring heterostructures of In2Se3 with other ferromagnetic materials"

Arsenic helps make black phosphorus stable for energy efficiency

https://phys.org/news/2022-03-arsenic-black-phosphorus-stable-energy.html "Doping BP with arsenic results in a two-dimensional (2D) material with a structure that may break the link between heat and electrical conductivity... electrons are very mobile within the layers... weak chemical bonding between layers limits transmission of heat... structure selectively reduces transmission of heat... substituting arsenic for a few phosphorus atoms stabilizes a 2D structure in BP... improved thermoelectric power compared to pure BP... arsenic-doped BP much more interesting candidate than BP" Related: A more sustainable way to generate phosphorus https://phys.org/news/2023-02-sustainable-generate-phosphorus.html

Research team develops new strategy for designing thermoelectric materials

https://phys.org/news/2022-03-team-strategy-thermoelectric-materials.html "constructed a database of two electronic structure parameters known to be correlated with materials' thermoelectric conversion properties: charge transfer energy (Δ) and onsite Coulomb repulsion energy (U). Data was collected from various materials containing transition metal ions... relationship between various chemical elements and the parameters... materials with desirable thermoelectric conversion properties occur in particular areas along the plotted Δ and U values" Related: A new heat engine with no moving parts is as efficient as a steam turbine https://techxplore.com/news/2022-04-efficient-steam-turbine.html  see also: Revolutionary Breakthrough: 30x Cheaper Grid Scale Energy Storage  https://www.toolify.ai/ai-news/revolutionary-breakthrough-30x-cheaper-grid-scale-energy-storage-1851

Characterizing super-semi sandwiches for quantum computing

https://phys.org/news/2022-03-characterizing-super-semi-sandwiches-quantum.html "combined properties of Al and InAs become modified in super-semi sandwiches. At the interface between the Al superconductor and the InAs semiconductor, the proximity effect spills the superconductivity into the semiconductor creating new quantum states there... sending a current alternating billions of times a second through the vicinity of the sandwich, we could make the superconductor's veil partially transparent"

New flow battery stores power in simple organic compound

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-03-battery-power-simple-compound.html "They tested the compound in a small electrochemical cell. It worked well and remained stable over 275 charge/discharge cycles. "We need to bring this up to thousands of cycles; however, our experiments are a proof of concept. It is possible to make a symmetrical flow battery that has good stability." The organic Blatter radical is relatively easy to make and although it is currently not produced in industry, scale-up should be possible"

Scientists devise new technique to increase chip yield from semiconductor wafer

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-03-scientists-technique-chip-yield-semiconductor.html "transferring Gold (Au) nanostructure layers onto a Silicon (Si) substrate at low temperature (160°C) to form a highly uniform wafer with nanowires that can be controlled to the desired thickness during fabrication... achieve more than 99 percent yield transfer of a 20-nanometre thick Au film onto a six-inch Si wafer... when 100 light sensors, known as photodetectors, were fabricated into the six-inch wafer, excellent uniformity of performance"

A next-generation aqueous electrolyte

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-03-next-generation-aqueous-electrolyte.html "salt concentration lower than 5.0 m (mol/kg) and a stability window greater than 3.0 V... mixing three eutectic materials together—CO(NH2)2, LiTFSI and water, along with the additive KOH, resulting in a 4.5m water-based electrolyte—a nonflammable ternary eutectic... low-cost solution that is also safe for the environment... Li4Ti5O12 as a negative electrode and LiMn2O4 as the positive electrode in a coin cell and found a CE of approximately 99.9%... achieved 99.87% CE"

Simpler graphene method paves way for new era of nanoelectronics

https://phys.org/news/2022-03-simpler-graphene-method-paves-era.html "cheap and flexible graphene devices can still have an uncompromisingly high mobility... cheap graphene devices on flexible substrates with high carrier mobility, probably only limited by the CVD process and purity of copper... CVD graphene transferred to EVA/PET is being intensely explored and studied for flexible and stretchable electronics... portable energy-harvesting devices, electronic skin, and wearable electronic devices... increase the scope of such flexible graphene films in this field" Related: Physicists Build Circuit That Generates Clean, Limitless Power From Graphene https://news.uark.edu/articles/54830/physicists-build-circuit-that-generates-clean-limitless-power-from-graphene Graphene Energy Harvesting (GEH) https://www.ntsinnovations.com/graphene-energy-harvesting 3D printed elastic conductors for stretchable electronics https://techxplore.com/news/2023-05-3d-elastic-conductors-stretchable-e

Binder-free sandwich structure film as a high-capacity cathode for aluminum-sulfur battery

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-03-binder-free-sandwich-high-capacity-cathode-aluminum-sulfur.html "binder-free S@Ti3C2TX sandwich structure film with uniform sulfur dispersion as a high-capacity cathode offers several important advantages... upper and lower surfaces of the film were covered with a very thin pure Ti3C2Tx film, and the main part in the middle was composed of a S@Ti3C2Tx composite... in-situ controllable chemical deposition of nano sulfur in the Ti3C2Tx solution... protective layer was directly added on the surface of the S@Ti3C2Tx composite to block polysulfides" Related: MIT professor develops concept for low-cost batteries with aluminium and sulphur https://www.cnbctv18.com/science/mit-professor-develops-concept-for-low-cost-batteries-with-aluminium-and-sulphur-14788411.htm Exciting Breakthrough: Aluminum Foil Batteries Could Outperform Lithium-ion Batteries https://ts2.space/en/exciting-breakthrough-aluminum-foil-batteries-could-outperform-lithium-ion-batt

Creating sub-1-nm gate lengths for MoS2 transistors

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-03-sub-nm-gate-lengths-mos2-transistors.html "multiple-layer sandwich of materials... covered by a layer of graphene, followed by a layer of aluminum oxide. Next, they etched the material to remove the top layers from half of their transistor, leaving a stairstep configuration to expose the edge of the graphene layer, allowing its use as a gate. They then covered both parts of the transistor with a layer of hafnium oxide to create a channel between the source and drain and through the gate. Then finally, they added two metal electrodes" Related: How a thin-film copper sandwich is transforming electronics https://phys.org/news/2023-02-thin-film-copper-sandwich-electronics.html

Distortion-free, stretchable micro-LED meta-display technology

  https://phys.org/news/2022-03-distortion-free-stretchable-micro-led-meta-display-technology.html "can be stretched up to 25% without image distortion... mobile phones and tablets. Such displays can also adhere to the skin of the human body without any wrinkles, with applications in the fields of medical devices, beauty and healthcare"

Rotation heat pump for industrial applications

https://www.pv-magazine.com/2022/03/14/rotation-heat-pump-for-industrial-applications/ "rotation heat pump with a reported coefficient of performance (COP) of 4.0 – 7.0. The 700 kW machine operates under temperatures of 150 degrees Celsius and is based on an anticlockwise running Joule process, during which there is no phase transition of the working medium that always remains gaseous... inert gas which the company says has zero global warming potential, is widely available, inexpensive, and does not pose any security issues" Related: Heat pumps do work in the cold — Americans just don’t know it yet https://grist.org/housing/heat-pumps-do-work-in-the-cold-americans-just-dont-know-it-yet/ Solar heat pump system https://www.resystech.com/solar-heat-pump-system1.html

Neurons are fickle. Electric fields are more reliable for information

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-03-neurons-fickle-electric-fields-reliable.html "mathematical strategy of tracking correlated activity among the neurons during the delay period. By determining which neurons were working together and cohesively to perform the task, he could determine their connectivity and therefore the information flow among them. From there, using standard principles of biophysics, he calculated the electric field their activity was producing around the patches of brain surface they occupied"

A new cleaning method could remove dust on solar installations in water-limited regions, improving overall efficiency

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-03-method-solar-water-limited-regions-efficiency.html "In practice, at scale, each solar panel could be fitted with railings on each side, with an electrode spanning across the panel. A small electric motor, perhaps using a tiny portion of the output from the panel itself, would drive a belt system to move the electrode... automated or controlled remotely. Alternatively, thin strips of conductive transparent material could be permanently arranged above the panel, eliminating the need for moving parts" Related: How to clean solar panels without water https://news.mit.edu/2022/solar-panels-dust-magnets-0311 Retrofitting facades and solar panels easily with ultra-thin glass https://techxplore.com/news/2023-01-retrofitting-facades-solar-panels-easily.html Innovative Approaches Tackle Self-Cleaning Solar Panels https://www.eetimes.com/innovative-approaches-tackle-self-cleaning-solar-panels/ Anti-soiling PV coating delivers 3% boost in energy produc

A remote control for functional materials

https://www.cui-advanced.uni-hamburg.de/en/research/wissenschaftsnews/22-03-10-remote-control.html "mid-infrared pulses to excite the surface of a LiNbO3 crystal, launching a strong vibration throughout a region that spans a depth of 3 micrometers from the crystal surface. Then, they used a technique called femtosecond stimulated Raman scattering to measure ultrafast changes of the ferroelectric polarization throughout the complete 50 micrometer crystal thickness. The measurements revealed that light pulses with a very high energy density cause the ferroelectric polarization to reverse throughout the entire crystal"

Vortex Bladeless biography & current stage

https://vortexbladeless.com/story-vortex-bladeless-tech-startup/ "environmentally friendly wind generator which needs no blades nor rotation... designed for modular on-site energy generation and low-consumption systems off-grid, specially thought to work along with other Vortex units or regular solar panels. Our vortex wind turbine is not actually a turbine since it does not rotate... aeroelastic resonance, harnessing energy from the wind on the emission of Von Karman’s vortexes, a process called vortex shedding or vortex street" Related: Could ‘wind trees’ with micro turbines be a solution to green energy in tight urban spaces? https://www.euronews.com/green/2023/11/12/could-wind-trees-with-micro-turbines-be-a-solution-to-green-energy-in-tight-urban-spaces This new bladeless fan is the future of wind turbines https://interestingengineering.com/innovation/this-new-bladeless-fan-is-the-future-of-wind-turbines Experience the future of renewable energy with Skybrator bladeless w

Major Nuclear Fusion Breakthrough Could Make Way for Unlimited Clean Energy

https://www.azocleantech.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=1465 "high levels of fusion energy sustained over a period of five seconds. While five seconds is clearly not sufficient for a powerplant... performance will be possible for much longer timescales in devices that will make use of recent developments in technology (such as superconducting magnets). JET produced a total of 59 Megajoules of heat energy from fusion over a five-second period (the duration of the fusion experiment)... averaged a fusion power... of over 10 Megawatts (Megajoules per second)"

Gogoro unveils the first swappable solid-state EV battery

https://www.engadget.com/gogoro-swappable-solid-state-ev-battery-145323208.html "The scooter and energy brand has teamed up with ProLogium Technology to reveal what they say is the world's first swappable solid-state EV battery... compatible with Gogoro's current scooters, but should deliver a much higher capacity — the two companies are targeting 2.5kWh versus the 1.7kWh of existing hardware... greater range while offering improved safety... inherently safer nature of a solid-state battery should reduce the chances of fires compared to 'conventional' EVs" Related:   The "World's First Ever Solid State Swappable EV Battery" Is Here!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpdpeMec-qg Battery-Swapping Revival Could Threaten Electric Car Charging Networks https://www.forbes.com/sites/neilwinton/2022/09/12/battery-swapping-revival-could-threaten-electric-car-charging-networks/?sh=7461b7051b1b Formula Platform Technology: Batteries are Swappable, and Now So

Faster analog computer could be based on mathematics of complex systems

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-03-faster-analog-based-mathematics-complex.html "carry out complex computations extremely quickly—possibly, even faster than today's supercomputers and at vastly less cost than any existing quantum computers. The principle uses time delay to overcome the barriers in optimization problems (choosing the best option from a large number of possibilities)...  would not require complex decision-making and complicated computer code... potentially be implemented without a digital computer based on the physical principles of analog devices" Related: AMD-Powered Frontier Supercomputer Breaks the Exascale Barrier, Now Fastest in the World https://www.tomshardware.com/news/amd-powered-frontier-supercomputer-breaks-the-exascale-barrier-now-fastest-in-the-world Mathematics at the speed of light https://phys.org/news/2023-01-mathematics.html New analog quantum computers to solve previously unsolvable problems https://phys.org/news/2023-01-analog-quantum-

Mathematical discovery could shed light on quantum gravity

https://phys.org/news/2022-03-mathematical-discovery-quantum-gravity.html ""We strive to understand the laws of nature and the language in which these are written is mathematics. When we seek answers to questions in physics, we are often led to new discoveries in mathematics too. This interaction is particularly prominent in the search for quantum gravity—where it is extremely difficult to perform experiments,.."

High efficiency in slow moving water from 2 mph to over 6 mph

https://waterotor.com/our-solution/ "Waterotor’s breakthrough technology converts over 50% of the available energy in flowing water to electricity at speeds as slow as 2.0 mph (0.9 m/s). Waterotor will produce power as low as $0.05 per kW-hour at 5.5 mph (2.46 m/s) and lower than $0.15 at 4 mph (1.78 m/s)...  bringing electricity to more than 2 billion people. Rivers, canals, and major ocean currents such as the Gulf Stream are all venues... Unlike propeller turbines submerged within water flow speeds that must be in excess of 6.5 mph" Related: Blowhole wave energy generator exceeds expectations in 12-month test https://newatlas.com/energy/blowhole-wave-energy-generator Rbust generator made from recycled material to harness wave power https://techxplore.com/news/2022-08-rbust-recycled-material-harness-power.html This Startup Is Building Generators That Can Power Up to 500 Homes Using Only Ocean Waves https://www.democratizing.finance/post/this-startup-is-building-generators-t

Scientists fabricate novel electrical component to improve stability of solar cells

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-03-scientists-fabricate-electrical-component-stability.html "novel SiOx layer that simultaneously allows high passivation and improved conductivity... NAnocrystalling Transport path in Ultrathin dielectrics for REinforcing passivating contact (NATURE contact)... three-layer structures made up of a layer of silicon nanoparticles sandwiched between two layers of oxygen-rich SiOx... passivating film as a big wall with gates in it. In the NATURE contact, the big wall is the SiOx layer and the gates are Si nanocrystals"

A zigzag blueprint for topological electronics

https://phys.org/news/2022-03-zigzag-blueprint-topological-electronics.html "act more like the 2D case, where gate electric field switches edge state conductance while closing and reopening bulk bandgap... [a] topological switching mechanism in large-gap confined zigzag-Xene-nanoribbons overturns the general wisdom of utilizing narrow gap and wide channel materials for reducing threshold-voltage in a standard field effect transistor analysis... topological quantum field effect transistor utilizing zigzag-Xene-nanoribbons as a channel material has several advantages of engineering"

Investigating an innovative solution for thermal energy storage

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-03-solution-thermal-energy-storage.html "What our method does is it completely decouples the two," i.e., the energy density and power density... Their insight was that application of slight pressure to a melting PCM can solve the problem simply by keeping the PCM right next to the heat source that is melting it" Related: Bill Gates, Chris Sacca Invest in tech for Net Zero Emissions in Heavy Industries (Antora Energy) https://www.saurenergy.com/ev-storage/bill-gates-chris-sacca-invest-in-tech-for-net-zero-emissions-in-heavy-industries  See also: Antora Energy Begins Production of Highly-Efficient Thermophotovoltaic (TPV) Cells in New 2MW Manufacturing Facility  https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/antora-energy-begins-production-highly-140000310.html  Ultra-hot carbon batteries promise super-cheap heat and energy storage https://newatlas.com/energy/antora-carbon-heat-battery/ Heat storage: Scientists develop material that is stable, efficient a

Researchers develop pressure-quench process to enhance superconductivity toward goal of wasting zero energy

https://phys.org/news/2022-03-pressure-quench-superconductivity-goal-energy.html "Chu and Deng have developed a pressure-quench process (PQP), in which they first apply pressure to their samples at room temperature to enhance superconductivity, cool them to a chosen lower temperature, and then completely release the applied pressure, while still retaining the enhanced superconducting properties"

New method for stabilizing the interfaces in solid-state lithium-ion batteries

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-03-method-stabilizing-interfaces-solid-state-lithium-ion.html "Sintering is needed because if the ceramic layers are simply pressed onto each other, the contact between them is far from ideal, there are far too many gaps, and the electrical resistance across the interface is high... avoiding carbon dioxide, and in particular maintaining a pure oxygen atmosphere during sintering, could create very good bonding at temperatures up to 700 degrees, with none of the detrimental compounds formed"

High pressure water energy storage coming to San Antonio

https://cleantechnica.com/2022/03/08/high-pressure-water-energy-storage-coming-to-san-antonio/ "initial 1-megawatt, 10-hour storage facility... The rock acts like a natural spring to hold the water under pressure. When called upon to supply electricity, the pressurized water is released to power a hydroelectric turbine that generates emission free electricity. The entire process is closed loop to conserve water resources. CPS Energy will have the option to expand the project to provide 15 MW as the project matures"

Using the model of a pancake stack to make better solar cells

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-03-pancake-stack-solar-cells.html "solar electronics that are flexible, powerful, and better for the environment... organic compound that separates positive and negative components that are essential to solar cells into separate stacks.We took one set of molecules, or pancakes if you will, and bent them using organic chemistry so they don't stack well with the other type... change in shape made it much easier to have two organized stacks for better electrical flow... synchrotron was key in determining the structure of our compound"

Magnetic hybrid system generates electricity day and night with radiative cooling

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-03-magnetic-hybrid-electricity-day-night.html "top layer is a paramagnetic insulator made of gadolinium gallium garnet. This layer is transparent to sunlight and emits thermal radiation to the universe, getting cooler. Sunlight passes through the following ferrimagnetic layer made of yttrium iron garnet. This layer is also transparent... bottom two light-absorbing layers, made of paramagnetic platinum and blackbody paint. The bottom section stays warm due to sunlight absorption... converted to electric voltage in the paramagnetic platinum layer" Related: Solar cell keeps working long after sun sets https://techxplore.com/news/2022-04-solar-cell-sun.html Solar panels that work at night produce enough power to charge a phone https://www.newscientist.com/article/2314957-solar-panels-that-work-at-night-produce-enough-power-to-charge-a-phone/ Solar Panels That Work at Night Developed at Stanford https://www.cnet.com/home/energy-and-utilities/solar-

Bio-FlatScope dives deep for useful data

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-03-bio-flatscope-deep.html "The mechanism combines a sophisticated phase mask to generate patterns of light that fall directly onto the chip, according to the researchers. The mask in the original FlatCam looks something like a bar code and limits the amount of light that passes through to the camera sensor. But it doesn't work well for biological samples"

Plasma lab findings could lead to ever-more powerful microchips and supercomputers

https://phys.org/news/2022-03-plasma-lab-ever-more-powerful-microchips.html "The model simulated the sequential use of chlorine gas and argon plasma ions to control the silicon etch process on an atomic scale. Plasma, or ionized gas, is a mixture consisting of free electrons, positively charged ions and neutral molecules. The plasma used in semiconductor device processing is near room temperature, in contrast to the ultra-hot plasma used in fusion experiments... ALE process became particularly effective when the ion energies were quite a bit higher than the ones we started with"

Graphcore Uses TSMC 3D Chip Tech to Speed AI by 40% Unveils plan for $120-million “brain-scale” supercomputers in 2024

https://spectrum.ieee.org/graphcore-ai-processor "The new combined chip, called Bow, for a district in London, is the first on the market to use wafer-on-wafer bonding... addition of the power-delivery silicon means Bow can run faster—1.85 gigahertz versus 1.35 GHz—and at lower voltage than its predecessor. That translates to computers that train neural nets up to 40 percent faster with as much as 16 percent less energy compared to its previous generation. Importantly, users get this improvement with no change to their software at all"

MIT scientists develop semisolid zinc-manganese dioxide flow battery for wind, PV storage

https://www.pv-magazine.com/2021/12/02/mit-scientists-develop-semisolid-zinc-manganese-dioxide-flow-battery-for-wind-pv-storage/ "“These systems have to be able to flow under reasonable pressures, but also have a weak yield stress so that the active MnO2 particles don't sink to the bottom of the flow tanks when the system isn’t being used, as well as not separate into a battery/oily clear fluid phase and a dense paste of carbon particles and MnO2,” said researcher Gareth McKinley" Related: Why Manganese Dioxide Flow Batteries Might Be The Final Solution To Energy Storage https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J99Tk0rJMUs Scientists design ultrastable, high-energy-density Zn–Mn battery https://techxplore.com/news/2023-09-scientists-ultrastable-high-energy-density-znmn-battery.html Regulating the manganese cathode interface of zinc-manganese batteries with a quasi-eutectic electrolyte https://techxplore.com/news/2023-11-manganese-cathode-interface-zinc-manganese-batteries.html

Safer, more powerful batteries for electric cars, power grid

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-03-safer-powerful-batteries-electric-cars.html "first bad thing that could happen is if the batteries caught on fire—from either a neighboring battery or a surrounding building... second bad thing that could happen to the batteries is if repeated charging and discharging caused the lithium metal to form a "spike" called a dendrite. This dendrite can puncture a hole through the separator that keeps the two sides distinct and causes a short-circuit... The third bad thing that could happen to a solid-state battery is the solid electrolyte could break" Related: Getting to know the 'ghost' inside batteries: An in-depth examination of tiny short-circuits https://techxplore.com/news/2024-02-ghost-batteries-depth-tiny-short.html

Students launch desktop recycler that turns pop bottles into 3D printer plastic

https://phys.org/news/2015-03-students-desktop-recycler-bottles-3d.html "While there are other desktop filament extruders and plastic grinders on the market, ProtoCycler combines the two and is faster and easier to use. It can produce 10 feet of filament per minute – the fastest extruder on the marke... A kilogram spool of filament created by ProtoCycler costs $5 if produced with plastic pellets available for purchase, or is free if produced from used plastic. The cheapest store-bought spool starts at $30" Related: AI-engineered enzyme eats entire plastic containers https://www.chemistryworld.com/news/ai-engineered-enzyme-eats-entire-plastic-containers/4015620.article Enzyme molecule in marine bacteria degrades plastic polymer https://phys.org/news/2023-10-enzyme-molecule-marine-bacteria-degrades.htm Plastic-eating enzymes could help solve pollution problem https://phys.org/news/2023-10-plastic-eating-enzymes-pollution-problem.html Durable plastic pollution easily, cleanly de

Researchers map magnetic fields in 3D, findings could improve device storage capacity

https://phys.org/news/2022-03-magnetic-fields-3d-device-storage.html "The number three really represents a breakthrough in this field... results of three years of high-performance numerical simulations, mapping a three-dimensional structure of a 100 nanometer magnetic tetrahedron sample using only three projection angles of electron beams. Zang points to computed tomography medical imaging, or CT scans, as an example. Instead of sending multiple beams of X-rays to map tissues in the body the same images could be produced with only three beams"

Cutting losses: ASU engineering research equips solar industry for improved performance

https://news.asu.edu/20220303-solutions-asu-engineering-research-equips-solar-industry-improved-performance "Selectivity losses correspond to a drop between the internal and external voltages of the cell. Internal voltage is a measure of how defects within the bulk of the absorber and at its interfaces reduce voltage below an ideal thermodynamic limit. External voltage corresponds to internal voltage minus losses due to non-ideal behavior in the semipermeable membranes that sandwich or wrap the cell absorber and direct the electron flow in and out of the cell to generate an electric current" Related: UQ start-up to help solar farms power on https://www.uq.edu.au/news/article/2024/02/uq-start-help-solar-farms-power

Convenient wireless charging for home use

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-03-convenient-wireless-home.html "The key to the new design is a cylindrical power coil. The wire at the top of the coil is wound in the opposite direction to the wire at the bottom of the coil, with a z-shaped bridge connecting them... This results in an even magnetic field around the middle of the charging coil. Receivers placed anywhere within that area charge efficiently, regardless of their position or orientation... This was just a proof of concept... Now we can work to improve the efficiency—maybe to around 90% – and also the power" Related: Study conceptualizes energy efficient, wireless charging roads https://techxplore.com/news/2022-07-energy-efficient-wireless-roads.html Engineers use radiation suppression to develop better wireless charging https://techxplore.com/news/2023-07-suppression-wireless.html

Magnetic excitations could provide information transfer without heat loss

https://phys.org/news/2022-03-magnetic-loss.html "The research team employed instruments of the Institut Laue-Langevin in France, the spallation source SINQ at the Swiss Paul Scherrer Institute, the UK's ISIS neutron and muon source, and the Research Neutron Source Heim Maier-Leibnitz (FRM II) at the Technical University of Munich. Further work on theory and data analysis was carried out at the U.S. Los Alamos National Laboratory and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology" Related: ORNL’s Frontier First to Break the Exaflop Ceiling https://www.top500.org/news/ornls-frontier-first-to-break-the-exaflop-ceiling/

P-type vs n-type poly-Si/SiOx passivating contacts

https://www.pv-magazine.com/2022/03/04/p-type-vs-n-type-poly-si-siox-passivating-contacts/ "The research group used secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) to investigate the root causes for the different firing behavior in samples passivated by p- and n-type poly-Si with similar passivation quality and crystal properties. The firing treatment was performed through rapid thermal annealing (RTA) furnace and the samples were sandwiched between two 180-μm thick dummy wafers" Related: Chip-scale spectrometry using a photonic molecule https://phys.org/news/2023-03-chip-scale-spectrometry-photonic-molecule.html