Today's Tech News: Notable or Not?

  https://phys.org/news/2022-08-simple-technique-ushers-long-sought-class.html "chemical vapor deposition... vanadium-based superlattices... anisotropic anomalous Hall effect... directionally focused charge accumulation in-plane magnetic field conditions (in which the conventional Hall effect isn't observed). Usually, the AHE is observed only at ultra-low temperatures. In the present research, the AHE was observed at room temperature and higher, up to around at least the boiling point of water. Generation of the AHE at practical temperatures will facilitate its use in everyday technologies"

https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/heat-pumps/finally-a-heat-pump-water-heater-that-plugs-into-a-standard-outlet   "first 120-volt water heaters being installed... water heaters act like thermal batteries... tapping into this water heater storage capability through rates and incentives. The latest water heaters, like Rheem’s ProTerra, come equipped with digital communications ports to support more fine-tuned control... Manufacturers typically operate on five-year cycles,” he said. ​“How can you build trust and act on the market and policy changes that are necessary to give them confidence to move forward? Related: French startup uses Hi-Fi speakers to develop eco-friendly heat pumps https://thenextweb.com/news/startup-uses-hi-fi-speakers-develop-eco-friendly-acoustic-heat-pumps  See also:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pvrBUz35MU Near-Isothermal Stirling Heat Pump technology http://www.fluidmechanics.co.uk/near-isothermal-stirling-heat-pump-technology/ A New Way to Electrify:

https://phys.org/news/2022-08-silicon-carbide-photonics.html "4H-SiC photonic chip integrated InGaAs quantum dot-based single-photon sources by pick-and-place... bilayer vertical couplers and 1×2 multimode interferometers with power splitting ratio 50:50, highly efficient routing single-photon emission hybrid quantum photonic chip... 4H-SiCOI with low optical loss... integrated nonlinear and quantum SiC... broadband wide soliton frequency Kerr combs"

https://phys.org/news/2022-08-universal-dual-metal-precursor-method.html "In this dual metal growth method, the mixture of low-melting-point metal chloride and the corresponding high-melting-point metal powder was used as the dual-metal precursors. During the gas-phase reaction process, the evaporation rate was well controlled to provide a constant metal source feed and facilitate the growth of non-layered 2D TMCs with thin thickness. Taking hexagonal Fe1–xS as an example, the thickness is down to 3 nm with a lateral size up to >100 μm"

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-08-scaling-production-liquid-metal-circuits.html "combined the selective metal-alloy wetting with a dip coating process. Dip-coating... facilitates deposition EGaIn... circuit layout... lithographically patterned copper traces on elastomer-coated wafers...  automated, high-precision motion system and two-layer dipping bath... EGaIn onto patterned copper wetting...  thin layer aqueous sodium hydroxide, followed by EGaIn. NaOH facilitates removal oxide skin and oxidation on surface of copper traces... immersed into bath... controlling the withdrawal speed, they successfully produced repeatable liquid metal geometries"

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-08-dye-aggregation-molten-salts-solar.html "submerged TiO2 electrodes with dye-to-ionic-liquid proportions... optimizing synthesis procedure... DSSCs made using ionic liquid with longer molecular structure... remarkably better performance... spatially bulky molecular structure of ionic liquids... effective anti-aggregation agent without significantly impacting the amount of dye adsorbed into the electrode," explains Dr. Inomata. "Most importantly, the introduction of the larger ionic liquid improves all the photovoltaic parameters of the DSSCs"

https://interestingengineering.com/innovation/us-engineered-material-can-sense-think "sensing and actuating functionalities in soft matter... relation between Boolean mathematics and kinematically reconfigurable electrical circuits... combinational logic operations in soft, conductive materials... minimizes canonical functions of combinational logic by Quine–McCluskey method... perform higher-level arithmetic, number comparison, and decode binary data to visual representations... increase computational density of the materials by a monolithic layer-by-layer design approach"

https://phys.org/news/2022-08-chemical-trends-high-thermoelectric-pyrite-type.html "large density-of-states effective masses and small conductivity effective masses... complex non-spherical iso energy Fermi surfaces in valence and conduction bands... low lattice thermal conductivity and electrical transport... excellent thermoelectric performances... localized nonmetallic dimers and rattling-like metal atoms on thermal transport... different carrier effective masses to electrical transport properties... could be used to predict and optimize the TE properties of other TE compounds"

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-08-benefits-grid-forming-inverters-solar-photovoltaic.html "solar photovoltaic energy system (20 kW rating) and diesel synchronous generator (125 kVA rating) with  GFM inverter... decrease in grid frequency suppressed by 30% when load fluctuation was 20 kW... suppressing decrease in grid frequency 70%... contribute to grid stability when charging electric vehicles... reduced 30%, from 22 to 16 kW, by selecting an inertia suitable for parallel operation of synchronous generators with internal combustion engines, like those expected to be used in a microgrid" Related: Spinning machines versus grid forming inverters: The search for control in 100 pct renewables https://reneweconomy.com.au/spinning-machines-versus-grid-forming-inverters-the-search-for-control-in-100-pct-renewables/

 https://phys.org/news/2022-08-physicists-entangle-dozen-photons-efficiently.htm "allows any number of entangled photons to be generated... By measuring the photon chain produced, we were able to prove an efficiency of almost 50%, says Philip Thomas. This means almost every second push of a button" on the rubidium atom delivered a usable light particle—far more than has been achieved in previous experiments. All in all, our work removes a long-standing obstacle on the path to scalable, measurement-based quantum computing" Related: Researchers take a different approach with measurement-based quantum computing https://phys.org/news/2023-12-approach-measurement-based-quantum.html

https://www.sciencealert.com/new-twisted-laser-beam-can-sculpt-ultracold-atoms-into-unusual-shapes "atomtronic circuits... waves of ultracold atoms guided and manipulated by optical and/or magnetic fields form advanced transistors and diodes... manipulate BEC's shape... atomtronic circuits... like atomtronic superconducting quantum interference devices... neutral atoms result in less information loss...change features of device more easily... complex atomtronic circuits... highly controllable and easily reconfigurable quantum sensors capable measuring tiny magnetic fields otherwise immeasurable"

https://interestingengineering.com/innovation/3d-printed-solar-cells-are-cheaper-easier-to-produce-and-deployable-at-speed "printing them on plastic film that's less than 0.1 of a millimeter thick... kilometers of material each day, printed solar quick and inexpensive... less than $10 per square meter. No other renewal energy technology can be manufactured as quickly. The low cost and speed at which this technology can be deployed are exciting as we need to find solutions, and quickly... With over 99 percent of the panels made of PET, the material was recyclable, giving it a distinct advantage over traditional silicon panels"

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-08-room-outer-space-diy-solar "pictures and maps of defects within solar cells and tells scientists where cells are losing power or efficiency over time... innovative technique started as personal project... originally intended analyze minerals... merging with frequency analysis... laser beam... focus to spot and scan across... measure quality of solar cell"

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-08-silicon-image-sensor.html "electrostatically doped... can perform analog version multiplication and addition operations central to many image processing pipelines, extracting relevant visual information as soon as the image is captured... programmed into different image filters to remove unnecessary details or noise for various applications. An imaging system in an autonomous vehicle, for example, may call for a high-pass filter to track lane markings, while other applications may call for a filter that blurs for noise reduction"

"ultrashort channel devices requires high-resolution lithography and metallization processes introduce contaminations to atomically thin 2DSCs, compromising performance... gap between merged VSe2 domains grown on bilayer WSe2... ultrashort channel bilayer WSe2 transistors with optimized synthetic vdW contacts, ON-state current density 1.72 mA/μm and linear resistance 0.50 kΩ·μm"

  https://phys.org/news/2022-08-scientists-smart-terahertz-electro-optic-modulator.html "active and smart THz electro-optic modulator based on VO2 film... near-perfect antireflection (99.9% modulation depth) and 180° phase switching. By utilizing a feedback loop of "THz-electro-THz" geometry, they also realized smart electro-optic THz control in the VO2 structure. The desired THz amplitude could be achieved accurately no matter what the initial condition was and how the external environment changed...  could electrically modulate the reflection and phase of THz waves"

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-04983-9 "multi-step conversion pathway between aluminium and chalcogen allows rapid charging at 200C, and the battery endures... hundreds of cycles at very high charging rates without aluminium dendrite formation... cell-level cost one-sixth that of current lithium-ion technologies. Composed of earth-abundant elements that can be ethically sourced and operated at moderately elevated temperatures just above the boiling point of water, this chemistry has all the requisites of a low-cost, rechargeable, fire-resistant, recyclable battery"

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-08-bilayer-tungsten-diselenide-transistors-on-state.html "on-state current densities of 1.0–1.7 mA μm-1 in sub-100 nm bilayer WSe2 transistors, exceeding the critical current density target for 2D transistors (i.e., 1.5 mA μm-1). Their findings could thus have valuable applications for the field of electronics engineering, as they show that transistors based on 2D semiconductors can deliver competitive current densities at channel lengths and driving voltages that are comparable to those of silicon-based transistors"

https://phys.org/news/2022-08-physicists.html "two partial beams overlap... light blocks itself... partially transparent mirror... reflect large part of light, reflection  rendered impossible by other part of beam... mirror, used to be partially transparent, now completely transparent for incident laser... creates one-way light... can enter system... no longer escape because of superposition... reflected portion and portion guided through system in circle... light... absorbed... laser beam swallowed up by thin layer that would otherwise allow most beam pass through"

"Jankovic envisions creating a fuel cell roughly the size of a AA battery however, as a scalable and modular technology, it could be scaled-up to any practical size. The cylindrical shape would allow for more fuel cells to occupy the same amount of space as those in use now and be cheaper to manufacture, Invernale said. Jankovic views her fuel cell design as a replacement for Lithium-Ion batteries"

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-08-nontoxic-material-ultra-strong-solar-energy.html "inhomogeneous distribution sodium and bismuth ions... localized electronic states... charges... tens of microseconds... 100 times longer than other semiconductors.... trapped in these states and can only move by hopping between states, which ultimately limits their ability to move and be extracted as electricity... atomic defects... negligible role in NaBiS2... transport of charges  dominated by localized states... controlling degree disorder... NaBiS2... stable in air... without encapsulation... long-term durability" Related:  Using microwaves for low-cost production of alkali metallic phosphate nanocomposites for use in sodium-ion batteries https://techxplore.com/news/2022-10-microwaves-low-cost-production-alkali-metallic.html

https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/pressroom/newsreleases/2022/august/a-more-environmentally-friendly-air-conditioner.html "metal tube packed with solid refrigerant and inert water or oil... hydraulic piston applies pressure to liquid... liquid helps transfer pressure to refrigerant and carry heat... barocaloric materials... functional refrigerants, turning pressure changes into temperature-changing cycles... doesn’t use pressures as low as commercial refrigeration systems... first working cooling system using solid-state refrigerants that rely on pressure changes" Related: New breakthrough in zero energy technology keeps things cool with no electricity required https://thedebrief.org/new-breakthrough-in-zero-energy-technology-keeps-things-cool-with-no-electricity-required/ Elastocaloric cooling system opens door to climate-friendly AC https://phys.org/news/2023-06-elastocaloric-cooling-door-climate-friendly-ac.html

https://phys.org/news/2022-08-stable-quantum-batteries-reliably-energy.html "electromagnetic field reaches steady state, whose energy can be determined and decided a priori when building the micromaser. This property ensures protection from the risks of overcharging... final configuration electromagnetic field pure state... no memory of qubits used during charging... all energy stored extracted and used... without the need of keeping track of the qubits used during charging process... robust and not destroyed by changing specific parameters"

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-08-simple-significantly-lifetimes-fuel-cells.html   "coated fuel/electrolysis cell cathode with lithium oxide... adding small amount lithium... recover initial performance of poisoned cell... added more lithium, performance... improvements three to four orders of magnitude in key oxygen reduction reaction rate and... populating the surface of the electrode with electrons needed to drive the oxygen incorporation reaction... lithium oxide effectively dissolves the chromium to form a glassy material that no longer serves to degrade the cathode performance"

https://www.laserfocusworld.com/optics/article/14280255/freespace-optics-surpasses-traditional-technology "affordable, low-power transceivers transmit and receive laser signals... transceiver based on optical SoC output higher power into FSO system... does not need amplify signal as much before transmitting... improvin noise profile... transmission speeds 100 Gbit/s... deployed quickly... more bandwidth capacity, security features, and less power consumption than traditional point-to-point microwave links. And since it does not use the RF spectrum, it is unnecessary to secure spectrum licenses"

https://phys.org/news/2022-08-routes-strong-metalsupport-interactions.html "new routes for constructing SMSIs into oxidative strong meta–support interaction (O-SMSI), adsorbate-mediated SMSI (A-SMSI), reaction-induced SMSI, and wet-chemistry SMSI (wcSMSI)... avoidance of high temperature reduction to induce the encapsulation of the metal nanoparticles. The SMSI formation mechanisms behind these neotype SMSIs are different, which help the development of more efficient supported metal catalysts in the future" Related: Researchers synthesize N and P co-doping catalysts https://phys.org/news/2023-03-p-co-doping-catalysts.html

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-08-thin-electrodes-batteries.html "powders tune surface energy of electrodes... uniform behavior... metal composite surface prevents loss of lithium metal... powder at lithium metal surface produces artificial passivation layer... improves stability throughout charge-discharge cycles... metal surface is stabilized so that it can be safely recharged. To show the technique may have wider application, the lab also ground powder into a sodium electrode and discovered the process greatly stabilized its voltage overpotential"

https://www.yahoo.com/now/startup-hydrogen-breakthrough-may-life-220016923.html "heat from hydrogen... plug-and-play... Bottled hydrogen and oxygen are fed into a glass cylinder containing the secret catalyst, which quickly turns orange as it heats up to around 700 degrees Celsius (1,292 Fahrenheit). If the technology can scale up, it could ultimately allow power plant operators that burn coal to retrofit generators to run on green hydrogen... We don’t burn hydrogen" Related: Plug Power's Breakthrough in Hydrogen Liquefaction - Unveiling a New Era of Energy Efficiency https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xh4wuiq8BEw Fives launches 100% hydrogen duct burner https://www.gasworld.com/story/fives-launches-100-hydrogen-duct-burner/

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-08-super-fast-electric-car-tailor-made.html "charging data to create unique charging protocols. By inputting information about the condition of many lithium-ion batteries during their charging and discharging cycles, the scientists trained the machine learning analysis to predict lifetimes and the ways that different designs would eventually fail. The team then fed that data back into the analysis to identify and optimize new protocols that they then tested on real batteries... charge to over 90% 10 minutes without lithium plating or cathode cracking" Related: Google backed Gravity chargers can add 2,400 miles  range/ hour, or 200 miles/ 5 minutes https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/rochester/transportation/2024/03/04/fastest-ev-charger-in-the-us-opens-in-nyc

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-08-reordering-layers-solar-cell-modules-efficiency.html "optical redesign of the module through refractive-index engineering. By moving a film of magnesium fluoride from the top of the cell to the top of the front glass, they reduced the refractive index mismatch, thus achieving efficient light in-coupling... enables highest short circuit current density... drawn from device for monolithic perovskite/silicon tandem solar modules, resulting in a power conversion efficiency increase from 25.7% to 26.2%" Related: Researchers create flexible monocrystalline silicon solar cells https://techxplore.com/news/2023-05-flexible-monocrystalline-silicon-solar-cells.html

https://phys.org/news/2022-08-blocks-future-photovoltaics.html "dark excitons visible... measure how the excitons are formed at a time scale of a millionth of a millionth of a millisecond. We can describe the dynamics of the formation of these excitons using quantum mechanical theory developed by Professor Ermin Malic's research group at Marburg... formation of dark Moiré interlayer excitons... signature of Moiré potential imprinted on exciton... impact of combined properties... two twisted semiconductor layers"

https://phys.org/news/2022-08-hurdle-safe-carbon-free-energy.html "otate with the hot, charged plasma— the fourth state of matter composed of free electrons and atomic nuclei that fuels fusion reactions—and tear holes called islands in the magnetic field that confines the gas, allowing the leakage of key heat... grow larger when modes stop rotating... growth rate increases heat loss, reduces plasma... cause disruptions that allow energy stored to strike tokamak's inner walls... beam microwaves into plasma... stabilize modes... large, next-generation tokamaks" Related: UK set to make major nuclear fusion breakthrough with 'limitless' energy just years away https://www.express.co.uk/news/science/1713576/uk-nuclear-fusion-breakthrough-tokamak-energy-lower-cost-limitless-power-2035

https://www.llnl.gov/news/holographic-plasma-lenses-ultra-high-power-lasers "plasma nonlinearities can be used to create efficient high-damage-threshold diffractive plasma lenses,” the researchers concluded. They said the simulations suggest that the intensity damage threshold of the lenses ranges from fluences of more than 1014 (100 trillion) watts per square centimeter (W/cm2) for the ionization mechanism to more than 1017 (100 quadrillion) W/cm2 ion-density mechanism... similar those that achieved experimentally plasma gratings... lens of this design may be feasible in the near future"

https://phys.org/news/2022-08-compact-high-power-laser-plasma-optics "plasma transmission gratings overcome power limitations of conventional solid-state optical gratings... ultrafast laser up to 1,000 times more powerful than existing lasers of the same size. Petawatt (quadrillion-watt) lasers rely on diffraction gratings for chirped-pulse amplification... stretching, amplifying and compressing high-energy laser pulse... avoid damaging optical components" Related: First light at the most powerful laser in the US https://phys.org/news/2022-09-powerful-laser.html  See also: University of Michigan's ZEUS will be most powerful laser in US https://phys.org/news/2022-09-university-michigan-zeus-powerful-laser.html

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-08-atom-based-radio-television-video-games.html "stable radio signal applied to glass container filled with atoms... detect energy shifts in Rydberg atoms modulate carrier signal... modulated output fed to television... analog-to-digital converter transforms signal into video graphics array format for display... beam size affects average time atoms remain in laser interaction zone... time inversely related to bandwidth of receiver... shorter time and smaller beam produce more data... atoms move in and out so smaller areas result in higher refresh rate and better resolution"

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-08-heat-tolerant-high-capacity-capacitor-solid-electrolytes.html "highly deformable solid electrolyte and carbon... construct both electrodes for bulk-type solid-state capacitor. This capacitor is capable of high current densities and high-capacity charging and discharging at temperatures of 200-300°C, creating... bulk-type solid-state capacitors... capacitor... improve technology for high-temperature environments, which could not be developed previously due to these technical limitations... combine excellent deformability and lithium-ion conductivity... apply to capacitors"

https://phys.org/news/2022-08-next-gen-carbon-fiber.html "Yuan's previous work identified three main roadblocks to incorporating lignin in the equation: neither lignin's chemical structure nor its molecular weight is uniform, which makes it difficult to combine with other polymers. And it has a high number of OH groups, a reactive pairing of oxygen and hydrogen that attracts water—not ideal for building a rigid material like carbon fiber. These discoveries inspired Yuan and Jinghao Li, a senior scientist at Washington University, to redesign lignin structures" Related: SLB Rolls Out Cement Alternative At CERA Week https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidblackmon/2023/03/06/slb-rolls-out-cement-alternative-at-cera-week/?sh=69522d9b3d5f DITF develops water-spun lignin fibers as PAN precursor alternative https://www.compositesworld.com/news/ditf-develops-water-spun-lignin-fibers-as-pan-precursor-alternative Cellulose fibers are emerging as a sustainable option for wrapping eve

https://phys.org/news/2022-08-quantum-technology-combines-free-electrons.html "When electron scatters... electron loses exactly the amount of energy that the photon requires to be created virtually from nothing in the resonator. As a result, the two particles are coupled through their interaction and form a pair." With an improved measurement method, the physicists could precisely detect the individual particles involved and their simultaneous manifestation... only measure one particle to obtain information about the energy content and temporal appearance of second one"

https://phys.org/news/2022-08-newly-magnetic-interactions-ways-electron.html "currents which flow on edge of material, dissipationless, which means that the electrons don't scatter, and they don't dissipate energy... beam neutron particles... TbMn6Sn6 has competing interactions between the layers, or what is called frustrated magnetism. "So the system has to make a compromise," McQueeney said, "Usually what that means is that if you poke at it, you can get it to do different things... even though those competing interactions are there, there are other interactions that are dominant"

https://phys.org/news/2022-08-scientists-unravel-hall-effect-mystery.html "weak external magnetic field... tunable stress... applying stress to Weyl antiferromagnet... residual external magnetic field increased.... If the magnetic field were driving the Hall effect, there would be a corresponding effect on the voltage across the material. The researchers showed that, in fact, the voltage does not change substantially, proving that the magnetic field is not important. Instead, they concluded, the arrangement of spinning electrons within the material is responsible for the Hall effect" Related: Are Weyl fermions truly massless? https://phys.org/news/2023-08-weyl-fermions-massless.html Widely accepted Weyl semimetal shown to be a magnetic semiconductor https://phys.org/news/2023-11-widely-weyl-semimetal-shown-magnetic.html Researchers discover tunable room-temperature nonlinear Hall effect in bismuth thin films https://phys.org/news/2024-02-tunable-room-temperature-nonlinear-hal

https://phys.org/news/2022-08-high-quality-superconducting-qubits-fabricated-cmos-compatible.html "superconducting qubits with coherence times exceeding 100 µs... single-qubit gate fidelity 99.94%... sputtering deposition and subtractive etch. These breakthrough results could be achieved by improving the known process for making the overlap junctions. The improvements include process optimization to reduce the number of process steps and interfaces (and hence, the risk for energy losses), an improved Ar-milling step, and the exclusive use of aluminum (Al) for making the electrodes"

https://phys.org/news/2022-08-untangle-physics-high-temperature-superconductors.html "signal is at a single momentum point, and second is that the signal is at a low frequency. A single momentum low frequency excitation means there's a long-lived excitation that helps the researchers see and describe the system... antiferromagnetic fluctuations—when electrons spin in the opposite direction—accounted for a majority of the superconductivity... ferromagnetic fluctuations that counteracted the antiferromagnetic fluctuations, which ultimately brought them back to the 50% finding" Related: The 'dense' potential of nanostructured superconductors https://phys.org/news/2022-10-dense-potential-nanostructured-superconductors.html

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-08-electrocution-electric-cars-technology "circuity damage, would consume any remaining voltage so that energy does not build up, increasing the risk of electrocution... ensure the protection of the entire electrical system of the car from circuit failure in the event of a crash. The researchers devised an energy discharge algorithm that would mean that even in the event of an electrical failure the DC bus would still be able to reduce the voltage output and protect other circuitry in the vehicle"

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-08-self-charging-ultra-thin-device-electricity-air.html "1.5 by 2 centimeters... 0.7 volts... 150 hours... scalability... connected three pieces of the power-generating fabric together and placed them into a 3D printed case that was the size of a standard AA battery... voltage 1.96V—higher than commercial AA battery... power small electronic devices such as an alarm clock... convenience of obtaining commercially available raw materials as well as the low fabrication cost of about $0.15 per square meter make the MEG device suitable for mass production" Related: Newly discovered enzyme that turns air into electricity, providing a new clean source of energy https://phys.org/news/2023-03-newly-enzyme-air-electricity-source.html SOR Moisture Energy to Exceed Solar Power Density https://finance.yahoo.com/news/sor-moisture-energy-exceed-solar-234900092.html Engineers at UMass Amherst harvest abundant clean energy from thin air 24/7 https://www.umass.

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-08-neuromorphic-chip-ai-edge-small.html "sense output in memory... NeuRRAM, the team engineered a neuron circuit that senses voltage and performs analog-to-digital conversion in an energy efficient manner. This voltage-mode sensing can activate all the rows and all the columns of an RRAM array in a single computing cycle, allowing higher parallelism... CMOS neuron circuits interleaved RRAM weights... configured to serve input or output of neuron"

https://phys.org/news/2022-08-oxygen-magnets-astronauts-easy "efficient phase separation in reduced gravitational environments... obstacle human space exploration and known since the first flights to space in the 1960s. This phenomenon is a particular challenge for the life support system onboard spacecraft and the International Space Station (ISS) as oxygen for the crew is produced in water electrolyzer systems and requires separation from the electrode and liquid electrolyte" Related: Scientists Just Broke The World Record For The Most Powerful Stable Magnetic Field https://www.thesciencemag.com/2022/08/scientists-just-broke-world-record-for.html

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-08-technique-faster-longer-next-generation-batteries.html "low-cost lab-based optical microscopy... Nb14W3O44... fastest charging anode materials to-date. Visible light is sent into the battery through a small glass window, allowing the researchers to watch the dynamic process within the active particles, in real time, under realistic non-equilibrium conditions. This revealed front-like lithium-concentration gradients moving through the individual active particles, resulting in internal strain which caused some particles to fracture"

https://phys.org/news/2022-08-2d-boundaries-electricity.html "less than 10 nanometers thick and forms when tellurium gas introduced while molybdenum metal forms film on silicon dioxide in chemical vapor deposition furnace... islands of semiconducting molybdenum telluride phases in the sea of metallic phases... difference between lattice structures and electrical conductivity creates asymmetry at the phase boundary that is essentially independent of the thickness... simplifies preparation of 2D crystals applications like miniaturized actuators"

https://newatlas.com/urban-transport/china-sky-train-permanent-magnets/ "At present, it's just an 800-meter (half-mile) single test track, built on steel poles that lift the track some 10 m (33 ft) in the air. A two-carriage train carrying up to a gratuitously lucky 88 passengers is suspended magnetically underneath the track, making no contact, and it glides along, silent and frictionless, between elevated passenger platforms at speeds up to 80 km/h (50 mph). Once test runs are finished, it'll be extended to a 7.5-km (4.7-mile) track, with a higher top speed around 120 km/h (75 mph)" Related: Canada’s New All-Electric Train-Plane Hybrid Travels Faster Than a Jet https://robbreport.com/motors/cars/transpod-fluxjet-canada-1234743808/

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-08-excitons-space-free-carrier-production.html "Marcus theory for electron transfer, combined with a consideration of the entropy associated with the charge-transfer interface and the possibility of long-range transfer events. The model shows that existing design rules for solution-phase electron transfer processes can be applied to organic photovoltaic systems...  driving force calculated using the well-known Gibbs energy term... reorganization energy is identified. Third, factors that control the distance dependence of the electronic coupling are identified" Related: Scientists realize large-area organic solar cells that are low-cost, flexible, and efficient https://phys.org/news/2022-08-air-stability-sodium-based-layered-oxide-cathode-materials.html Flexible solar cells with record efficiency of 22.2% https://techxplore.com/news/2022-10-flexible-solar-cells-efficiency.html Outstanding performance of organic solar cell using tin oxide https:

https://phys.org/news/2022-08-unexpected-quantum-effects-natural-double-layer.html "naturally occurring double-layer graphene, where no complex fabrication is required. In a first step, the sample is isolated from a piece of graphite in the laboratory using a simple adhesive tape... high electric field perpendicular to the sample: the electronic structure of the system changes and a strong accumulation of charge carriers with similar energy occurs... interactions cause spins of electrons to align... continuously change strength interactions charge carriers... form own electron lattice... electrically insulating"

https://phys.org/news/2022-08-explore-topology-quantum-entanglement.html "mathematical relationship between genus of Fermi surface and quantum entanglement... Euler characteristic, which is closely related to the genus, provided the precise connection between the two... relationship between topology and entanglement held in a simple metal system, with electrons moving independently of one another, then extended their analysis to show that the connection was also present even when electrons interacted with greater complexity"

https://phys.org/news/2022-06-magnetizing-laser-driven-inertial-fusion-implosions.html " high B-fields (i.e., with strengths 1000 times higher than those of typical bar magnets), to a millimeter-size spherical capsule, which was heated to 100 million K using a laser-driven shock...  shock heating and applied B-field... plasma conditions... strongly magnetized electrons and ions... oblate shape... suppression heat flow (perpendicular to the direction of the magnetic field) in the strongly magnetized plasma"

https://www.thebrighterside.news/post/innovation-in-solar-panels-generates-1-000x-more-power "Ferroelectric... spatially separated positive and negative charges... SiLi-nano. The charge separation leads to an asymmetric structure that enables electricity to be generated from light. Unlike silicon, ferroelectric crystals do not require a so-called pn junction to create the photovoltaic effect, in other words, no positively and negatively doped layers. This makes it much easier to produce the solar panels" See also: Crystal arrangement results in 1,000x more power from ferroelectric solar cells https://pv-magazine-usa.com/2021/08/03/crystal-arrangement-results-in-1000x-more-power-from-ferroelectric-solar-cells/ Development of Ferroelectric Solar Cells of Barium Strontium Titanate (BaxSr1-xTiO3) for Subtituting Conventional Battery in LAPAN-IPB Satellite (LISAT) https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1878029616002796 Revolutionary Solar Panels: New Ferroelectric Crys

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-08-eco-friendly-solar-cells-power-efficiency.html "Thin Film Solar Cell world's highest power conversion efficiency 12.6%... absorber layer produced coating copper, zinc, and tin in random order... reacting... sulfur and selenium at high temperatures... large pores were not formed when zinc was coated first. This is a source technology that can suppress pore formation and is expected to further increase the power generation efficiency... induced change microstructure... by changing deposition order... metal thin film... suppress pore formation"

Cnbc.com/renewable-energy/ "heat and compress a central "hot spot" of deuterium-tritium (hydrogen atoms with one and two neutrons, respectively) fuel using a surrounding dense piston also made from deuterium-tritium, creating a super hot, super pressurized hydrogen plasma... Ignition occurs when the heating from absorption of α particles [two protons and two neutrons tightly bound together] created in the fusion process overcomes the loss mechanisms in the system for a duration of time" Related: US scientists achieve net energy gain for second time in nuclear fusion reaction https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/aug/06/us-scientists-achieve-net-energy-gain-second-time-fusion-reaction December 5, 2024: Sustained fusion ignition yielding more energy output than input https://isp.page/news/historic-breakthrough-in-nuclear-fusion-on-december-5-2024/#gsc.tab=0

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-08-faster-hydrogen-fuel-cell.html "semi-cylindrical coil as an internal heat exchanger, which significantly improved heat transfer performance. The hydrogen charging time was reduced by 59% when using the new semi-cylindrical coil compared to a traditional helical coil heat exchanger... numerical simulation of hydrogen desorption... improve absorption times... semi-cylindrical coil heat exchanger"

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-08-ultrafast-highly-nonlinear-splitter-based.html "switch ultrashort light pulses at an extremely low optical pulse energy of tens of femtojoules... Information processing with THz clock rates... large-scale, ultrafast nanophotonic circuits and systems... 'saturable absorber... building block passive mode locking... saturable absorption... speed and energy-efficiency... compatible with integrated lasers"

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/this-17-year-old-designed-a-motor-that-could-potentially-transform-the-electric-car-industry-180980550/ "synchronous reluctance motor that had greater rotational force—or torque—and efficiency than existing ones. The prototype was made from 3-D printed plastic, copper wires and a steel rotor and tested using a variety of meters to measure power and a laser tachometer to determine the motor’s rotational speed. His work earned him first prize, and $75,000 in winnings, at this year’s Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), the largest international high school STEM competition"

https://phys.org/news/2022-08-method-boosts-farms-energy-output.html "1.2 percent increase in energy output at all wind speeds, and a 3 percent increase at speeds between 6 and 8 meters per second... 31 terawatt-hours additional electricity per year, approximately equivalent to installing an extra 3,600 wind turbines at no cost. This would translate into some $950 million in extra revenue... potentially adopted quickly and easily... don't require additional hardware... same output with one fewer turbine" Related: Back to the drawing board: Reinventing offshore wind turbines https://techxplore.com/news/2022-08-board-reinventing-offshore-turbines.html A new tool will help make vertical wind turbine farms possible https://interestingengineering.com/innovation/tool-accelerate-vertical-axis-wind-turbines A 1-MW vertical axis wind turbine could change offshore wind farms forever https://interestingengineering.com/innovation/1mw-floating-vertical-axis-turbine A modified flower p

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-08-approach-lithium-ion-battery-materials.html "higher energy phase... cycling with lithium... new crystalline arrangements... DRX structure... inserting Li into amorphous Nb2O5 allows materials scientists to access metastable materials. The team also developed a metric to identify other metal oxides that can potentially be synthesized in a similar fashion. The computations also show that the DRX structure contains paths for fast lithium diffusion, resulting in high rate performance"

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-08-efficient-solar-cells.html "Inserting organic molecular planes between 2D hybrid perovskite planes is a promising scheme to provide efficient, low-cost, and robust solar cells... inorganic layer with light to produce electricity and is most efficient when its atoms align properly. The carbon-based, or organic, layer is composed of positively-charged molecules that balance the negatively-charged inorganic layer"

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-08-perovskite-material-superlattice-surpass-efficiency.html "superlattice consists of a nanoengineered phase separation between Bi3+ alloyed and intact Sn-I regions in vertically aligned multiple-quantum-wells. This composition creates component variations in the atomic scale, which in turn enables hot carriers to quickly cross the multiple-quantum-wells heterostructural interface before they relax–a feat that is usually impossible to achieve... short diffusion length required to cross the heterostructural interface" Related: Using ammonia to heal perovskite film for solar panel construction https://techxplore.com/news/2022-08-ammonia-perovskite-solar-panel.html A strategy to improve perovskite absorbers for all-perovskite tandem solar cells https://techxplore.com/news/2022-08-strategy-perovskite-absorbers-all-perovskite-tandem.html Scientists Grow Lead-Free Solar Material With a Built-In Switch https://newscenter.lbl.gov/2022/08/30/lead-free-