science wire

Partner universities in the new Center for Renewable Energy Systems (CRES) are developing complementary facilities in Milwaukee and Madison to help corporate partners explore applications in the fast-growing microgrid industry, CRES leaders announced today (Oct.

02 October 2011 Transistors are an indispensible component of electronic devices, where they strengthen weak electrical currents.

For roughly the past 20 years, Lund University has hosted a major interdisciplinary research environment in Nanoscience, ranging from materials science and quantum physics to applications in the areas

As the e-print arXiv of scientific publications celebrates its 20th anniversary, what started as an effort to "level the playing field" for researchers has created a whole new playing field on which the white lines are still not clearly drawn.

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Improved device eliminates a barrier to handling nanoscale particles The optical table in the Crozier lab at Harvard SEAS.

A Cornell research team has received a four-year, $1.9 million grant from the National Science Foundation to develop a system for computation and information sharing when designing a "smart" electrical grid.

By harnessing plasmonics to intensify light, engineers at Stanford have created an ultra-compact, nanoscale light source with research implications ranging from data to a better understanding of fundamental science. Not long after the development of the first laser in 1960, scientists discovered that shining a beam through certain crystals produced light of a different color; more specifically, it produced light of exactly twice the frequency of the original.

Lithium-ion batteries are everywhere, in smart phones, laptops, an array of other consumer electronics, and the newest electric cars. Good as they are, they could be much better, especially when it comes to lowering the cost and extending the range of electric cars. To do that, batteries need to store a lot more energy.

A combination of two algorithms developed at MIT allows autonomous robots to execute tasks much more efficiently - and move more predictably.

If solar cells could generate higher voltages when sunlight falls on them, they'd produce more electrical power more efficiently.

Engineers at the University of California, Berkeley, have shown that it is possible to reduce the minimum voltage necessary to store charge in a capacitor, an achievement that could reduce the power draw and heat generation of today's electronics. "Just like a Formula One car, the faster you run your computer, the hotter it gets.

How can legislation be used to avoid hazardous waste being dumped where it could poison people and the environment in developing countries?

University of Leeds scientists have invented a new type of polymer gel that can be used to manufacture cheaper lithium batteries without compromising performance.

A University of California technology that significantly reduces the amount of energy wasted by chips in computers, mobile phones and other electronic devices has recently passed the trillion watt-hour milestone in energy savings, according to the technology's current licensee, Tela Innovations.

Tiny meteoroids damage more spacecraft than all the human-made debris orbiting the Earth, says Stanford Professor Sigrid Close.

The consensus view of the panel of expert economists, who make up the Shadow Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) Board, indicates stronger evidence for a rate cut at tomorrow's RBA meeting than last month.

Long-wavelength terahertz light is invisible - it's at the farthest end of the far infrared - but it's useful for everything from detecting explosives at the airport to designing drugs to diagnosing skin cancer.

KTH researchers have developed a new surface coating that can substantially cut energy consumption by heat pumps and cooling devices.

The expression "beauty's only skin-deep" has often been applied to the chemistry of materials because so much action takes place at the surface. However, for many of the materials in today's high technologies, such as semiconductors and superconductors, once a device is fabricated it is the electronic structures below the surface, in the bulk of the material or in buried layers, that determine its effectiveness.

If the vision of Tom Krupenkin and J. Ashley Taylor comes to fruition, one day soon your cellphone — or just about any other portable electronic device — could be powered by simply taking a walk.

New neurological measurement technologies and algorithms are allowing researchers a more complete look into how the brain functions. Engineers at Stanford are using these tools to better understand how the brain prepares to instruct the body to make a motion and why sometimes we react more quickly than others.

Professor Donal Bradley FRS, a physicist who has spearheaded the development of plastic electronics research at the College, is announced today as Imperial's new Pro Rector (Research) from 1 October 2011.

A new development in the field of flexible electronics could allow hospitals to monitor patient vital signs without bulky cables or uncomfortable electrodes.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. Engineers have developed a device platform that combines electronic components for sensing, medical diagnostics, and human-machine interfaces, all on an ultrathin skin-like patch that mounts directly onto the skin with the ease, flexibility and comfort of a temporary tattoo. Led by John A. Rogers, the Lee J. Flory-Founder professor of engineering at the University of Illinois, the researchers described their novel skin-mounted electronics in the Aug.

Solar technology set to revolutionise combat has been developed by The Australian National University.

As scientists and engineers explore the unknown, they frequently end up building the cutting-edge equipment and instruments they need, and high-tech instrument makers that have emerged from UW-Madiso

We've all worried about the charge on our smartphone or laptop running down when we have no access to an electrical outlet.

Stretching for thousands of miles beneath oceans, optical fibers now connect every continent except for Antarctica.

Psychologist Michael Frank enters the world of high-speed mental math and finds that "Mental Abacus" users can calculate without using verbal working memory.

New technologies intended to boost reliance on renewable energy could destabilize the power grid if they're not matched with careful pricing policies.

A synthesised compound which is also found in bear bile could help prevent disturbances in the heart's normal rhythm, according to research published today in the journal Hepatology by a team from Imperial College London. Ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) is manufactured as a drug to decrease production of cholesterol in the body and to dissolve gallstones.

Electronic circuitry composed of nanowires can now be fitted to a surface of almost any shape on an object made of virtually any material, using a new approach to fabrication and transfer of nanowire electronics developed by Stanford researchers. After detachment, the silicon wafers are clean and ready to reuse, which should reduce manufacturing costs significantly.

Stanford researchers have invented a transparent lithium-ion battery that is also highly flexible. It is comparable in cost to regular batteries on the market today, with great potential for applications in consumer electronics.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. In an advance that could open new avenues for solar cells, lasers, metamaterials and more, researchers at the University of Illinois have demonstrated the first optoelectronically active 3-D photonic crystal.

ANN ARBOR, Mich.—The results of a study on candidates' use of Twitter in the 2010 midterm elections suggest that Republicans and Tea Party members used the social medium more effectively than their Democratic rivals. The University of Michigan study, among the first to examine the Tea Party's social media strategies, also showed that analyzing Twitter activity can lead to good predictions of election winners.

It's like a Brownie camera for the digital age: The microscopic device fits on the head of a pin, contains no lenses or moving parts, costs pennies to make - and this Cornell-developed camera could revolutionize an array of science from surgery to robotics.

Dominique Paul, a Research Fellow in the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, was invited to present her work on wearable electronics at the recent Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) Body-Centric Wireless Communications Conference 2011.

ANN ARBOR, Mich.—Engineering researchers at the University of Michigan have found a way to mass-produce antennas so small that they approach the fundamental minimum size limit for their bandwidth, or data rate, of operation.

A magnetic contrast image taken at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's Molecular Foundry shows a chain of nanomagnets where the north poles of each nanomagnet stand out brightly.

MIT researchers show how to make e-beam lithography, commonly used to prototype computer chips, more practical as a mass-production technique.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. Graphene, a form of pure carbon arranged in a lattice just one atom thick, has interested countless researchers with its unique strength and its electrical and thermal conductivity. But one key property it lacks - which would make it suitable for a plethora of new uses - is the ability to form a band gap, needed for devices such as transistors, computer chips and solar cells.

Stanford researchers have developed a microphone that can be used at any depth in the ocean, even under crushing pressure, and is sensitive to a wide range of sounds, from a whisper in a library to an explosion of TNT. They modeled their device after the extraordinarily acute hearing of orcas. BY LOUIS BERGERON For most people, listening to the ocean means contemplating the soothing sound of waves breaking gently on a sandy beach.

A group of EPFL students is returning from Beijing with the third place prize from the international iCAN micro- and nanotechnology contest.

Graphene, a one-atom-thick layer of graphitic carbon, has the potential to make consumer electronic devices faster and smaller. But its unique properties, and the shrinking scale of electronics, also make graphene difficult to fabricate and to produce on a large scale. In September 2010, a UCLA research team reported that they had overcome some of these difficulties and were able to fabricate graphene transistors with unparalleled speed.

Sussex research showcased in top UK report Groundbreaking research at the University of Sussex on electrical sensors is featured in a major new report on the most important research projects taking place in universities today.