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Nano-Sandwich Technique Slims Down Solar Cells, Improves Efficiency

Researchers from North Carolina State University have found a way to create much slimmer thin-film solar cells without sacrificing the cells’ ability to absorb solar energy. Making the cells thinner should significantly decrease manufacturing costs for the technology.

“We were able to create solar cells using a ‘nanoscale sandwich’ design with an ultra-thin ‘active’ layer,” says Dr. Linyou Cao, an assistant professor of materials science and engineering at NC State and co-author of a paper describing the research. “For example, we created a solar cell with an active layer of amorphous silicon that is only 70 nanometers (nm) thick. This is a significant improvement, because typical thin-film solar cells currently on the market that also use amorphous silicon have active layers between 300 and 500 nm thick.” The “active” layer in thin-film solar cells is the layer of material that actually absorbs solar energy for conversion into electricity or chemical fuel. (more…)

Nonprofits Utilize the Power of Storytelling

Technology

The Microsoft Local Impact Map helps nonprofits illustrate the difference they make in a visual, dynamic way.

REDMOND, Wash. — June 28, 2012 — The benefits of storytelling and the need for nonprofits to communicate their impact to various audiences has been a focus of late among nonprofit organizations and corporate social responsibility groups. It has been a hot topic at recent social innovation industry events such as Nonprofit Technology Network, the Cause Marketing Forum and the Social Innovation Summit. (more…)

UMD-Led Research Yields Key to Better Predictions of El Nino

Environment

COLLEGE PARK, Md. –– A University of Maryland scientist and an undergraduate Indian student he mentored in India have uncovered a major new finding about El Nino — the cyclical climate event that appears every 2-7 years, sometimes with major global weather impacts such as massive flooding in some regions and severe droughts in others and resulting major economic impacts. (more…)

What’s Happening with the Higgs Boson

Science

Berkeley Lab scientists, major contributors to the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider, explain what the excitement is about

CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, will hold a seminar early in the morning on July 4 to announce the latest results from ATLAS and CMS, two major experiments at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) that are searching for the Higgs boson. Both experimental teams are working down to the wire to finish analyzing their data, and to determine exactly what can be said about what they’ve found.

“We do not yet know what will be shown on July 4th,” says Ian Hinchliffe, a theoretical physicist in the Physics Division at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), who heads the Lab’s participation in the ATLAS experiment. “I have seen many conjectures on the blogs about what will be shown: these are idle speculation. Things are moving very fast this week, and it’s an exciting time at CERN. Many years of hard work are coming to fruition.” (more…)

New Findings of Endangered Birds at Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge Give Hope to Recovery Efforts

Nature

HAWAI’I ISLAND, Hawai‘’— Three of Hawai’i Island’s rarest endangered forest birds have been detected at lower elevations of Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge for the first time in 30 years. (more…)

Alex Papan: Too Many Clouds….

Short stories

It’s a warm day. Spring time, 24 degrees. Alex made a wonderful walk for more than three hours. He checked his post box, there’s only weekend newspapers, full of advertisements. Of course he doesn’t expect any post in the weekend. He cleaned the small but important box. (more…)

UCLA Biologists Reveal Potential ‘Fatal Flaw’ In Iconic Sexual Selection Study

Science

A classic study from more than 60 years ago suggesting that males are more promiscuous and females more choosy in selecting mates may, in fact, be wrong, say life scientists who are the first to repeat the historic experiment using the same methods as the original. (more…)

An EL of a Wire which is Essentially a Standard Wire

Technology

Pity the poor Neon light – for so long the king of illuminated displays, the Las Vegas favourite, the flickering indicator of all that was exciting, glamorous and sleazy. But now Neon’s time in the limelight (pardon the pun) is over – environmental concerns, expense and impracticality have all led to a reduction in the requirement for Neon’s services. But the main culprit responsible for Neon’s demise is the rise in the quality and variety of electroluminescent lighting options available. In particular, the versatility of electroluminescent (or EL) wire means that it’s now possible to create lighting designs and displays of a quality and intricacy that Neon can’t compete with. (more…)