Tag Archives: electricity

Diamond in The Rough: Half-Century Puzzle Solved

By Guest PostJuly 25, 2012Sciencecold compressed, conduct, Diamond, electricity, experiment, graphite, hard material, high pressure, industrial application, joseph panzik, m carbon, oakland university, optical technique, puzzle, raman spectroscopy, structure, symmetry, synthesize, university, xray diffraction, yale, yuejian wang

A Yale-led team of mineral physicists has for the first time confirmed through high-pressure experiments the structure of cold-compressed graphite, a form of carbon that is comparable in hardness to its cousin, diamond, but only requires pressure to synthesize. The researchers believe their findings could open the way for a super hard material that can withstand great force and can be used — as diamond-based materials are now — for many electronic and industrial applications. The study appears in Scientific Reports, a Nature journal.

Under normal conditions, pure carbon exhibits vastly different physical properties depending on its structure. For example, graphite is soft, but diamond is one of the hardest materials known. Graphite conducts electricity, but diamond is an insulator. (more…)

Nano-Sandwich Technique Slims Down Solar Cells, Improves Efficiency

By Guest PostJune 29, 2012Scienceamorphous silicon, Berkeley, cadmium telluride, chemical fuel, efficiency, electricity, linyou cao, nano-sandwich, nanometer, nanostructures, nm, organic materials, paul alivisatos, solar cells, solar energy, substrate, technique, Technology, university of california, vivian ferry

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…)

Clean Energy From CO2?

By Guest PostMay 23, 2012Environmentcarbon dioxide, cpg, crust, cycle, deane morrison, earth, electricity, fossil fuels, geologic formation, geothermal heat, geothermal systems, global warming, green future, heat mining company, hydrofracking, impermeable rock, international space station, jimmy randolph, martin saar, mobility, renewable energy, supercritical, thomas kuehn, underground storage, united states, university of minnesota, villain co2

Global warming villain CO₂ may have a surprisingly green future

The next frontier in the search for renewable energy lies less than two miles from where you are now.

Unless you’re reading this on the International Space Station.

Geothermal heat a mile or two deep in Earth’s crust is a potential source of energy that could be tapped by an unlikely carrier: carbon dioxide (CO₂), the central villain in global warming. That energy, unlike solar and wind, could be easily turned on and off without the intermediate step of being stored in a battery. And it would be constant and reliable. (more…)

Berkeley Lab Scientists Generate Electricity From Viruses

By Guest PostMay 19, 2012Scienceberkeley lab, bone, byung yang lee, ceramics, crystals, dan krotz, DNA, electric charge, electric cigarette, electricity, electricity from viruses, futuristic scenario, m13 bacteriophage, mechanical energy, mechanical stress, nano building block, nano devices, nanoamperes, nanoscale, piezoelectricity, proteins, ramamoorthy ramesh, seung wuk lee, Technology

New approach is a promising first step toward the development of tiny devices that harvest electrical energy from everyday tasks

Imagine charging your phone as you walk, thanks to a paper-thin generator embedded in the sole of your shoe. This futuristic scenario is now a little closer to reality. Scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have developed a way to generate power using harmless viruses that convert mechanical energy into electricity.

The scientists tested their approach by creating a generator that produces enough current to operate a small liquid-crystal display. It works by tapping a finger on a postage stamp-sized electrode coated with specially engineered viruses. The viruses convert the force of the tap into an electric charge. (more…)

New Graphene-Based Material Could Revolutionise Electronics Industry

By Guest PostApril 27, 2012Scienceconductive material, electricity, electronic device, ferric chloride, graphene, graphexeter, indium tin oxide, ito, molecule, monica craciun, saverio russo, Technology, university of exeter

The most transparent, lightweight and flexible material ever for conducting electricity has been invented by a team from the University of Exeter.

Called GraphExeter, the material could revolutionise the creation of wearable electronic devices, such as clothing containing computers, phones and MP3 players.

GraphExeter could also be used for the creation of ‘smart’ mirrors or windows, with computerised interactive features. Since this material is also transparent over a wide light spectrum, it could enhance by more than 30% the efficiency of solar panels.

Adapted from graphene, GraphExeter is much more flexible than indium tin oxide (ITO), the main conductive material currently used in electronics. ITO is becoming increasingly expensive and is a finite resource, expected to run out in 2017. (more…)

Global Health: Students Build Wiki of Medical Devices Designed for Low-Income Countries

By Guest PostApril 20, 2012Education, Scienceamir sabet, anemia, appropedia project, autologous blood transfusion, blood sample, caitlin winget, communication vehicle, database, diime, dynamic compendium, education, electricity, filtering syringe, ghana, hemafuse, humboldt state university, iran, james azazili, kathleen sienko, knowledge, lonny grafman, medical device, megan bland, new wiki, nicaragua, open source inventory, policymaker, project, rachel strauss, salad spinner centrifuge, sofia merajver, startup, Technology, turkey, university of michigan, wiki appropedia, world

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— In parts of the world without reliable electricity, a pedal-powered nebulizer could provide life-saving asthma treatments. Small wax-filled sleeping bags could keep premature infants warm. A salad spinner centrifuge for blood samples could help clinicians diagnose anemia.

University of Michigan researchers have cataloged more than 100 such technologies in a new wiki of medical devices designed for resource-limited settings. The Global Health Medical Device Compendium, an open-source inventory, is hosted by the popular appropriate technology wiki Appropedia. It is expected to serve as an important communication vehicle for end users, non-governmental organizations, researchers and others to help advance such technologies. (more…)

IBM and ZSE Create Virtual Green Highway for Electric Vehicles

By Guest PostApril 9, 2012Technologyaustria, bratislava, central europe, CO2, ecogrid eu, edison, ekz, electric vehicles, electricity, emission, energy grid, evs, green highway, guido bartels, ibm, slovakia, switzerland, transportation system, vibrate, vienna, zapadoslovenska energetika, zse, zse green highway

*E-Mobility Project Identifies EV Charging Station Options between Two Cities*

Armonk, NY and Slovakia – 09 Apr 2012: IBM today announced it has teamed with Západoslovenská energetika, a.s. (ZSE), the largest distributor and supplier of electricity in Slovakia, on a smart energy “feasibility” study that will help prepare the capital city Bratislava for electric vehicles (EVs).

Using e-mobility technology, the study will help identify the possibilities of connecting two neighboring metropolitan areas – Bratislava, Slovakia and Vienna, Austria with a “green” highway. This highway will interconnect the two cities with a network of public charging stations for electric vehicles. (more…)

UCLA Engineering Researchers Use Electricity to Generate Alternative Fuel

By Guest PostApril 3, 2012Sciencecar, carbon dioxide, carbon source, chemical batteries, chemical energy, CO2, co2 fixation, dark reaction, electric vehicle, electrical energy, electricity, electro bioreactor, hydraulic pumping, hydrogen, isobutanol, james liao, liquid fuel, lithoautotrophic microorganism, photosynthesis, ralstonia eutropha h16, solar panels

Imagine being able to use electricity to power your car — even if it’s not an electric vehicle. Researchers at the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science have for the first time demonstrated a method for converting carbon dioxide into liquid fuel isobutanol using electricity.

Today, electrical energy generated by various methods is still difficult to store efficiently. Chemical batteries, hydraulic pumping and water splitting suffer from low energy-density storage or incompatibility with current transportation infrastructure. (more…)