Technology – Page 12 – Shamskm: A site to exchange knowledge and solutions

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…)

EL Wire Brightens Our World

By Guest PostJune 24, 2012General, Technologyamateur electronics, christmas tree, clary josee, clothing industry, copper wire, el wire, electroluminescence, electroluminescent wires, electronic devices, heat emission, lamps, light sources, mind boggling, movie tron, myriad, phosphor, proto pic, pvc sheath, Technology

Electroluminescence has come a long way since its discovery at the start of the 20^thcentury. For many years the scientists who pioneered its development struggled to come up with practical applications for electroluminescent technology – early uses of the discovery lacked the lifespan to work as practical lamps and light sources, whilst its unreliability made it difficult to use in displays and interfaces.

Undeterred by their setbacks, the boffins working on electroluminescence didn’t give up, and thank goodness, because today electroluminescent light has evolved into a technology that has myriad applications all over the planet. (more…)

First Commercial IBM Hot-Water Cooled Supercomputer to Consume 40% Less Energy

By Guest PostJune 18, 2012Science, Technologyartificial heart valve, computing infrastructure, europe fastest computer, german federal government, hot water cooling, supermuc, supermuc performance, Technology, zero emission

Leibniz’s “SuperMUC” named Europe’s fastest supercomputer

MUNICH – 18 Jun 2012: The Leibniz Supercomputing Centre (LRZ), in collaboration with IBM, today announced the world’s first commercially available hot-water cooled supercomputer, a powerful, high-performance system designed to help researchers and industrial institutions across Europe investigate and solve some of the world’s most daunting scientific challenges. (more…)

Learning About Spatial Relationships Boosts Understanding of Numbers

By Guest PostJune 18, 2012Sciencearithmetic, calculation, elizabeth gunderson, geometry, gerardo ramirez, jason smith, linear number, math problems, mathematics, number knowledge, number line, numerical representations, objects, puzzles, sian beilock, spatial learning, spatial relationships, spatial skill, stem, Technology, university of chicago

Children who are skilled in understanding how shapes fit together to make recognizable objects also have an advantage when it comes to learning the number line and solving math problems, research at the University of Chicago shows.

The work is further evidence of the value of providing young children with early opportunities in spatial learning, which contributes to their ability to mentally manipulate objects and understand spatial relationships, which are important in a wide range of tasks, including reading maps and graphs and understanding diagrams showing how to put things together. Those skills also have been shown to be important in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields. (more…)

Pottermore, New Website Based on the Hugely Popular Harry Potter Books, Uses Windows Azure to Scale Up to 1 Billion Page Views in First Two Weeks

By Guest PostJune 6, 2012Technologyazure, brittany talbot, cloud environment, elastic solution, elasticity, Facebook, fran dougherty, harry potter, harry potter fan, j k rowling, julian thomas, Microsoft, paas, pottermore, pottermore website, priscilla, san francisco, Technology, website, windows azure

Windows Azure offered Pottermore the flexibility required to build a massively scalable website in just three months.

REDMOND, Wash. – June 6, 2012 – Eagerly awaiting the launch of Pottermore (www.pottermore.com), the website based on the popular Harry Potter stories, Brittany Talbot and her sister, Priscilla, raced to sign up when the site went live on April 14, 2012.

They weren’t alone. Within hours, thousands of Harry Potter fans were flooding the site and just two weeks after the Pottermore website went live, it received one billion page views, making it one of the most popular sites on the Web. To date, 10 million unique visitors have visited the site, with 25,000 new users signing up every day.

With Harry Potter one of the largest entertainment phenomena of all time, fans of all ages couldn’t wait to experience the world-famous stories, social, and interactive experiences the site offered. “I like being able to go up there and do potions and spells, and walk around where Harry was,” Brittany says. “I read the first book in the first week because I was so excited.” (more…)

IBM CEO Study: Command & Control Meets Collaboration

By Guest PostMay 23, 2012Technologybridget van kralingen, business analytics, ceos, chief executive officer, collaboration, command and control, data, economic, face to face, human relationship, ibm ceo study, ibm study, innovation, interaction, internet, key influence, market condition, modern corporation, peter voser, royal dutch shell, social business platforms, social media, social network, Technology

CEOs embark on a new era of leadership as they embrace a more connected culture

ARMONK, N.Y. – A new IBM study of more than 1,700 Chief Executive Officers from 64 countries and 18 industries worldwide reveals that CEOs are changing the nature of work by adding a powerful dose of openness, transparency and employee empowerment to the command-and-control ethos that has characterized the modern corporation for more than a century.

The advantages of the fast-moving trend are clear. According to the IBM CEO study, companies that outperform their peers are 30 percent more likely to identify openness – often characterized by a greater use of social media as a key enabler of collaboration and innovation – as a key influence on their organization. Outperformers are embracing new models of working that tap into the collective intelligence of an organization and its networks to devise new ideas and solutions for increased profitability and growth. (more…)

New Silicon Memory Chip Developed

By Guest PostMay 21, 2012Science, Technologyadnan mehonic, brain function, computer processor, energy, flash memory chips, memristors, metal, mobile devices, neurons, oxides, reram, resistive ram, semiconductor, silicon chips, silicon memory chip, silicon oxide, Technology, tony kenyon, usb sticks

The first purely silicon oxide-based ‘Resistive RAM’ memory chip that can operate in ambient conditions– opening up the possibility of new super-fast memory – has been developed by researchers at UCL.

Resistive RAM (or ‘ReRAM’) memory chips are based on materials, most often oxides of metals, whose electrical resistance changes when a voltage is applied – and they “remember” this change even when the power is turned off.

ReRAM chips promise significantly greater memory storage than current technology, such as the Flash memory used on USB sticks, and require much less energy and space. (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…)

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