[Images above] Credit: NIST
ENERGY
Nuclear fusion power could be here by 2030, one company says
A private nuclear-fusion company has heated a plasma of hydrogen to 27 million degrees Fahrenheit (15 million degrees Celsius) in a new reactor for the first time—hotter than the core of the sun.
Self-heating, fast-charging battery makes electric vehicles climate-immune
Conventional lithium-ion batteries cannot be rapidly charged at temperatures below 50 degrees Fahrenheit, but now a team of Penn State engineers has created a battery that can self-heat, allowing rapid charging regardless of the outside chill.
Bacteria-powered solar cell converts light to energy, even under overcast skies
University of British Columbia researchers have found a cheap, sustainable way to build a solar cell using bacteria that convert light to energy. Their cell generated a current stronger than any previously recorded from such a device and worked as efficiently in dim light as in bright light.
A hydrogen sensor that works at room temperature
Researchers at TU Delft have developed a highly sensitive and versatile hydrogen sensor that works at room temperature. The sensor is made of a thin layer of a material called tungsten trioxide.
Electrons slowing down at critical moments
In a new study, researchers from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory have determined that electrons in some oxides can experience an “unconventional slowing down” of their response to a light pulse.
Salt is key ingredient for cheaper and more efficient batteries
A new design of rechargeable battery, created using salt, could lead the way for greener energy. Researchers have designed a novel energy store which allows for greater power while also lasting longer than conventional batteries.
Breakthrough in perovskite solar cell technology
A team of researchers from Peking University and the Universities of Surrey, Oxford and Cambridge detail a new way to reduce an unwanted process called non-radiative recombination, where energy and efficiency is lost in perovskite solar cells.
UD re-brands research institute with new logo, adds more departments
The University of Dayton Research Institute is now home to a department dedicated to researching efficient renewable energy technology and a division exploring affordable and rapid aerospace system sustainment.
ENVIRONMENT
Material could help windows both power your home and control its temperature
Researchers in China have combined window coatings that lower heating and cooling costs with see-through solar cells that make windows function like electricity generators into one window-compatible material that could double the energy efficiency of an average household.
MANUFACTURING
CEOs: Embrace ‘remote experts,’ sensors, continuous training, to address skills gap
Tackling the workforce skills gap issue involves dealing with not only experienced employees who have sharp subtractive manufacturing skills but have to be prodded to move into additive manufacturing, but also newbies who still need to hone skills required for emerging technology.
OTHER STORIES
Boise State scientists explore how graphene foam may one day ease osteoarthritis pain
Researchers have developed a “bioscaffold” out of graphene foam to mesh with human stem cells and grow new cartilage. This graphene foam-enhanced cartilage could one day be used to treat the joint pain caused by osteoarthritis and prevent the need for joint replacement.
Physicists uncover why nanomaterial loses superconductivity
University of Utah physicists and collaborators have discovered that superconducting nanowires made of MoGe alloy undergo quantum phase transitions from a superconducting to a normal metal state when placed in an increasing magnetic field at low temperatures.
Researcher pulling from past to shape future of glass research
John Mauro, professor of materials science and engineering at Penn State, is building a set of predictive modeling tools combining knowledge from glass physics and chemistry, to map the building blocks and properties of glass, much like efforts to understand the human genome.