Toilets are likely one of the last technologies people associate with innovation, but creating high-tech toilets is big business in Japan. And innovating the bathroom experience is not just limited to personal and private settings—the new Tokyo Toilet project looks to dispel perceptions that public toilets are dark, dirty, and smelly.
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Transparent solar panels hit record efficiency, long-range and high-power wireless electricity, and other materials stories that may be of interest for August 26, 2020.
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Metalenses are an emerging technology for controlling light that could someday replace traditional lenses. However, they generally lack dynamic control over their optical properties and are limited to passive optical applications. Researchers from the United States and Italy investigated infiltrating metalenses with liquid crystals to allow for dynamic control.
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Pilkington launches online ‘glass-opedia,’ first floating PV plant commissioned in Russia, and more ceramic and glass business news of the week for August 24, 2020.
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Farmers are in the midst of an economic crisis. Production of methane fuel from biogas, a natural byproduct of organic wastes, may be a way to turn a profit, but the current processing methods are too expensive for small farmers. Researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory developed a composite sorbent that may make the production process economically feasible.
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The September 2020 issue of the ACerS Bulletin—featuring single-step synthesis of refractory ceramics—is now available online. Plus—Awards and C&GM
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For more than 50 years, the Apollo-era Laser Ranging Retroreflector experiment helped scientists track the moon’s orbit and distance from Earth. The efficiency of the moon-based reflectors decreased over time, though, so NASA scientists looked to reflect light from a spacecraft-based reflector instead—a feat they recently achieved for the first time.
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Ion-pump photovoltaics, eggshell-based surgical material for skull injuries, and other materials stories that may be of interest for August 19, 2020.
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Agrivoltaics, the practice of co-locating photovoltaic infrastructure and agriculture, can lead to reduced crop yield if the solar panels block too much light. Researchers in the United Kingdom and Italy investigated using tinted semitransparent solar panels that selectively absorb certain wavelengths and found a substantial overall financial gain compared with classical agriculture.
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Mexican utility confirms first investment in solar, BASF acquires glass-fiber 3D-printing business form Owens Corning, and more ceramic and glass business news of the week for August 17, 2020.
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