phase change material

Paraffin offers superior solution to road salt for melting snow, ice

By Faye Oney / September 26, 2017

Salt has long been used on roads and sidewalks to melt snow and ice, but it can destroy vehicles and the environment over time. Researchers have developed a method for melting snow and ice using paraffin, which is less expensive and environmentally-friendly.

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There’s more to multifunctional ultra-flyweight aerogel produced at a Zhejiang U. lab than just ‘world’s lightest material’ record

By Eileen De Guire / March 28, 2013

(a) Photograph of new UFAs with diverse shapes; (b) a 100 cm3 cylinder standing on a flower like “dog’s tail”; (c) a ~1000 cm3 pie pan-shaped cylinder (21 cm in diameter…

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ARPA-E awards $37.3M for disruptive thermal storage innovations, materials

By / October 13, 2011

Abengoa, designer of novel concentrating solar power towers, is a participant in several new ARPA-E funded projects for storing thermal energy. Credit: Abengoa Last week Eileen reported on ARPA-E’s new…

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Phase change material in coffee (and beer!) mugs

By / September 10, 2009

I remember losing my fifth grade science competition to John Immel, a young boy who designed a coffee mug with a battery to keep his mom’s coffee warm in the…

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