Light accelerates conductivity in nature’s ‘electric grid’

“It is a completely different form of photosynthesis”

09-Sep-2022 - The natural world possesses its own intrinsic electrical grid composed of a global web of tiny bacteria-generated nanowires in the soil and oceans that “breathe” by exhaling excess electrons. In a new study, Yale University researchers discovered that light is a surprising ally in fostering this ...

New tech delivers high-tech film that blocks electromagnetic interference

05-Nov-2018 - Electromagnetic interference (EMI), which can harm smartphones, tablets, chips, drones, wearables, and evenaircraft and human health, is increasing with the explosive proliferation of devices that generate it. Themarket for EM-blocking solutions, which employ conductive or magnetic materials, is ...

Why nanomaterial loses superconductivity

11-Jul-2018 - The struggle to keep drinks cold during the summer is a lesson in classical phase transitions. To study phase transitions, apply heat to a substance and watch how its properties change. Add heat to water and at the so-called "critical point," watch as it transforms into a gas (steam). Remove heat ...

Less is more when it comes to predicting molecules’ conductivity

04-Jun-2018 - The smaller and smarter that phones and devices become, the greater the need to build smaller circuits. Forward-thinking scientists in the 1970s suggested that circuits could be built using molecules instead of wires, and over the past decades that technology has become reality. The trouble is, ...

3D X-rays measure particle movement inside lithium ion batteries

23-May-2018 - Lithium ion batteries have come a long way since their introduction in the late 1990s. They're used in many everyday devices, such as laptop computers, mobile phones, and medical devices, as well as automotive and aerospace platforms, and others. However, lithium ion battery performance still can ...

Speeding up material discovery

Algorithm take months, not years, to find material for improved energy conversion

27-Apr-2018 - In even the most fuel-efficient cars, about 60 percent of the total energy of gasoline is lost through heat in the exhaust pipe and radiator. To combat this, researchers are developing new thermoelectic materials that can convert heat into electricity. These semiconducting materials could ...

A different spin on superconductivity

Unusual particle interactions open up new possibilities in exotic materials

11-Apr-2018 - When you plug in an appliance or flip on a light switch, electricity seems to flow instantly through wires in the wall. But in fact, the electricity is carried by tiny particles called electrons that slowly drift through the wires. On their journey, electrons occasionally bump into the material's ...

Toilet paper sensors

Tissue paper sensors show promise for health care, entertainment, robotics

16-Feb-2018 - University of Washington engineers have turned tissue paper – similar to toilet tissue – into a new kind of wearable sensor that can detect a pulse, a blink of an eye and other human movement. The sensor is light, flexible and inexpensive, with potential applications in health care, entertainment ...

Prediction of titanic nitride proved unsinkable

26-Jan-2018 - A team of experimental and computational scientists led by Carnegie's Tim Strobel and Venkata Bhadram have synthesized a long sought-after form of titanium nitride, Ti3N4, which has promising mechanical and optoelectronic properties. Standard titanium nitride (TiN), with a one-to-one ratio of ...

2-D material's traits could send electronics R&D spinning in new directions

28-Jun-2017 - An international team of researchers, working at the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and UC Berkeley, fabricated an atomically thin material and measured its exotic and durable properties that make it a promising candidate for a budding branch of ...