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Blog: Energy
Answering Your Questions: Will Solar Panel Efficiency Improve?
Podcasts: Aerospace
Here's an Idea: Garbage!
Articles: Manufacturing & Prototyping
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Question of the Week
How Strong is the ‘Ionic Wind?’

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Latest Briefs & News

Who's Who: Sensors/Data Acquisition

5 Ws of Spray-On Antennas

Blog: Test & Measurement

Q&A: After a Successful Landing, What’s Next for the InSight Mission?

Tech Talks : Electronics & Computers
SiC MOSFET vs. Si IGBT in Electric Vehicle Applications

In the race to make the most efficient electric vehicle, the design of power electronics converters plays a vital role. Power losses, breakdown voltage, switching times, and thermal conductivity of semiconductor devices are critical factors when designing power electronics converters.

On-Demand Webinars : RF & Microwave Electronics
Full Up Jet or No Go: The Paradox of Reliable RF/Microwave Signal Transmission

When it comes to reliable RF/Microwave signal transmission, the military aerospace industry has reached a MISSION CRITICAL juncture where the specification requirements no longer meet the demands and increase in technology to ensure a system’s functionality is...

INSIDER : Materials
Faster-Charging, Safer Batteries

Imagine a world where cell phones and laptops can be charged in a matter of minutes instead of hours, rolled up and stored in your pocket, or dropped without sustaining any damage. It is possible, but the...

INSIDER : Energy
New fuel cell concept brings biological design to better electricity generation

Fuel cells generate electricity directly from hydrogen and oxygen and produce only water vapor as emissions. But most fuel cells are too expensive, inefficient,...

News : Manufacturing & Prototyping
Low-Cost Plastic Sensors Could Monitor a Range of Health Conditions

An international team of researchers have developed a low-cost sensor made from semiconducting plastic that can be used to diagnose or monitor a wide range of health conditions, such as surgical complications or neurodegenerative diseases.

On-Demand Webinars : Energy
The Latest Technologies for Energy Harvesting

This 60-minute Webinar on energy harvesting is part of the Technical Webinar Series from the editors of Tech Briefs Media. Three experts will look at the latest technologies related to this important subject area.

Question of the Week : Aerospace
How Strong is the ‘Ionic Wind?’

MIT has built the first-ever plane with no moving parts. Instead of turbine blades, propellers, and fans, the aircraft relies on an “ionic wind” — a silent but strong flow of ions, produced onboard, which generates enough thrust to propel the plane over a sustained, steady flight.

“This has...

Application Briefs : Transportation
Multi-Axis Motion Controller Accelerates Gear Testing

Materials testing and characterization is often a lengthy process. It can take more than a year and billions of testing cycles for a manufacturer to characterize the properties of a new...

Briefs : Motion Control
Optical Gyroscope-on-a-Chip

Gyroscopes are devices that help vehicles, drones, and wearable and handheld electronic devices know their orientation in three-dimensional space. Originally, gyroscopes were sets of nested wheels, each spinning...

Application Briefs : Electronics & Computers
One-Cable Automation Streamlines Robotic Non-Destructive Inspection Systems

There are few industries where the demands for material testing and quality assurance are more challenging than in the aerospace industry. Ensuring the safety of all...

Products : Sensors/Data Acquisition
New Products: December 2018, Motion Design

Motor/Drive/Controller

Advanced Micro Controls (Terryville, CT) offers a size 17 PLC-based SMD Series integrated stepper motor/drive/controller system. The integrated solutions are suited...

Briefs : Motion Control
High-Performance Cageless Bearings with Minimal Frictional Loss

The global bearings market is expected to grow significantly due to increasing commercial and industrial machinery and manufacturing activity. Bearings are used in virtually...

Articles : Test & Measurement
Smart Actuators Deliver on the Promise of Industry 4.0

As Industry 4.0 initiatives bring more and more industrial axes of motion into the realm of automation, the need for cost-effective control across them grows as well. Advances in...

Who's Who : Materials
Q&A: Professor Rouzbeh Shahsavari, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Rice University, Houston, TX

Professor Shahsavari and graduate student Sung Hoon have demonstrated a process for producing a cement that is stronger, lighter, and more durable than the traditional Portland cement.

Briefs : Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Shape Memory Alloy Rock Splitters (SMARS)

Glenn's revolutionary Shape Memory Alloy Rock Splitters (SMARS) device is fabricated from nickel-titanium-halfnium (NiTiHf), nickel-titanium-zirconium compositions, or a combination. These compositions contain a secondary, nanometer-sized precipitate phase that is produced through processes of...

Briefs : Electronics & Computers
Sandwiching Materials in Nanoelectronics

Many of today's silicon-based electronic components contain 2D materials such as graphene. Incorporating 2D materials like graphene — which is composed of a single-atom-thick layer of carbon atoms...

Briefs : Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Ducted Fuel Injection for Soot Reduction

Typical direct-injection engines, such as diesel engines, can produce soot due to fuel-rich combustion conditions. Filters and catalytic converters are currently used to reduce soot and harmful...

Briefs : Photonics/Optics
Low-Light Night Vision Imaging and Video Capture

Conventional night vision goggles all use image intensification (I2) tube technology that multiplies ambient, visible, and near-infrared light several thousands of times, allowing a user to see and operate in very-low-light conditions. One shortcoming of I2 tube night vision devices is that they...

Briefs : Sensors/Data Acquisition
Sensor Combination Detects People by Smell

Trained rescue dogs are the best disaster workers — their sensitive noses help them track down people buried by earthquakes or avalanches. But dogs need breaks. A new measuring device is always...

Briefs : Sensors/Data Acquisition
Ionization-Based Multidirectional Flow Sensor

One significant area of research in fuel cell technology includes systems in which a fuel cell is combined with another power generation device (a turbine, for example) to create a hybrid system that combines the advantages of the two standalone systems, resulting in a high fuel-to-electricity...

Briefs : Sensors/Data Acquisition
Real-Time Ion Mobility Sensor System

A real-time ion mobility sensor developed to detect contaminants and explosives is reliable, sensitive, robust, and inexpensive. The technology improves sensitivity and reduces false alarms for threat agents, and can identify chemicals with a sensitivity of five parts per billion.

Briefs : Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Ultralight Gloves Provide Realistic Haptic Feedback

Engineers and software developers are seeking to create technology that lets users touch, grasp, and manipulate virtual objects while feeling like they are actually touching something in...

Articles : Sensors/Data Acquisition
Products of Tomorrow: December 2018

This column presents technologies that have applications in commercial areas, possibly creating the products of tomorrow. To learn more about each technology, see the contact information provided for that...

Briefs : Sensors/Data Acquisition
Printable Metal Tags Turn Objects into Smart, Connected Devices

Printable metal tags have been developed that could be attached to everyday objects to turn them into “smart” Internet of Things (IoT) devices. The tags are made from...