INSIDER

Invention Opens Door to Safer, Less Expensive X-Ray Imaging

New lead halide perovskite nanocrystals developed by researchers from NUS Chemistry could soon mean cheaper X-rays and computerized tomography (CT) scans involving lower levels of...

Solar Cell Does Double Duty for Renewable Energy

In the quest for abundant, renewable alternatives to fossil fuels, scientists have sought to harvest the sun’s energy through “water splitting,” an artificial photosynthesis technique...

Tiny Curiosity Motor Identifies a Massive Martian Dust Storm

An unexpected source recently identified a global Martian dust storm. The source was an actuator, or motor, that powers a lid to a funnel that takes in samples of powdered Martian...

3D-Printed "Motion Sculptures" from 2D Videos

Traditional videos and photos for studying motion are two-dimensional, and don’t show the underlying 3D structure of the person or subject of interest. So, researchers are using an algorithm...

Controlling Nanomotors with Light

Engineers at The University of Texas at Austin have developed the first method for selecting and switching the mechanical motion of nanomotors among multiple modes with simple visible light as the...

Doubling Performance with Lithium Metal that Doesn’t Catch Fire

A rechargeable battery technology developed at the University of Michigan could double the output of today’s lithium ion cells, drastically extending electric vehicle...

New App Will Extend Smartphone Battery Life

The built-in multi-window feature released with the new Android operating system allows users to have multiple windows and files open at the same time, similar to a laptop, but this results in...

Boron Nitride Separation Process Could Facilitate Higher Efficiency Solar Cells

A team of semiconductor researchers based in France has used a boron nitride separation layer to grow indium gallium nitride (InGaN) solar cells that were then...

EV Charging in Cold Temperatures Could Pose Challenges for Drivers

New research from Idaho National Laboratory suggests that electric vehicle drivers could face longer charging times when temperatures drop. The reason: cold temperatures...

Engineers Create a Camera With No Lens

In the future, your car windshield could become a giant camera sensing objects on the road. Or each window in a home could be turned into a security camera.

Silicon-Based Tandem Photovoltaic Modules Show Potential

New solar energy research from Arizona State University demonstrates that silicon-based tandem photovoltaic modules, which convert sunlight to electricity with higher efficiency than...

Researchers Devise New Way to Measure Light Beams

If you want to get the greatest benefit from a beam of light—whether to detect a distant planet or to remedy an aberration in the human eye—you need to be able to measure it. Well, a...

Cageless Bearing Design Reduces Friction

A cageless bearing with rolling separator elements was developed for applications including portable medical devices, toys, and robotic applications with medium force requirements. The normal...

“Actuated” Paper Bends, Folds, or Flattens on Command

A thin layer of conducting thermoplastic, applied to common paper with an inexpensive 3D printer or even painted by hand, serves as a low-cost, reversible actuator. When an...

Tiny Defects in Semiconductors Created ‘Speed Bumps’ or Electrons. UCLA Researchers Cleared the Path

UCLA scientists and engineers have developed a new process for assembling semiconductor devices. The advance could lead to much more...

Trapping Light that Doesn't Bounce Off Track for Faster Electronics

Replacing traditional computer chip components with light-based counterparts will eventually make electronic devices faster due to the wide bandwidth of light. Because...

Merging Antenna and Electronics Boosts Energy and Spectrum Efficiency

By integrating the design of antenna and electronics, researchers have boosted the energy and spectrum efficiency for a new class of millimeter wave transmitters,...

Semiconductor Quantum Transistor Opens the Door for Photon-Based Computing

Transistors, the tiny switches that form the bedrock of modern computing—billions of them — route electrical signals around inside the circuitry of our devices....

Future Robots Powered by Light

A novel actuating material – nickel hydroxide-oxyhydroxide –can be powered by visible (Vis) light, electricity, and other stimuli. The material actuation can be instantaneously triggered by visible light...

Silicon Photonics Scientist Demonstrates New Type of Laser

Northern Arizona University assistant professor Ryan Behunin collaborated with a team of physicists from Yale and the University of Texas at Austin in discovering an innovative way...

Research Project Will Produce Clearer Images of Space Objects

A research project designed to enable more precise imaging of space objects has moved from lab bench testing to field testing at the John Bryan State Park observatory,...

National Ignition Facility Sets New Laser Energy Record

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s (LLNL) National Ignition Facility (NIF) laser system has set a new record, firing 2.15 megajoules (MJ) of energy to its target chamber – a...

Aerial Robot Morphs in Flight

An aerial robot capable of altering its profile during flight paves the way for a new generation of large robots that can move through narrow passages, making them ideal for exploration as well as search and...

Paving the Way for Safer, Smaller Batteries and Fuel Cells

Researchers are developing a solid electrolyte that will make safer, better batteries.

Future Electric Cars Could Recharge Wirelessly While You Drive

Electric vehicles may one day be able to recharge while driving down the highway, drawing wireless power directly from plates installed in the road.

Self-Assembling 3D Battery Would Charge in Seconds

Instead of having a battery’s anode and cathode on either side of a nonconducting separator, a new battery would intertwine the two.

Wireless System Can Power Devices Inside the Body

Researchers have developed a new way to power and communicate with devices implanted deep within the human body.

3D-Printed Smart Gel Grabs, Moves Objects

A 3D-printed smart gel that grabs objects and moves them could lead to soft robots that mimic sea animals like the octopus, which can walk underwater and bump into things without damaging them. Soft...

“On a Roll” to Smaller Transformers

The future of electronic devices lies partly within the “internet of things” – the network of devices, vehicles and appliances embedded within electronics to enable connectivity and data...