News
NASA Material Absorbs Light Across Multiple Wavelengths
NASA engineers have produced a material that absorbs on average more than 99 percent of the ultraviolet, visible, infrared, and far-infrared light that hits it — a development that promises to open new frontiers in space technology.
The nanotech-based coating is a thin layer of...
News
Cotton: The Fabric of Our Transistors?
An international team has developed transistors using natural cotton fibers — an innovation that represents a significant leap forward because it lays the groundwork for creating even more complex devices, such as cotton-based circuits, which in turn open doors to the creation of wearable electronic...
News
Berkeley Lab Researchers Ink Nanostructures with Tiny ‘Soldering Iron’
Researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have shed light on the role of temperature in controlling a fabrication technique for drawing chemical patterns as small as 20 nanometers. This technique could provide an inexpensive,...
News: Green Design & Manufacturing
Berkeley Lab researchers have revealed critical genetic secrets of a bacterium that holds potential for removing toxic and radioactive waste from the environment. The researchers have provided the first...
News: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Today, Ascent Solar Technologies, Inc. (Thornton, CO) - a developer of lightweight, flexible, thin-film photovoltaic modules - has announced the selection of seven teams that will begin designing...
News: Green Design & Manufacturing
Photosynthesis is less efficient in plants than it could be. Red algae, in contrast, use a slightly different mechanism and are thus more productive. Scientists from Germany's Max Planck Institute...
Question of the Week
Is the discovery of intelligent alien life unlikely?
News: Energy
For everything from batteries to photovoltaics, new materials are crucial to building a clean energy economy. To speed up the development cycle, Berkeley Lab and MIT researchers have teamed up to...
News: Government
The National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) has won the 2011 GreenGov Presidential Award for Green Innovation. NREL’s Green Data Center was recognized for its innovative design that minimizes its energy footprint...
News: Energy
New Anode Technology Improves Battery Performance
A breakthrough in components for next-generation batteries could come from special materials that transform their structure to perform better over time.
A team of researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory, led by Argonne nanoscientist Tijana Rajh and battery...
News
Tank-Like Robot Scales Walls
Researchers have developed a tank-like robot that has the ability to scale smooth walls, opening up a series of applications ranging from inspecting pipes, buildings, aircraft and nuclear power plants to deployment in search and rescue operations.
This method offers an alternative to the magnets, suction cups,...
News: Green Design & Manufacturing
Solar thermal power plants - which use high temperatures and pressure generated by sunlight to produce turbine movement - are an environmentally-friendly alternative to standard power plants. But this...
News: Green Design & Manufacturing
A Northwestern University research team has developed a new material that absorbs a wide range of wavelengths and could lead to more efficient and less expensive solar technology. The researchers used...
Question of the Week
Will there be enough of a market to justify taxpayer investment in new, private space taxis?
News
iPhone to spiPhone?
Georgia Tech researchers have discovered how to use a mobile phone to track what is being typed on a nearby computer keyboard. They used a smartphone accelerometer — the internal device that detects when and how the phone is tilted — to sense keyboard vibrations and decipher complete sentences with up to 80 percent...
News
Touchscreen Technology Distinguishes Taps by Different Parts of Finger
Smartphone and tablet computer owners have become adept at using finger taps and and drags to control their touchscreens. Carnegie Mellon University researchers have found that this interaction can be enhanced by taking greater advantage of the finger's anatomy and dexterity....
News
Reassembling the World's Largest Medieval Library
Under Jewish law, religious texts cannot simply be thrown away once they're worn out. While many texts were buried, many synagogues also operated genizahs, or storerooms, to store disused holy texts. The Cairo Genizah is one of the most valuable sources of primary documents for medieval...
News
Designing a More Energy-Efficient Grocery Display Case
Open-front refrigerated display cases, which make up roughly 60 percent of the refrigerated cases in grocery stores, provide quick access to chilled products – but they’re hardly energy-efficient. Engineers at the University of Washington and Kettering University are working to cut the...
News
Super-Stretchy Sensor Holds Promise for Prosthetics, Displays
Using carbon nanotubes bent to act like springs, Stanford researchers have developed a stretchable, transparent skin-like sensor that can be stretched to more than twice its original length and bounce back perfectly to its original shape. It can sense pressure from a firm pinch to...
News: Energy
New Concept Gives Rechargeable Batteries a Surge in Storage Capacity
Researchers at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology have developed a new concept for rechargeable batteries, based on a fluoride shuttle – the transfer of fluoride anions between electrodes – which could allow high energy densities up to ten times as high as those of...
News
Designing With Vision
A new system, dubbed “Designing With Vision,” incorporates eye-tracking technology that could help release constraints on creativity imposed by computer-aided design (CAD) tools. Developed by researchers at The Open University and the University of Leeds, the system is devised to break down rigid distinctions between...
News: Energy
The AutoTram® is as long as a streetcar and as maneuverable as a bus. It doesn’t need rails or overhead lines because it rolls on rubber tires and simply follows white lines...
Blog
Meet Our Readers: Keeping the Noise Down
Noise barriers are often used to shield sensitive community areas from roadway, railway, and industrial racket. These structures are built based on the careful measurement of noise levels and environmental conditions.
Did you know that there are over 100 miles of barrier in the state of...
Question of the Week
Will autonomous vehicles increase efficiency and make us safer?
News: Energy
A University of California, San Diego technology that significantly reduces the amount of energy wasted by chips in electronic devices has recently passed the trillion watt-hour milestone...
News
Scientists Develop New Nanomaterial that ‘Steers’ Current in Multiple Dimensions
Scientists at Northwestern University have developed a new nanomaterial that can “steer” electrical currents. The development could lead to a computer that can simply reconfigure its internal wiring and become an entirely different device, based on changing...
News
Radar Sees Through Walls, Provides Real-Time Video
The ability to see through walls is no longer the stuff of science fiction, thanks to new radar technology developed at MIT’s Lincoln Laboratory.
The researchers’ device is an unassuming array of antenna arranged into two rows — eight receiving elements on top, 13 transmitting ones...
News: Green Design & Manufacturing
Molecular Solar Ltd., a spinout company from the UK's University of Warwick, has have achieved a record voltage for organic photovoltaic cells - which means these highly flexible, low-cost solar cells...
News
‘Electron Superhighway’ Opens Doors to Tomorrow’s Quantum Computer
Rice University physicists have created a tiny “electron superhighway” that could one day be useful for building a quantum computer — a type of computer that uses quantum particles in place of the digital transistors found in today’s microchips. Quantum computers...
Top Stories
Videos: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Stratolaunch Approaches Hypersonic Speeds in First Talon-A Flight
Blog: Automotive
A Hack to Trick Automotive Radar
Blog: Medical
3D Ice Printing Artificial Blood Vessels
Blog: Power
Tesla Valve-Inspired Design Could Improve the Performance of Rotating...
Podcasts: RF & Microwave Electronics
Countering Illegally Operated Drones at Airports, Stadiums, and Prisons
Blog: Energy
Fast-Charging Li Battery Could Make ‘Range Anxiety’ a Thing of the Past
Question of the Week
Blog: Artificial Intelligence: Meet Human Intelligence
Webcasts
On-Demand Webinars: Defense
From Data to Decision: How AI Enhances Warfighter Readiness
Upcoming Webinars: Aerospace
April Battery & Electrification Summit
Upcoming Webinars: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Tech Update: 3D Printing for Transportation in 2024
Upcoming Webinars: Materials
Unleashing Epoxy's Potential: Ensuring Hermetic Sealing in Modern...
Upcoming Webinars: Test & Measurement
Building an Automotive EMC Test Plan