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Blog: Electronics & Computers
Technologies of the Week
A self-biased solar cell is available that provides improved conversion efficiency. Loss of carriers at the back surface of the battery is decreased, and open circuit voltage and quantum efficiency near a long wavelength are increased.
View this technology here.
Blog: Energy
Technology Business Briefs
Lightweight, High-Performance Propeller/Rotor/Wind Turbine Blade
The turbine blade features a much lighter, more efficient, less expensive, and entirely new structural design. Other advantages offered bythis technology include increased performance, lower noise, decreased maintenance time and expense, and optimized...
Articles: Motion Control
Electric motors consume approximately one quarter of the electricity in the U.S. and are the main motive force in our commercial buildings, industrial...
Articles: Energy
In celebration of the 30th Anniversary of NASA Tech Briefs, our features in 2006 highlight a different technology category each month, tracing the past 30 years of the technology, and continuing with a glimpse into...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Anion-IntercalatingCathodes for High-Energy-Density Cells
A report discusses physicochemical issues affecting a fluoride-intercalating cathode that operates in conjunction with a lithium ion-intercalating anode in a rechargeable electrochemical cell described in a cited prior report. The instant report also discusses corresponding innovations made...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
The protocol for charging a lithiumion battery would be modified, according to a proposal, to compensate for the internal voltage drop (charging current × internal resistance of the...
Who's Who: Energy
As part of the Forward Technology Solar Cell Experiment (FTSCE), a team of engineers from NASA Glenn, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Ohio State...
Briefs: Materials
Two perfluoroalkanesulfonic acids and perfluoroalkanesulfonimides have shown promise as anodecoating materials for improving the performances of direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs)....
Briefs: Energy
Virtually all businesses and industries are vulnerable to electric power disturbances such as outages, sags, swells, and harmonics. These problems are less of an...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Although battery-powered computer based instruments are commonplace, they typically lack powerful processors capable of running sophisticated Windows 2000/XP-level...
Briefs: Energy
Treated Carbon Nanofibers for Storing Energy in Aqueous KOH
A surface treatment has been found to enhance the performances of carbon nanofibers as electrode materials for electrochemical capacitors in which aqueous solutions of potassium hydroxide are used as the electrolytes. In the treatment, sulfonic acid groups are attached to edge plane sites...
Briefs: Materials
Mats of free-standing manganese oxide (MnxOy ) nanowires have been fabricated as experimental electrode materials for rechargeable electro-chemical power cells and capacitors....
Briefs: Energy
Lightweight, Flexible, Thin, Integrated Solar-Power Packs
Lightweight, flexible, thin, one-piece, solar-power packs are undergoing development. Each power pack of this type is a complete, modular, integrated power-supply system comprising three power subsystems that, in conventional practice, have been constructed as separate units and connected to...
Briefs: Manned Systems
In the summer of 2001, the Helios prototype solar-powered uninhabited aerial vehicle (UAV) [a lightweight, remotely piloted airplane] was deployed to the Pacific Missile Range Facility...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Cube-shaped thermoelectric devices energized by a particles from radioactive decay of 244Cm have been proposed as long-lived sources of power. These power cubes are intended especially for...
Briefs: Energy
A modular, integrated, completely solid-state system designed to harvest and store solar energy is under development. Called the "power tile," the hybrid device consists of a photovoltaic...
Briefs: Lighting
A unique safety flasher powered by photovoltaic cells and ultracapacitors has been developed. Safety flashers are used wherever there are needs to mark actually or potentially hazardous...
Briefs: Materials
Curved mirrors of a proposed type would comprise lightweight sheets or films containing integral, biologically inspired actuators for controlling their surface figures. These mirrors could...
Briefs: Energy
Mixed Conducting Electrodes for Better AMTEC Cells
Electrode materials that exhibit mixed conductivity (that is, both electronic and ionic conductivity) have been investigated in a continuing effort to improve the performance of the alkali metal thermal-to-electric converter (AMTEC). These electrode materials are intended primarily for use on the...
Briefs: Energy
The term "common/dependent pressure vessel" (C/DPV) denotes a proposed alternative configuration for a nickel-hydrogen battery. The C/DPV configuration is so named because it...
Briefs: Materials
Polymeric electrolytes for rechargeable lithium-based electrochemical cells and batteries would be made by blending and complexing cyanoresins with lithium salts, according to a proposal....
Briefs: Energy
In support of NASA’s Environmental Research Aircraft and Sensor Technology (ERAST) program, flight tests of the Pathfinder solar-electric-powered, remotely...
Briefs: Energy
Partially fluorinated alkyl carbonate liquid compounds have been found to be excellent electrolyte cosolvents for rechargeable lithium-ion electrochemical cells. The benefits afforded...
Briefs: Energy
Alkyl pyrocarbonates have been found to be useful as electrolyte additives for improving the low-temperature performances of rechargeable lithium-ion electrochemical cells. The...
Briefs: Energy
Crystalline phases of compounds of general composition (Cuw, CuxFey, or Tiz)Mo6Se8 [where w<4, x<2, y<1, and z<1] have been investigated for potential utility as thermoelectric...
Briefs: Energy
A relatively simple test circuit immediately and automatically provides indications of (1) the continuity (or the lack thereof) of the wires of a two-wire cable, plus (2) a short circuit (if any)...
Briefs: Energy
Improved Charge-Termination Technique for Lithium-Ion Cells
An improved charge-termination technique has been developed to obtain a more accurate balance between charge and discharge of rechargeable lithium-ion-based electrochemical cells and batteries. The technique has been demonstrated experimentally and is now in use in a laboratory battery...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Storage batteries based on intercalation of lithium and bromine in graphite have been proposed. Like other storage batteries, these could be recharged electrically. Optionally, these...
Briefs: Materials
Oxygen Batteries Based on a Solid Polymer Electrolyte
Scientists have developed a derivative of the lithium-ion cell that could prove useful in spaceflight and commercial applications in which it is planned to use oxygen batteries based on solid polymer electrolytes. This derivative cell, which contains a solid polymer electrolyte and an oxygen gas...
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Webcasts
On-Demand Webinars: Power
E/E Architecture Redefined: Building Smarter, Safer, and Scalable Vehicles
Upcoming Webinars: Energy
Hydrogen Engines Are Heating Up for Heavy Duty
Upcoming Webinars: Electronics & Computers
Advantages of Smart Power Distribution Unit Design for Automotive...
Upcoming Webinars: Automotive
Quiet, Please: NVH Improvement Opportunities in the Early Design...
Upcoming Webinars: Power
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Podcasts: Defense
How Sift's Unified Observability Platform Accelerates Drone Innovation
