Electronics & Software

Energy

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Your destination for advances in renewable energy, energy storage technologies, and trends in portable solar power, energy harvesting, wind power, and alternative energy. Design engineers will find the latest applications and multimedia resources including videos, white papers, webinars, and technical briefs.

Briefs: Transportation
Safer, Longer-Lasting, Solid-State Batteries
Solid-state batteries offer a higher level of safety and potentially longer life than lithium-ion batteries.
Briefs: Energy
Reduced Heat Leakage Improves Wearable Health Device
A flexible device worn on the wrist harvests heat energy from the human body to monitor health.
Special Reports: Energy
Power Electronics - August 2021

This compendium of recent articles from the editors of Tech Briefs and Aerospace & Defense Technology looks at the latest advances in power electronics and energy storage for a range of applications...

Briefs: Energy
High-Mobility Transport Layer Structures for Rhombohedral Si/Ge/SiGe Devices
This invention enables improved carrier mobility for solar cells and other electronic devices.
NASA Spinoff: Test & Measurement
Measuring Moon Dust to Fight Air Pollution
NASA’s need to contain hazardous lunar dust led to technology that senses other pollutants.
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Tension Element Damping (TED) with Hydraulics for Large Displacements
Applications include wind turbines, solar arrays, commercial space mobile launchers, and industrial process stacks and equipment.
Application Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Back to Basics: Improving Your Drives Investment
An OEM must think about how to build a machine that will work on any kind of power system.
Briefs: Data Acquisition
Electronic Hardware System Replicates Many Network Architectures
The circuitry uses race logic to solve complex problems with a minimum expenditure of energy.
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Organic Material for Next-Generation HVAC Technologies
An enhanced polymer could be used for more energy-efficient systems with a smaller carbon footprint.
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Hybrid Thermoelectric Compound
The material sets the stage for new forms of electric power in the future.
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Stretchable Thermoelectric Generators
The organic composite material is soft, stretchable, and has good thermoelectric properties for many wearable applications.
Question of the Week: Wearables
Will ‘Sweat Power’ Make Wearables Mainstream?

Engineers at the University of California San Diego developed a thin, flexible strip that can be worn on a fingertip and generate small amounts of electricity when a person’s finger sweats or presses on it. (Watch the demo on Tech Briefs TV.)

Question of the Week: Energy
Will ‘Mass-Less’ Energy Storage Finally Catch On?

A July Tech Brief highlights a “structural battery” from the Chalmers University of Technology that uses carbon fiber as a negative electrode and a lithium iron phosphate-coated aluminum foil as the positive electrode. The battery works as both a power source and as part of the main...

Special Reports: Software
Vehicle Electrification - July 2021

GM electrifies the new Corvette...a French nanomaterials company aims for a 5-minute EV recharge...Triumph unveils a radical new electric sportbike design. These are just a few of the innovations you'll...

Q&A: Energy
Q&A: Wireless Charging for Electric Vehicles
Dr. Burak Ozpineci is developing a system that charges electric vehicles while driving.
Briefs: Energy
Carbon Fiber Structural Battery for “Mass-Less” Energy Storage in Vehicles
The carbon fiber serves as the electrode, conductor, and load-bearing material.
Briefs: Energy
Flywheel Energy Storage Continues to Advance Green Initiatives
Flywheels offer an environmentally and financially sound choice for protecting critical operations.
Briefs: Energy
Photovoltaic Solar Cell Works at Night
This cell could potentially operate around the clock, balancing the power grid over the day-night cycle.
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Winglet with Injected Flow
Injection of air at the trailing edge of a winglet further reduces drag.
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Pyroelectric Sandwich Thermal Energy Harvester
The technology harvests electrical energy from waste heat sources.
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Ultra-Thin, Energy-Efficient Photodetector Integrated with Gorilla Glass
This could lead to the commercial development of smart glass, with applications ranging from imaging to advanced robotics.
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Electrolyte Boost Improves Performance of Aqueous Dual-Ion Batteries
New cell chemistry utilizes less costly and more abundant materials than lithium-ion batteries.
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Light-Based “Tractor Beam” Assembles Materials at the Nanoscale
The size and shape of the nanostructure can be controlled as it is assembled piece by piece.
Briefs: Energy
Magnet-Controlled Bioelectronic Implant for Relieving Pain
This could make possible embedded devices like a spinal cord-stimulating unit with a battery-powered magnetic transmitter on a wearable belt.
Facility Focus: Wearables
Facility Focus: Duke University Pratt School of Engineering
Duke Engineering supports clinical ultrasound imaging, restoration of hearing by cochlear implant, megapixel photography, and metamaterials.
Question of the Week: Energy
Will Better Sensors Lead to Greater Adoption of Hydrogen Power?

One of the final hurdles to hydrogen power is securing a safe method for spotting hydrogen leaks. A sensor, featured in the June issue of Sensor Technology, has a greater sensitivity than other detectors.

INSIDER: Materials
Inexpensive Tin Packs a Big Punch for the Future of Supercapacitors

A sustainable, powerful micro-supercapacitor may be on the horizon. Until now, these high-capacity, fast-charging energy storage devices have been limited by the...

INSIDER: Electronics & Computers
Reduced Heat Leakage Improves Wearable Health Device

North Carolina State University engineers continue to improve the efficiency of a flexible device worn on the wrist that harvests heat energy from the human body to monitor health.

INSIDER: Energy
Compound Normally Found in Candles Lights the Way to Grid-Scale Energy Storage

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (Richland, WA) have shown that low-cost organic compounds hold promise...

Top Stories

Blog: Energy

A 'Charging Room' Powers Devices Through the Air

Blog: Aerospace

A 3D-Printed 'Fish Fin' Offers New Ideas for Morphing Aircraft

INSIDER: Energy

More Efficient Electricity Distribution Thanks to New Insulation Material

Blog: Power

A New Way to Launch Rockets: Microwave Power

Blog: Aerospace

Go for Launch: Scientists Explore Radiation Risks to Mars-Bound Astronauts

INSIDER: Energy

Better Batteries for Grid-Scale Energy Storage

Webcasts

On-Demand Webinars: Automotive

Thermoplastic Solutions to Address Trends and Needs in Automotive Exterior and...

Upcoming Webinars: Automotive

The Role of Multi-Angle Spectrophotometers in Color Measurement

Upcoming Webinars: Automotive

Advanced High-Peak-Power Semiconductor Laser Transmitter...

Upcoming Webinars: Automotive

Software Reuse in Automotive Engineering

Upcoming Webinars: Automotive

Don’t Let the Future of High-Voltage Cables Shock You

Upcoming Webinars: Aerospace

Artemis: Back to the Moon

Trending Stories

NASA Spinoff: Materials

Nanotechnology Repairs Engine Damage in Cars

INSIDER: Energy

More Efficient Electricity Distribution Thanks to New Insulation Material

INSIDER: Energy

Better Batteries for Grid-Scale Energy Storage

Articles: Mechanical & Fluid Systems

Contacts for Hi-Rel Connectors: Comparing Technologies

NASA Spinoff: Transportation

Nanotechnology Repairs Engine Damage in Cars

Briefs: Information Technology

Evaluating Descent and Ascent Trajectories Near Non-Spherical Bodies

Videos