Energy

Blog: Electronics & Computers

Will Flexible Solar Cells Soon Power Our Devices?

Professor Jaana Vapaavuori spoke with Tech Briefs about the manufacturing methods that could someday decrease the cost and increase the lifetime of flexible solar cells.

Briefs: Energy

Composite Film Enables Windows that Switch from Transparent to Color

Commercial buildings in the United States account for nearly 40% of the total energy consumption. Among them, electricity is the largest energy source for buildings....

Briefs: Electronics & Computers

Ultra-Wide-Bandgap Power Electronics

Power electronics used for routing, control, and conversion of electrical power traditionally utilize silicon semiconductors. These systems tend to be bulky, require active cooling, and are inadequate for...

Articles: Materials

Products of Tomorrow: June 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: Motion Control

“Intelligent” Rotor Blades React Quickly to Changing Conditions

The giant rotor blades are one central part of a wind turbine. Researchers developed a rotor blade that makes more efficient use of large fluctuations in wind strength using...

Blog: Energy

A 'Solid' Idea for Powering Spacecraft: Thermoacoustics

Researchers from Purdue University demonstrated that thermoacoustics properties could theoretically occur in solids as well as liquids.

Blog: Green Design & Manufacturing

A New Approach to Solar-Powered Water Purification: Stay Cool

Researchers at the University of Buffalo have found a counter-intuitive way of improving the water-purification process: keeping things cool.

Briefs: Energy

Grid Friendly™ Charger Controller

Electric vehicles are growing in popularity, and while they represent a cleaner alternative to fossil-fueled vehicles, their increased use may stress the grid if this growing load is left unmanaged. A need...

Briefs: Electronics & Computers

Environmentally Friendly, Rechargeable Proton Battery

A working, rechargeable proton battery was developed that could store more energy than currently available lithium-ion batteries. Potential applications include household storage of...

Facility Focus: Energy

Oak Ridge National Laboratory

This year, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) marks 75 years as a research institution. Located in Oak Ridge, TN, ORNL is the largest US Department of Energy science and energy laboratory, conducting basic and...

Briefs: Electronics & Computers

Thermal Energy Storage and Monitoring

Water heaters and other thermal energy storage devices increase the temperature of a medium above an ambient or normal temperature, and store the warmer medium. Water heaters, in particular, must store...

Briefs: Electronics & Computers

Nonaqueous Redox Flow Battery

Researchers have created a material that consists of carefully structured molecules designed to be particularly electrochemically stable in order to prevent the battery from losing energy to unwanted reactions....

5 Ws: Electronics & Computers

5 Ws of Invisible Glass

Who

Users of consumer electronics devices and solar cells, and high-power pulsed laser applications.

Application Briefs: Data Acquisition

Advanced Data Acquisition Technology Improves Global Weather Predictions

Northrop Grumman Corporation
Azusa, CA
www.northropgrumman.com

Two critical instruments built by Northrop Grumman for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric...

Products: Lighting

New Products: May 2018 Photonics & Imaging Technology

Portable Laser Scanner

Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence (North Kingstown, RI) has announced the Leica Absolute Scanner LAS-XL, a new ultralarge scale portable laser scanner. Designed...

Articles: Transportation

3D-Printed Lab on Wheels

Next-generation manufacturing takes on a 50-year-old icon as ORNL researchers transform the classic Shelby Cobra sports car into a 3D-printed laboratory on wheels. Additive manufacturing enables the seamless...

INSIDER: Electronics & Computers

Fabric-Like Power Source for Wearable Electronics

Scientists have created a customizable, fabric-like power source that can be cut, folded, or stretched without losing its function. The wearable power source, a supercapacitor, works...

Articles: Mechanical & Fluid Systems

Protecting Sensitive Instruments with Piezo-Driven Active Vibration Isolation Platforms

As the need for nano precision has become increasingly important in many fields of research and manufacturing — such as microelectronics fabrication,...

Articles: Motion Control

Industrial Rotary Encoders: Selecting the Right Device for Your Application

Rotary encoders play important roles in motion control and industrial automation systems, providing control systems with information about the motion of motor...

Briefs: Green Design & Manufacturing

High-Voltage Power System for Hybrid Electric Aircraft Propulsion

Innovators at NASA’s Glenn Research Center have developed a variable-frequency, alternating current (AC) power system to enable turbo-electric and hybrid electric...

Briefs: Materials

Aluminum as a Fuel

Batteries and combustion engines each have distinctive benefits and limitations. Batteries have simple construction and operate silently; however, their energy density (i.e., the energy per unit volume) is poor, and...

Briefs: Energy

Solar-Powered Device Generates Electricity Through Ion Transport

By binding photosensitive dyes to common plastic membranes and adding water, chemists have made a new type of solar power generator. The device is similar to familiar silicon...

Briefs: Energy

Generating Electricity with Energy-Harvesting Yarns

Researchers have developed yarns that generate electricity when they are stretched or twisted. The “twistron” yarns are constructed from carbon nanotubes — hollow cylinders of carbon...

Briefs: Energy

Method Reduces Glass Surface Reflections to Nearly Zero

Most electronic devices have glass or plastic covers that protect against dust, moisture, and other environmental contaminants, but light reflection from these surfaces can make...