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Episodes
- Optical computing closer to reality
Wed, 20 Aug 2008 13:54:19 +0000
Scientists at the University of Pennsylvania have theorized a way to increase the speed of pulses of light that bound across chains of tiny metal particles to well past the speed of light by altering the particle shape. Application of this theory would use nanosized metal chains as building blocks for novel optoelectronic and optical devices, which would operate at higher frequencies than conventional electronic circuits. Such devices could eventually find applications in the developing area of high-speed optical computing, in which protons and light replace electrons and transistors for greater performance. [...] Read more! - Can biofuels be sustainable?
Wed, 20 Aug 2008 13:48:35 +0000
With oil prices skyrocketing, the search is on for efficient and sustainable biofuels. Research published this month in Agronomy Journal examines one biofuel crop contender: corn stover. Corn stover is made up of the leaves and stalks of corn plants that are left in the field after harvesting the edible corn grain. Corn stover could supply as much as 25% of the biofuel crop needed by 2030. [...] Read more! - New way to fine-tune the light coming from quantum dots by manipulating them with pairs of lasers
Wed, 20 Aug 2008 13:45:41 +0000
Researchers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Joint Quantum Institute (JQI), a collaborative center of the University of Maryland and NIST, have reported a new way to fine-tune the light coming from quantum dots by manipulating them with pairs of lasers. Their technique, published in Physical Review Letters,* could significantly improve quantum dots as a source of pairs of ?entangled? photons, a property with important applications in quantum information technologies. The accomplishment could accelerate development of powerful advanced cryptography applications, projected to be a key 21st-century technology. [...] Read more! - Microorganisms that convert hydrocarbons to natural gas isolated
Wed, 20 Aug 2008 13:40:30 +0000
When a group of University of Oklahoma researchers began studying the environmental fate of spilt petroleum, a problem that has plagued the energy industry for decades, they did not expect to eventually isolate a community of microorganisms capable of converting hydrocarbons into natural gas. The researchers found that the groundbreaking process?known as anaerobic hydrocarbon metabolism?can be used to stimulate methane gas production from older, more mature oil reservoirs like those in Oklahoma. The work has now led to the recognition that similar microorganisms may also be involved in problems ranging from the deterioration of fuels to the corrosion of pipelines. [...] Read more! - Ferroelectric polymer-based capacitors can deliver power more rapidly and are much lighter than conventional batteries
Wed, 20 Aug 2008 13:21:12 +0000
The proliferation of solar, wind and even tidal electric generation and the rapid emergence of hybrid electric automobiles demands flexible and reliable methods of high-capacity electrical storage. Now a team of Penn State materials scientists is developing ferroelectric polymer-based capacitors that can deliver power more rapidly and are much lighter than conventional batteries. "Electrical energy storage is very important for all electrical and electronic systems," says Qing Wang, associate professor of materials science and engineering. "Even renewable energy systems like solar cells need somewhere to store excess energy to be used at night." [...] Read more! - New way to efficiently convert ethanol and other biofuels into hydrogen
Wed, 20 Aug 2008 13:16:23 +0000
Researchers here have found a way to convert ethanol and other biofuels into hydrogen very efficiently. A new catalyst makes hydrogen from ethanol with 90 percent yield, at a workable temperature, and using inexpensive ingredients. Umit Ozkan, professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at Ohio State University, said that the new catalyst is much less expensive than others being developed around the world, because it does not contain precious metals, such as platinum or rhodium. [...] Read more! - The Most Advanced Quadruped Robot on Earth
Mon, 18 Aug 2008 16:42:30 +0000
Runs at 4 mph, climbs slopes up to 35 degrees, walks across rubble, and carries a 340 lb load. BigDog is the alpha male of the Boston Dynamics family of robots. It is a quadruped robot that walks, runs, and climbs on rough terrain and carries heavy loads. BigDog is powered by a gasoline engine that drives a hydraulic actuation system. BigDog's legs are articulated like an animal?s, and have compliant elements that absorb shock and recycle energy from one step to the next. BigDog is the size of a large dog or small mule, measuring 1 meter long, 0.7 meters tall and 75 kg weight. [...] Read more! - Potential health hazards of buckyballs studied
Tue, 27 May 2008 18:15:45 +0000
A new study into the potential health hazards of the revolutionary nano-sized particles known as ?buckyballs? predicts that the molecules are easily absorbed into animal cells, providing a possible explanation for how the molecules could be toxic to humans and other organisms. Using computer simulations, University of Calgary biochemist Peter Tieleman, post-doctoral fellow Luca Monticelli and colleagues modeled the interaction between carbon-60 molecules and cell membranes and found that the particles are able to enter cells by permeating their membranes without causing mechanical damage. Their results are published in the current Advance Online Publication of Nature Nanotechnology, the world?s leading nanotechnology journal. [...] Read more! - Smallest magnetic nanoparticles to date for cancer detection
Tue, 27 May 2008 17:29:36 +0000
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can be a doctor's best friend for detecting a tumor in the body without resorting to surgery. MRI scans use pulses of magnetic waves and gauge the return signals to identify different types of tissue in the body, distinguishing bone from muscle, fluids from solids, and so on. [...] Read more! - Fungus improves corn-to-ethanol process
Tue, 27 May 2008 17:26:45 +0000
Growing a fungus in some of the leftovers from ethanol production can save energy, recycle more water and improve the livestock feed that's a co-product of fuel production, according to a team of researchers from Iowa State University and the University of Hawaii. "The process could change ethanol production in dry-grind plants so much that energy costs can be reduced by as much as one-third," said Hans van Leeuwen, an Iowa State professor of civil, construction and environmental engineering and the leader of the research project. [...] Read more! - Nanoscale crystals is far stronger and harder than iron
Tue, 27 May 2008 17:22:26 +0000
Researchers at North Carolina State University have created a substance far stronger and harder than conventional iron, and which retains these properties under extremely high temperatures ? opening the door to a wide variety of potential applications, such as engine components that are exposed to high stress and high temperatures. Iron that is made up of nanoscale crystals is far stronger and harder than its traditional counterpart, but the benefits of this ?nano-iron? have been limited by the fact that its nanocrystalline structure breaks down at relatively modest temperatures. But the NC State researchers have developed an iron-zirconium alloy that retains its nanocrystalline structures at temperatures above 1,300 degrees Celsius ? approaching the melting point of iron. [...] Read more! - Making chemistry "green" by using water
Tue, 27 May 2008 17:18:34 +0000
?Environmentally friendly? is not a phrase normally used to describe a chemistry lab. But thanks to a groundbreaking discovery at Tel Aviv University, the chemical industry is a step closer to being green. Prof. Arkadi Vigalok from the School of Chemistry at Tel Aviv University has discovered a way to use water to make certain steps of a complicated chain of chemical reactions more environmentally-friendly. [...] Read more! - Using Bluetooth to track travel time for vehicles, pedestrians
Tue, 27 May 2008 17:14:46 +0000
Engineers have created a method that uses pervasive Bluetooth signals from cell phones and other wireless devices to constantly update how long it takes vehicles and pedestrians to travel from one point to another. The method envisioned by engineers at the Indiana Department of Transportation represents a potentially low-cost leap in technology to provide information for everything from the speed of the morning commute to the sluggishness of airport security lines. [...] Read more! - New technique for fabricating nanowire photonic and electronic integrated circuits
Sat, 10 May 2008 19:02:56 +0000
Applied scientists at Harvard University in collaboration with researchers from the German universities of Jena, Gottingen, and Bremen, have developed a new technique for fabricating nanowire photonic and electronic integrated circuits that may one day be suitable for high-volume commercial production. Spearheaded by graduate student Mariano Zimmler and Federico Capasso, Robert L. Wallace Professor of Applied Physics and Vinton Hayes Senior Research Fellow in Electrical Engineering, both of Harvard's School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), and Prof. Carsten Ronning of the University of Jena, the findings will be published in Nano Letters. The researchers have filed for U.S. patents covering their invention. [...] Read more! - The future of nuclear physics is in designer isotopes
Sat, 10 May 2008 18:56:20 +0000
Designer labels have a lot of cachet ? a principle that?s equally true in fashion and physics. The future of nuclear physics is in designer isotopes ? the relatively new power scientists have to make specific rare isotopes to solve scientific problems and open doors to new technologies, according to Bradley Sherrill, a University Distinguished Professor of physics and associate director for research at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory at Michigan State University. ?We have developed a remarkable capability over the last 10 or so years that allows us to build a specific isotope to use in research,? Sherrill said. ?It is a new tool that promises to allow whole new directions in research to move forward. There are tremendous advances that are possible.? [...] Read more!
