Just about everything that runs on batteries – flashlights, cell phones, electric cars, missile-guidance systems – would be improved with a better energy supply. But traditional batteries haven’t progressed far beyond the basic design developed by Alessandro Volta in the 19th century.
Until now.
Work at MIT’s Laboratory for Electromagnetic and Electronic Systems (LEES) holds out the promise of the first technologically significant and economically viable alternative to co
Fire panels, or “annunciators,” are electronic devices that display data on building conditions in one easily accessible location. When used by first responders during emergencies, the devices can save lives. In December 2005, the National Electrical Manufacturing Association (NEMA) released a comprehensive standard* that promises to make future annunciators even more useful decision-making tools to fire fighters at the scene, to commanders back at headquarters, or to building and emergency pers
With world oil demand growing, supplies dwindling and the potential for weather- and conflict-related supply interruptions, other types of fuels and technologies are needed to help pick up the slack.
A group of experts in science, engineering and public policy from the Georgia Institute of Technology, Imperial College London and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory recommend a comprehensive research and policy plan aimed at increasing the practicality of using biofuels and biomat
Emerging cellulosic technology could make ethanol truly ’green’ fuel
Putting ethanol instead of gasoline in your tank saves oil and is probably no worse for the environment than burning gasoline, according to a new analysis by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley.
The researchers note, however, that new technologies now in development promise to make ethanol a truly “green” fuel with significantly less environmental impact than gasoline.
The ana
Two researchers at Sandia National Laboratories are working to understand several key phenomena that control hydrogen-fueled PEM (proton exchange membrane or polymer electrolyte membrane) fuel cells. One, Ken S. Chen, is developing computational models to describe the phenomena while the other, Mike Hickner, is performing physical experimentation.
The work is internally funded through a three-year Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) grant to tackle key technical challen
In December the ROBOTIKER-TECNALIA Technological Centre signed a joint Agreement with the Japanese company KYOSEMI CORPORATION for the analysis of Photoelectric Modules based on a new, vaulted-structure topology.
These new modules, providing greater captation of sunlight in 3 dimensions and a higher capacity of energy generation, form a product that is in the final phase of research and development for its mass production.
The agreement signed with ROBOTIKER-TECNALIA p
An electrical engineer at the University of Texas at Austin has made a laser light blink while passing through a miniaturized silicon chip, a major step toward developing commercially viable optical interconnects for high performance computers and other devices.
Researchers for decades have sought to harness light as a messenger on silicon chips because light can move thousands of times faster through solid materials than electrons and can carry more information at once, while re
Engineers have developed a method for “precooling” small office buildings and reducing energy consumption during times of peak demand, promising not only to save money but also to help prevent power failures during hot summer days.
The method has been shown to reduce the cooling-related demand for electricity in small office buildings by 30 percent during hours of peak power consumption in California’s sweltering summer climate. Small office buildings represent the majority of
Batteries could soon replace standard nickel-metal hydride batteries in hybrid vehicles
As part of the Department of Energy-funded FreedomCAR program, Sandia National Laboratories’ Power Sources Technology Group is researching ways to make lithium-ion batteries work longer and safer. The research could lead to these batteries being used in new hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) in the next five to ten years.
“Batteries are a necessary part of hybrid electric-gasoli
’Smart’ Energy Devices and Real-time Pricing Information Enable Increased Options for Consumers, Bringing Power to the People
SEATTLE – Pacific Northwest National Laboratory announced today the launch of the Pacific Northwest GridWiseTM Demonstration projects, a regional initiative to test and speed adoption of new smart grid technologies that can make the power grid more resilient and efficient.
Senator Patty Murray, D-Wash., representatives from the Department of Energy,
Penn State engineers have shown that a white-LED system for lighting and high data-rate indoor wireless communications, coupled with broadband over either medium- or low-voltage power line grids (BPL), can offer transmission capacities that exceed DSL or cable and are more secure than RF.
Colored LEDs or light emitting diodes are currently found in the numbers on digital clocks, remote controls, traffic lights and other applications. Recently, white LEDs have emerged in the mark
Risø National Laboratory, Technical University of Denmark, The Danish Meteorological Institute, Elsam and Energi E2 in Denmark have jointly developed a new method for predicting the energy produced by wind turbines. The method will save millions for electricity producers and consumers
In Denmark more than 5,000 wind turbines produce an average of more than 20 per cent of the Danish power consumption.
The electric utilities must supplement wind energy production with power fro
Los Alamos National Laboratory scientists have discovered that a phenomenon called carrier multiplication, in which semiconductor nanocrystals respond to photons by producing multiple electrons, is applicable to a broader array of materials that previously thought. The discovery increases the potential for the use of nanoscrystals as solar cell materials to produce higher electrical outputs than current solar cells.
In papers published recently in the journals Nature Physics and
The Technische Universität Dresden (TU Dresden) and the German Aerospace Center (DLR) have cooperated in developing a novel laser sensor which measures two quantities that are important for turbine engineering more precise than ever before: firstly, the tip clearance between the rotating blades and the turbine casing over and, secondly, the vibrations resulting from the blades’ supersonic velocity. The novel laser Doppler profile sensor, which has been developed by Professor Jürgen Czarske and his t
Cidetec Technology Centre’s Energy Department has designed a prototype for a motorised bicycle that works off fuel cells. The project, financed by the Gipuzkoa Provincial Government, involved using a bicycle kindly provided by the ORBEA bicycle manufacturing company and the pedalling action of which is assisted by a motor. The novelty lies in that the battery power source for the motor is substituted by a fuel cell which, for its operation, only needs oxygen from the air and hydrogen contained un
The next wave in electronics could be wavy electronics.
Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have developed a fully stretchable form of single-crystal silicon with micron-sized, wave-like geometries that can be used to build high-performance electronic devices on rubber substrates.
“Stretchable silicon offers different capabilities than can be achieved with standard silicon chips,” said John Rogers, a professor of materials science and engineer
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