Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory and Ceramatec, Inc. of Salt Lake City are reporting a significant development in their efforts to help the nation advance toward a clean hydrogen economy.
Laboratory teams have announced they’ve achieved a major advancement in the production of hydrogen from water using high-temperature electrolysis. Instead of conventional electrolysis, which uses only electric current to separ
MIT and Columbia University students and researchers have begun operation of a novel experiment that confines high-temperature ionized gas, called plasma, using the strong magnetic fields from a half-ton superconducting ring inside a huge vessel reminiscent of a spaceship. The experiment, the first of its kind, will test whether nature’s way of confining high-temperature gas might lead to a new source of energy for the world.
First results from the Levitated Dipole Experiment
Researchers at Purdue University have created a “unified model” for predicting the reliability of new designs for silicon transistors – a potential tool that industry could use to save tens of millions of dollars annually in testing costs.
The model is the first method that can be used to simultaneously evaluate the reliability of two types of transistors essential for so-called CMOS computer chips, the most common type of integrated circuits in use today. The two types of transi
New microengines would be smaller, last 10 times longer than batteries
It may be tiny, but a new microgenerator developed at Georgia Tech can now produce enough power to run a small electronic device, like a cell phone, and may soon be able to power a laptop. The microgenerator is about 10 millimeters wide, or about the size of a dime. When coupled with a similarly sized gas-fueled microturbine (or jet) engine, the system, called a microengine, has the potential to deliver more
A British engineer believes he can secure cost effective tidal power by innovatively placing existing turbine designs inside large bore underwater pipes. Don Cutler’s view is that it’s best to use everything that’s standard. “You don’t re-invent the wheel you improve it.”
“Sea water is a most aggressive environment, but using modern materials like carbon fibres, and Teflon, are about the only clever things about my design,” he says. Cutler’s design is specifically aimed at ta
When Marc Thiercelin set out on the Vendée Globe, one of the world’s toughest sailing races, earlier this month, novel space technologies were used to give his six-year-old boat a ‘facelift’. Lighter batteries, more efficient solar cells and an intelligent energy management system cut critical weight and optimised vital electricity systems. All three were originally developed for Europe’s space programmes.
“In 2003 we started to discuss with Marc Thiercelin and his team ho
Technology could aid explosive detection, cancer screening, more
Electrical engineers at Rice University in Houston have demonstrated the world’s first endoscope for terahertz imaging, a discovery that could extend the reach of terahertz-based sensors for applications as wide-ranging as explosives detection, cancer screening and industrial and post-production quality control.
The research appears in the Nov. 18 issue of the journal Nature. It presents the emerging te
The modern world is filled with the uncoordinated beeping and buzzing of countless electronic devices. So it was only a matter of time before someone designed an electronic network with the ability to synchronize dozens of tiny buzzers, in much the same way that frogs and cicadas coordinate their night-time choruses.
“Several years ago I was on a camping trip and we pitched our tent in an area that was filled with hundreds of tree frogs,” says Kenneth D. Frampton, an assistant prof
Inspired by cell biology, European researchers have created the world’s first shape-shifting robot made of many modules, which could lead to new applications in fields ranging from medicine and space exploration to education and entertainment.
On display at IST 2004 in The Hague and being showcased on 17 November in Tokyo, the HYDRA project’s robots have broken new ground in robotics and artificial intelligence through a simple but highly effective design that allows the device
When the non-profit organisation IdéeVerte Compétition decided to create a ’green’ racing car, they turned to space technology to make it safer. Running on liquefied petroleum gas, one of the least polluting fuels, and lubricated with sunflower oil, the car is protected against fire hazards by space materials. ’Green’ does not have to mean slow – last week the car set a new speed record of 315 km/h.
“The car of the future will have to respect the environment. This is the only
Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have demonstrated the laser operation of a heterojunction bipolar light-emitting transistor. The scientists describe the fabrication and operation of their transistor laser in the Nov. 15 issue of the journal Applied Physics Letters. “By incorporating quantum wells into the active region of a light-emitting transistor, we have enhanced the electrical and optical properties, making possible stimulated emission and transis
The National Nuclear Security Administration’s Sandia National Laboratories is joining forces with Stirling Energy Systems, Inc. (SES) of Phoenix to build and test six new solar dish-engine systems for electricity generation that will provide enough grid-ready solar electricity to power more than 40 homes.
Five new systems will be installed between now and January at Sandia’s National Solar Thermal Test Facility. They will join a prototype dish-Stirling system that was er
CEA-Léti and Fraunhofer Microelectronics Alliance (VµE), two of the largest organizations for applied research in the field of micro and nanoelectronics in Europe, have signed an extension of their 2003 cooperation agreement, now including front-end technologies for micro and nanoelectronics.
The document was signed in a ceremony on the occasion of the Annual Conference 2004 of Fraunhofer IISB in Erlangen, Germany, competence center for front-end technologies within the VµE. CEA-
Charlyrobot of France is launching its new generation of Computer Numerical Control (CNC) mini-milling machines, for compact 3D milling, called Charly4U. Charlyrobot has been a leading manufacturer of milling machines for more than 20 years. The company has local partners in the UK but is looking for distributors in the Nordic Region. Charlyrobot will be showcasing its technology at the Euromold trade show in Frankfurt in early December 2004.
Thanks to Charly4U, Charlyrobot is s
Robots are a long way from being as sophisticated as the movies would have you believe.
Sure they can crush humans at chess. But they can’t beat us at soccer
With the nation still feeling the effects of the recent hurricanes, Dr. Shari Dunn-Norman, associate professor of geological and petroleum engineering in the geological sciences and engineering department at the University of Missouri-Rolla, can offer an expert insight into the oil production standstill due to platform and pipeline repair taking place in the Gulf of Mexico.
“The problem is that the hurricanes hit major deepwater production platforms and pipelines that combine flow from mult
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