Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Thermodynamics Energy: Alternative Fuels Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Gentle method allows for eco-friendly recycling of solar cells      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

By using a new method, precious metals can be efficiently recovered from thin-film solar cells. The method is also more environmentally friendly than previous methods of recycling and paves the way for more flexible and highly efficient solar cells.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Computer Science: General Engineering: Robotics Research Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General
Published

It's all in the wrist: Energy-efficient robot hand learns how not to drop the ball      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have designed a low-cost, energy-efficient robotic hand that can grasp a range of objects -- and not drop them -- using just the movement of its wrist and the feeling in its 'skin'.

Energy: Alternative Fuels Energy: Batteries Energy: Technology Environmental: General
Published

Electrification push will have enormous impacts on critical metals supply chain      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The demand for battery-grade lithium, nickel, cobalt, manganese and platinum will climb steeply as vehicle electrification speeds up and nations work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through mid-century. This surge in demand will also create a variety of economic and supply-chain problems, according to new research.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Energy: Alternative Fuels Environmental: General Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Solar cells charging forward      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An environmentally friendlier solution to solar cell production with enhanced performance utilizes PEDOT:PSS/silicon heterojunction solar cells. This hybrid type is made of organic-inorganic material, which could potentially ease the production process compared to conventional silicon-only solar cells. It avoids manufacturing solar cells in vacuums and high-temperature processes, which require large and expensive equipment and a great amount of time.

Computer Science: General Computer Science: Virtual Reality (VR) Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General Physics: Optics
Published

Technology advance paves way to more realistic 3D holograms for virtual reality and more      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have developed a new way to create dynamic ultrahigh-density 3D holographic projections. They now describe their new approach, called three-dimensional scattering-assisted dynamic holography (3D-SDH). They show that it can achieve a depth resolution more than three orders of magnitude greater than state-of-the-art methods for multiplane holographic projection.

Energy: Alternative Fuels Energy: Fossil Fuels Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Sailing cargo ships can benefit from new aerodynamic tech      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A research team has demonstrated a unique method that reduces the aerodynamic resistance of ships by 7.5 per cent. This opens the way for large cargo ships borne across the oceans by wind alone, as wind-powered ships are more affected by aerodynamic drag than fossil-fueled ones.

Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Computer Science: General Engineering: Robotics Research Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General
Published

Origami-inspired robots can sense, analyze and act in challenging environments      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A multidisciplinary team has created a new fabrication technique for fully foldable robots that can perform a variety of complex tasks without relying on semiconductors.

Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Engineering: Robotics Research Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General
Published

Robotic hand can identify objects with just one grasp      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Newly created soft-rigid robotic fingers incorporate powerful sensors along their entire length, enabling them to produce a robotic hand that could accurately identify objects after only one grasp.

Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General
Published

English language pushes everyone -- even AI chatbots -- to improve by adding      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A linguistic bias in the English language that leads us to 'improve' things by adding to them, rather than taking away, is so common that it is even ingrained in AI chatbots, a new study reveals.

Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Computer Science: General Mathematics: Modeling Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General
Published

Can AI predict how you'll vote in the next election?      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Artificial intelligence technologies like ChatGPT are seemingly doing everything these days: writing code, composing music, and even creating images so realistic you'll think they were taken by professional photographers. Add thinking and responding like a human to the conga line of capabilities. A recent study proves that artificial intelligence can respond to complex survey questions just like a real human.

Computer Science: General Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General
Published

New chip design to provide greatest precision in memory to date      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Everyone is talking about the newest AI and the power of neural networks, forgetting that software is limited by the hardware on which it runs. But it is hardware become 'the bottleneck.' New collaborators might change that. They believe that they have developed a new type of chip with the best memory of any chip thus far for edge AI (AI in portable devices). To put it in context, right now, ChatGPT is running on a cloud. The new innovation, followed by some further development, could put the power of a mini version of ChatGPT in everyone's personal device. It could make such high-powered tech more affordable and accessible for all sorts of applications.

Energy: Alternative Fuels Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Severe Weather Mathematics: Modeling
Published

AI could set a new bar for designing hurricane-resistant buildings      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Being able to withstand hurricane-force winds is the key to a long life for many buildings on the Eastern Seaboard and Gulf Coast of the U.S. Determining the right level of winds to design for is tricky business, but support from artificial intelligence may offer a simple solution.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Energy: Alternative Fuels Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Mimicking biological enzymes may be key to hydrogen fuel production      (via sciencedaily.com) 

An ancient biological enzyme known as nickel-iron hydrogenase may play a key role in producing hydrogen for a renewables-based energy economy, researchers said. Careful study of the enzyme has led chemists to design a synthetic molecule that mimics the hydrogen gas-producing chemical reaction performed by the enzyme.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Energy: Alternative Fuels Energy: Fossil Fuels Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Team uses natural catalysts to develop low-cost way of producing green hydrogen      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have developed a practical way to produce green hydrogen using sustainable catalysts and say their work is a major step towards production simpler, more affordable and more scalable.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Energy: Alternative Fuels Energy: Fossil Fuels Engineering: Nanotechnology
Published

Probe where the protons go to develop better fuel cells      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have uncovered the chemical inner-workings of an electrolyte they developed for a new generation of solid oxide fuel cells. To uncover the location of the proton-introduction reaction, the team studied extensively the hydration reaction of their scandium-substituted barium zirconate perovskite through a combination of synchrotron radiation analysis, large-scale simulations, machine learning, and thermogravimetric analysis. The new data has the potential to accelerate the development of more efficient fuel cells.

Computer Science: General Energy: Technology Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General
Published

First silicon integrated ECRAM for a practical AI accelerator      (via sciencedaily.com) 

The transformative changes brought by deep learning and artificial intelligence are accompanied by immense costs. For example, OpenAI's ChatGPT algorithm costs at least $100,000 every day to operate. This could be reduced with accelerators, or computer hardware designed to efficiently perform the specific operations of deep learning. However, such a device is only viable if it can be integrated with mainstream silicon-based computing hardware on the material level.