Showing 20 articles starting at article 261

< Previous 20 articles        Next 20 articles >

Categories: Anthropology: Cultures, Energy: Technology

Return to the site home page

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Engineers have succeeded in implementing a stretchable organic solar cell by applying a newly developed polymer material that demonstrated the world's highest photovoltaic conversion efficiency (19%) while functioning even when stretched for more than 40% of its original state. This new conductive polymer has high photovoltaic properties that can be stretched like rubber. The newly developed polymer is expected to play a role as a power source for next-generation wearable electronic devices.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Primate social organization is more flexible than previously assumed. According to a new study, the first primates probably lived in pairs, while only around 15 percent of individuals were solitary.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Coal is an abundant resource in the United States that has, unfortunately, contributed to climate change through its use as a fossil fuel. As the country transitions to other means of energy production, it will be important to consider and reevaluate coal's economic role. Coal may actually play a vital role in next-generation electronic devices.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An international research group has engineered a novel high-strength flexible device by combining piezoelectric composites with unidirectional carbon fiber. The new device transforms kinetic energy from the human motion into electricity, providing an efficient and reliable means for high-strength and self-powered sensors.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have developed a solid electrolyte for transporting hydride ions at room temperature. This breakthrough means that the full advantages of hydrogen-based solid-state batteries and fuel cells can be had without the need for constant hydration. This will reduce their complexity and cost, which is essential for advancing towards a practical hydrogen-based energy economy.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Lights could soon use the full color suite of perfectly efficient organic light-emitting diodes, or OLEDs, that last tens of thousands of hours. The new phosphorescent OLEDs, commonly referred to as PHOLEDs, can maintain 90% of the blue light intensity for 10-14 times longer than other designs that emit similar deep blue colors. That kind of lifespan could finally make blue PHOLEDs hardy enough to be commercially viable in lights that meet the Department of Energy's 50,000-hour lifetime target. Without a stable blue PHOLED, OLED lights need to use less-efficient technology to create white light.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have discovered the transformative potential of Martian nanomaterials, potentially opening the door to sustainable habitation on the red planet.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Focusing on the Lake Titicaca Basin in the Andes mountains, anthropologists found through analysis of 1,179 projectile points that the rise of archery technology dates to around 5,000 years ago. Previous research held that archery in the Andes emerged around 3,000 years ago. The new research from UC Davis indicates that the adoption of bow-and-arrow technology coincided with both the expansion of exchange networks and the growing tendency for people to reside in villages.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A newly developed, highly conductive copper wire could find applications in the electric grid, as well as in homes and businesses. The finding defies what's been thought about how metals conduct electricity.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Ancient bricks inscribed with the names of Mesopotamian kings have yielded important insights into a mysterious anomaly in Earth's magnetic field 3,000 years ago, according to a new study.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A tiny, hard-working bacterium -- which weighs one-trillionth of a gram -- may soon have a large influence on processing rare earth elements in an eco-friendly way.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

And after nearly two years of fighting, war is destroying Ukraine’s cultural heritage on a scale not seen since World War II, according to new research.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

In a new study, researchers present an adaptive tile, which when deployed in arrays on roofs, can lower heating bills in winter and cooling bills in summer, without the need for electronics.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The transition to a society without fossil fuels means that the need for batteries is increasing at a rapid pace. At the same time, the increase will mean a shortage of the metals lithium and cobalt, which are key components in the most common battery types. One option is a sodium-ion battery, where table salt and biomass from the forest industry make up the main raw materials. Now, researchers show that these sodium-ion batteries have an equivalent climate impact as their lithium-ion counterparts -- without the risk of running out of raw materials. 

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The global surge in electric vehicle sales has prompted an Australian university to explore how it could offer free or nominal EV charging facilities to staff and students by optimizing its solar PV system and minimizing workplace electricity costs.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Recovered from looters, a new archaeological discovery from a cave in western Mongolia could change the story of the evolving relationship between humans and horses around the world. 

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

While the lithium-ion batteries in disposable electronic cigarettes are discarded after a single use, they can continue to perform at high capacity for hundreds of cycles, according to a new study. The analysis highlights a growing environmental threat from these increasingly popular vape pens, which are not designed to be recharged.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Understanding the risk of compound energy droughts -- times when the sun doesn't shine and the wind doesn't blow -- will help grid planners understand where energy storage is needed most.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers investigated the thermal energy changes across nanopores that allow the selective flow of ions. Switching off the flow of ions in one direction led to a cooling effect. The findings have applications in nanofluidic devices and provide insight into the factors governing ion channels in cells. The nanopore material could be tailored to tune the cooling and arrays could be produced to scale up the effect.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A research team has concluded that China will be the first country worldwide to become independent of the need to mine the raw materials which are essential for batteries. They have also established that this development could be accelerated in all the regions they looked at -- including the USA and Europe.