Showing 20 articles starting at article 921
Categories: Engineering: Nanotechnology, Offbeat: Space
Published Solar System formed from 'poorly mixed cake batter,' isotope research shows
(via sciencedaily.com) Earth's potassium arrived by meteoritic delivery service finds new research led by Earth and planetary scientists. Their work shows that some primitive meteorites contain a different mix of potassium isotopes than those found in other, more-chemically processed meteorites. These results can help elucidate the processes that shaped our Solar System and determined the composition of its planets.
Published Researchers demo new type of carbon nanotube yarn that harvests mechanical energy
(via sciencedaily.com) Nanotechnology researchers have made novel carbon nanotube yarns that convert mechanical movement into electricity more effectively than other material-based energy harvesters.
Published NASA's Fermi detects first gamma-ray eclipses from 'spider' star systems
(via sciencedaily.com) Scientists have discovered the first gamma-ray eclipses from a special type of binary star system using data from NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. These so-called spider systems each contain a pulsar -- the superdense, rapidly rotating remains of a star that exploded in a supernova -- that slowly erodes its companion.
Published Webb spies Chariklo ring system with high-precision technique
(via sciencedaily.com) In an observational feat of high precision, scientists used a new technique with NASA's James Webb Space Telescope to capture the shadows of starlight cast by the thin rings of Chariklo. Chariklo is an icy, small body, but the largest of the known Centaur population, located more than 2 billion miles away beyond the orbit of Saturn.
Published Plasma thrusters used on satellites could be much more powerful
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source It was believed that Hall thrusters, an efficient kind of electric propulsion widely used in orbit, need to be large to produce a lot of thrust. Now, a new study suggests that smaller Hall thrusters can generate much more thrust -- potentially making them candidates for interplanetary missions.
Published Spin transport measured through molecular films now long enough to develop spintronic devices
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A research group has succeeded in measuring spin transport in a thin film of specific molecules -- a material well-known in organic light emitting diodes -- at room temperature. They found that this thin molecular film has a spin diffusion length of approximately 62 nm, a length that could have practical applications in developing spintronics technology. In addition, while electricity has been used to control spin transport in the past, the thin molecular film used in this study is photoconductive, allowing spin transport control using visible light.
Published How a 3 cm glass sphere could help scientists understand space weather
(via sciencedaily.com) Space weather can interfere with spaceflight and the operation of satellites, but the phenomenon is very difficult to study on Earth because of the difference in gravity. Researchers effectively reproduced the type of gravity that exists on or near stars and other planets inside of a glass sphere measuring 3 centimeters in diameter, or about 1.2 inches. The achievement could help scientists overcome the limiting role of gravity in experiments that are intended to model conditions in stars and other planets.
Published Incorporation of water molecules into layered materials impacts ion storage capability
(via sciencedaily.com) Researchers have experimentally detected the structural change of hydration water confined in the tiny nano-scale pores of layered materials such as clays. Their findings potentially open the door to new options for ion separation and energy storage.
Published New nanoparticles deliver therapy brain-wide, edit Alzheimer's gene in mice
(via sciencedaily.com) Researchers describe a new family of nano-scale capsules made of silica that can carry genome-editing tools into many organs around the body and then harmlessly dissolve.
Published Nanoparticles make it easier to turn light into solvated electrons
(via sciencedaily.com) Solutions containing solvated electrons are inherently clean chemical reactants, and they could become easier and cheaper to make now that chemists have uncovered the long-sought mechanism of a light-driven process that creates them.
Published Engineers grow 'perfect' atom-thin materials on industrial silicon wafers
(via sciencedaily.com) Engineers fabricated 2D materials that could lead to next-generation transistors and electronic films.
Published Researchers gain deeper understanding of mechanism behind superconductors
(via sciencedaily.com) Physicists have once again gained a deeper understanding of the mechanism behind superconductors. This brings researchers one step closer to their goal of developing the foundations for a theory for superconductors that would allow current to flow without resistance and without energy loss. The researchers found that in superconducting copper-oxygen bonds, called cuprates, there must be a very specific charge distribution between the copper and the oxygen, even under pressure.
Published Preventing vehicle crashes by learning from insects
(via sciencedaily.com) Despite only about 25% of car travel happening after dark, almost half of fatal accidents occur at night. As our vehicles become more advanced and even autonomous, the ways of detecting and avoiding these collisions must evolve too. Current systems are often complicated, resource-intensive or work poorly in the dark. But now, researchers have designed a simple, power-saving collision detector inspired by the way insects avoid bumping into one another.
Published AI discovers new nanostructures
(via sciencedaily.com) Scientists have successfully demonstrated that autonomous methods can discover new materials. The artificial intelligence (AI)-driven technique led to the discovery of three new nanostructures, including a first-of-its-kind nanoscale 'ladder.'
Published The world in grains of interstellar dust
(via sciencedaily.com) Understanding how dust grains form in interstellar gas could offer significant insights to astronomers and help materials scientists develop useful nanoparticles.
Published Novel design helps develop powerful microbatteries
(via sciencedaily.com) Translating electrochemical performance of large format batteries to microscale power sources has been a long-standing technological challenge, limiting the ability of batteries to power microdevices, microrobots and implantable medical devices. Researchers have created a high-voltage microbattery (> 9 V), with high-energy and -power density, unparalleled by any existing battery design.
Published Optical coating approach prevents fogging and unwanted reflections
(via sciencedaily.com) Researchers combine a polymer coating with silicon dioxide nanostructures to create a coating to prevent fogging and unwanted reflections. The technique solves a common problem for sensors such as lidar used in autonomous cars.
Published Now on the molecular scale: Electric motors
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Electric vehicles, powered by macroscopic electric motors, are increasingly prevalent on our streets and highways. Now a multidisciplinary team has made an electric motor you can't see with the naked eye: an electric motor on the molecular scale. This early work -- a motor that can convert electrical energy into unidirectional motion at the molecular level -- has implications for materials science and particularly medicine, where the electric molecular motor could team up with biomolecular motors in the human body.
Published Researchers uncover mechanisms to easily dry, redisperse cellulose nanocrystals
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A team of chemical engineering researchers studied the mechanisms of drying the nanocrystals and proposed nanotechnology to render the nanocrystals highly redispersible in aqueous mediums, while retaining their full functionality, to make them easier to store and transport.
Published Discovery of a new form of carbon called Long-range Ordered Porous Carbon (LOPC)
(via sciencedaily.com) The most well-known forms of carbon include graphite and diamond, but there are other more exotic nanoscale allotropes of carbon as well. These include graphene and fullerenes, which are sp2 hybridized carbon with zero (flat-shaped) or positive (sphere-shaped) curvatures. Researchers now report the discovery of a new form of carbon formed by heating fullerenes with lithium nitride.