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Categories: Chemistry: Thermodynamics, Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound

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Researchers have used computer models of closed-loop geothermal systems to determine if they would be economically viable sources of renewable energy. They found that the cost of drilling would need to decrease significantly to hit cost targets.

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Absorbing excess sound to make public environments like theaters and concert halls safer for hearing and using the unwanted sound waves to create electricity is the aim of a new paper. The authors built a system of piezoelectric sensors that can be installed in walls, floors, and ceilings to absorb sound waves and collect their energy. They used computer simulations to fine-tune variables including the voltage needed to power the main device component, the frequency and intensity of the input sound, and piezoelectric sensors tested in parallel and serial configurations.

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Researchers aiming to combat rising global temperatures have developed a new 'cooling glass' that can turn down the heat indoors without electricity by drawing on the cold depths of space. The new technology, a microporous glass coating, can lower the temperature of the material beneath it by 3.5 degrees Celsius at noon, and has the potential to reduce a mid-rise apartment building's yearly carbon emissions by 10 percent.

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Researchers have made a significant breakthrough in developing a passive radiative cooling (PRC) material. The material, known as cooling ceramic, has achieved high-performance optical properties for energy-free and refrigerant-free cooling generation. Its cost-effectiveness, durability and versatility make it highly suitable for commercialization in numerous applications, particularly in building construction. 

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Researchers have developed deep-learning algorithms that let users pick which sounds filter through their headphones in real time. Either through voice commands or a smartphone app, headphone wearers can select which sounds they want to include from 20 classes, such as sirens, baby cries, speech, vacuum cleaners and bird chirps.

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Rubber-like materials can exhibit both spring-like and flow-like behaviors simultaneously, which contributes to their exceptional damping abilities. To understand the dynamic viscoelasticity of these materials, researchers have recently developed a novel system that can conduct dynamic mechanical analysis and dynamic micro X-ray computed tomography simultaneously. This technology can enhance our understanding of the microstructure of viscoelastic materials and pave the way for the development of better materials.

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A team of researchers has built a prototype microscope that does not rely on backscattered radiation, instead uses passive detection of thermally excited evanescent waves. They have examined dielectric materials with passive near-field spectroscopy to develop a detection model to further refine the technique, working to develop a new kind of microscopy for examining nanoscopic material surfaces.

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A team of researchers has unveiled a first-of-its-kind stable and fully solid-state thermal transistor that uses an electric field to control a semiconductor device's heat movement.  The group's study details how the device works and its potential applications. With top speed and performance, the transistor could open new frontiers in heat management of computer chips through an atomic-level design and molecular engineering. The advance could also further the understanding of how heat is regulated in the human body.

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An innovative plastic, stronger and stretchier than the current standard type and which can be healed with heat, remembers its shape and partially biodegradable, has been developed. They created it by adding the molecule polyrotaxane to an epoxy resin vitrimer, a type of plastic. Named VPR, the material can hold its form and has strong internal chemical bonds at low temperatures.

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The heat given off by car engines warms up underground car parks in such a way that the heat passes through the ground into the groundwater. In Berlin alone, enough energy is transferred to the groundwater to supply 14,660 households with heat. According to the researchers, this warming could have long-term effects on groundwater quality. In their study, they also propose a solution. Using geothermal energy and heat pumps, the heat could be extracted from the ground and utilized.

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Researchers have discovered how superfluid helium 3He would feel if you could put your hand into it. The interface between the exotic world of quantum physics and classical physics of the human experience is one of the major open problems in modern physics. Nobody has been able to answer this question during the 100-year history of quantum physics.

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At the interface of water and air, light can, in certain conditions, bring about evaporation without the need for heat, according to a new study.

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Optical tweezers use laser light to manipulate small particles. A new method has been advanced using Stampede2 supercomputer simulations that makes optical tweezers safer to use for potential biological applications, such as cancer therapy. 

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As the planet gets hotter, the need for cool living environments is becoming more urgent. But air conditioning is a major contributor to global warming since units use potent greenhouse gases and lots of energy. Now, researchers have found in a new study an inexpensive, sustainable alternative to mechanical cooling with refrigerants in hot and arid climates, and a way to mitigate dangerous heat waves during electricity blackouts.

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Researchers in the field of human-technology interaction have demonstrated how a custom-built 'data-to-music' algorithms can help to better understand complex data. The transformation of digital data into sounds could be a game-changer in the growing world of data interpretation.

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Using a new 3D printing technique, researchers have developed special ceramic structures for a solar reactor. Initial experimental testing show that these structures can boost the production yield of solar fuels.

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A huge step forward in the evolution of perovskite solar cells will have significant implications for renewable energy development.

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Engineers have designed a system that can efficiently produce 'solar thermochemical hydrogen.' It harnesses the sun's heat to split water and generate hydrogen -- a clean fuel that emits no greenhouse gas emissions. 

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Research finds that experiencing days in which the temperature exceeds previous highs for that time of year affects people’s perception of weather trends.

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Researchers describe an acoustic meta-surface that uses pingpong balls, with small holes punctured in each, as Helmholtz resonators to create inexpensive but effective low-frequency sound insulation. The coupling between two resonators led to two resonance frequencies, and more resonant frequencies meant the device was able to absorb more sound. At the success of two coupled resonators, the researchers added more, until their device resembled a square sheet of punctured pingpong balls, multiplying the number of resonant frequencies that could be absorbed.