Chemistry: Thermodynamics Energy: Alternative Fuels Energy: Batteries Energy: Technology Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Physics: General Physics: Optics
Published

Renewable grid: Recovering electricity from heat storage hits 44% efficiency      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Closing in on the theoretical maximum efficiency, devices for turning heat into electricity are edging closer to being practical for use on the grid, according to new research.

Energy: Technology
Published

Electromechanical material doesn't get 'clamped' down      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study finds that a class of electromechanically active materials called antiferroelectrics may hold the key to overcoming performance limitations due to clamping in miniaturized electromechanical systems.

Biology: Biochemistry Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Energy: Technology Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Charting a pathway to next-gen biofuels      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

From soil to sequestration, researchers have modeled what a supply chain for second-generation biofuels might look like in the midwestern United States.

Chemistry: General Energy: Batteries Energy: Technology Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Iron could be key to less expensive, greener lithium-ion batteries, research finds      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Chemistry researchers are hoping to spark a green battery revolution by showing that iron instead of cobalt and nickel can be used as a cathode material in lithium-ion batteries.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Engineering: Nanotechnology Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
Published

Wearable ultrasound patch enables continuous, non-invasive monitoring of cerebral blood flow      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Engineers have developed a wearable ultrasound patch that can offer continuous, non-invasive monitoring of blood flow in the brain. The soft and stretchy patch can be comfortably worn on the temple to provide three-dimensional data on cerebral blood flow--a first in wearable technology.

Energy: Technology Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Cement recycling method could help solve one of the world's biggest climate challenges      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have developed a method to produce very low emission concrete at scale -- an innovation that could be transformative in the transition to net zero. The method, which the researchers say is 'an absolute miracle', uses the electrically-powered arc furnaces used for steel recycling to simultaneously recycle cement, the carbon-hungry component of concrete.

Energy: Technology Physics: Optics
Published

Streamlined microcomb design provides control with the flip of a switch      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers describe new microcomb lasers they have developed that overcome previous limitations and feature a simple design that could open the door to a broad range of uses.

Energy: Technology Engineering: Nanotechnology Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Recycling carbon dioxide into household chemicals      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists report a family of tin-based catalysts that efficiently converts CO2 into ethanol, acetic acid and formic acid. These liquid hydrocarbons are among the most produced chemicals in the U.S and are found in many commercial products.

Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Thermodynamics Energy: Technology Engineering: Nanotechnology
Published

Powering wearable devices with high-performing carbon nanotube yarns      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Carbon nanotube (CNT) yarns are promising for flexible and fabric-type wearable materials that can convert waste heat into thermoelectricity. To improve the thermoelectric properties of CNT yarns, researchers dispersed CNT filaments in a highly viscous glycerol, enabling the production of CNT yarn with highly aligned bundles together with surfactants that prevent increased thermal conductivity. This innovative approach can significantly improve carbon nanotube-based thermoelectric materials, making it possible to power wearable devices using just body heat.

Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Energy: Nuclear Energy: Technology Physics: General Physics: Optics Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

Magnetic imprint on deconfined nuclear matter      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have the first direct evidence that the powerful magnetic fields created in off-center collisions of atomic nuclei induce an electric current in 'deconfined' nuclear matter. The study used measurements of how charged particles are deflected when they emerge from the collisions. The study provides proof that the magnetic fields exist and offers a new way to measure electrical conductivity in quark-gluon plasma.

Biology: Biochemistry Chemistry: Biochemistry Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
Published

Spider silk sound system      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have investigated how spiders listen to their environments through webs and found that the webs match the acoustic particle velocity for a wide range of sound frequencies. Playing sound ranging from 1 Hz to 50 kHz for the spiders and measuring the spider silk motion with a laser vibrometer, they found the sound-induced velocity of the silk was the same as the particles in the air surrounding it. This confirmed the mechanism that these spiders use to detect their prey.

Chemistry: General Energy: Alternative Fuels Energy: Technology Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Wind farms can offset their emissions within two years      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

After spinning for under two years, a wind farm can offset the carbon emissions generated across its entire 30-year lifespan, when compared to thermal power plants.

Energy: Technology Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography
Published

Copper can't be mined fast enough to electrify the US      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Copper cannot be mined quickly enough to keep up with current U.S. policy guidelines to transition the country's electricity and vehicle infrastructure to renewable energy, according to a new study.

Chemistry: Thermodynamics Energy: Technology Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Using AI to improve building energy use and comfort      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have developed a new method that can lead to significant energy savings in buildings. The team identified 28 major heat loss regions in a multi-unit residential building with the most severe ones being at wall intersections and around windows. A potential energy savings of 25 per cent is expected if 70 per cent of the discovered regions are fixed.

Chemistry: General Energy: Technology Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound Physics: Optics
Published

Metalens expands Its reach from light to sound      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Engineers achieve a wide field-of-hearing acoustic metalens free from aberrations.

Chemistry: Thermodynamics Energy: Technology
Published

Exceptionally large transverse thermoelectric effect produced by combining thermoelectric and magnetic materials      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A research team has demonstrated that a simple stack of thermoelectric and magnetic material layers can exhibit a substantially larger transverse thermoelectric effect -- energy conversion between electric and heat currents that flow orthogonally to each other within it -- than existing magnetic materials capable of exhibiting the anomalous Nernst effect. This mechanism may be used to develop new types of thermoelectric devices useful in energy harvesting and heat flux sensing.

Chemistry: General Energy: Technology Physics: General
Published

Hide and seek between atoms: Find the dopant      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Collaborative efforts decode the mechanism behind stabilizing cathode doping in electric vehicle batteries.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
Published

US Navy Growler jet noise over Whidbey Island could impact 74,000 people's health      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

As often as four days a week, Boeing EA-18G Growler electronic attack aircraft based at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island fly loops overhead as pilots practice touch-and-go landings. The noise is immense. New research shows that the noise isn't just disruptive -- it presents a substantial risk to public health.