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Categories: Chemistry: Thermodynamics, Computer Science: Encryption
Published A solar hydrogen system that co-generates heat and oxygen



Researchers have built a pilot-scale solar reactor that produces usable heat and oxygen, in addition to generating hydrogen with unprecedented efficiency for its size.
Published Microwaves advance solar-cell production and recycling



New technology advances solar-cell production and recycling. New microwave technology will improve the manufacture of solar cells and make them easier to recycle.
Published Processing data at the speed of light



Scientists have developed an extremely small and fast nano-excitonic transistor.
Published Gentle method allows for eco-friendly recycling of solar cells



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.
Published Chemists redesign biological PHAs, 'dream' biodegradable plastics



They've been called 'dream' plastics: polyhydroxyalkanoates, or PHAs. Already the basis of a fledgling industry, they're a class of polymers naturally created by living microorganisms, or synthetically produced from biorenewable feedstocks. They're biodegradable in the ambient environment, including oceans and soil.
Published Cities will need more resilient electricity networks to cope with extreme weather



Dense urban areas amplify the effects of higher temperatures, due to the phenomenon of heat islands in cities. This makes cities more vulnerable to extreme climate events. Large investments in the electricity network will be necessary to cool us down during heatwaves and keep us warm during cold snaps, according to a new study.
Published New textile unravels warmth-trapping secrets of polar bear fur



Engineers have invented a fabric that concludes the 80-year quest to make a synthetic textile modeled on polar bear fur. The results are already being developed into commercially available products.
Published Absolute zero in the quantum computer



Absolute zero cannot be reached -- unless you have an infinite amount of energy or an infinite amount of time. Scientists in Vienna (Austria) studying the connection between thermodynamics and quantum physics have now found out that there is a third option: Infinite complexity. It turns out that reaching absolute zero is in a way equivalent to perfectly erasing information in a quantum computer, for which an infinetly complex quantum computer would be required.
Published New cyber software can verify how much knowledge AI really knows



With a growing interest in generative artificial intelligence (AI) systems worldwide, researchers have created software that is able to verify how much information an AI farmed from an organization's digital database.
Published Thermal paint: MXene spray coating can harness infrared radiation for heating or cooling



An international team of researchers has found that a thin coating of MXene -- a type of two-dimensional nanomaterial -- could enhance a material's ability to trap or shed heat. The discovery, which is tied to MXene's ability to regulate the passage of ambient infrared radiation, could lead to advances in thermal clothing, heating elements and new materials for radiative heating and cooling.
Published Colorful films could help buildings, cars keep their cool


The cold blast of an air conditioner can be a relief as temperatures soar, but 'A/C' units require large amounts of energy and can leak greenhouse gases. Today, scientists report an eco-friendly alternative -- a plant-based film that cools when exposed to sunlight and comes in many textures and bright, iridescent colors. The material could someday keep buildings, cars and other structures cool without requiring power.
Published Surprise effect: Methane cools even as it heats


Most climate models do not yet account for a recent discovery: methane traps a great deal of heat in Earth's atmosphere, but also creates cooling clouds that offset 30% of the heat.
Published What really matters in multi-story building design?


The impact of multi-story building design considerations on embodied carbon emissions, cost, and operational energy has been revealed.
Published Robot caterpillar demonstrates new approach to locomotion for soft robotics


Researchers have demonstrated a caterpillar-like soft robot that can move forward, backward and dip under narrow spaces. The caterpillar-bot's movement is driven by a novel pattern of silver nanowires that use heat to control the way the robot bends, allowing users to steer the robot in either direction.
Published Molecular teamwork makes the organic dream work


Molecular engineers have triggered a domino-like structural transition in an organic semiconductor. The energy- and time-saving phenomenon may enhance the performance of smartwatches, solar cells, and other organic electronics.
Published Bushfire safe rooms may save lives


Researchers have built and tested a bushfire safe room that exceeds current Australian standards and could keep people alive or protect valuables when evacuation is no longer an option.
Published Activity deep in Earth affects the global magnetic field


Compass readings that do not show the direction of true north and interference with the operations of satellites are a few of the problems caused by peculiarities of the Earth's magnetic field. The magnetic field radiates around the world and far into space, but it is set by processes that happen deep within the Earth's core, where temperatures exceed 5,000-degrees C. New research from geophysicists suggests that the way this super-hot core is cooled is key to understanding the causes of the peculiarities -- or anomalies, as scientists call them -- of the Earth's magnetic field.
Published Game-changing high-performance semiconductor material could help slash heat emissions


Researchers have engineered a material with the potential to dramatically cut the amount of heat power plants release into the atmosphere.
Published Thermal conductivity of metal organic frameworks


Metal organic frameworks, or MOFs, are kind of like plastic building block toys. The pieces are simple to connect, yet they're capable of building highly sophisticated structures.
Published New 'camera' with shutter speed of 1 trillionth of a second sees through dynamic disorder of atoms


Researchers have developed a new 'camera' that sees the local disorder in materials. Its key feature is a variable shutter speed: because the disordered atomic clusters are moving, when the team used a slow shutter, the dynamic disorder blurred out, but when they used a fast shutter, they could see it. The method uses neutrons to measure atomic positions with a shutter speed of around one picosecond, a trillion times faster than normal camera shutters.