Materials with a special kind of boundary between crystal grains can deform...
Most metals and semiconductors, from the steel in a knife blade to the silicon in a solar panel, are made up of many tiny crystalline grains. The way these grains meet at their edges can have a major...
View ArticleNew research findings could lead to safer and more powerful lithium-ion...
Virginia Commonwealth University researchers are working to improve conductivity and safety in lithium-ion batteries, which are used to power many electronic devices around the world, including...
View ArticleClothing fabric keeps you cool in the heat
(Phys.org)—Researchers have designed a thermal regulation textile that has a 55% greater cooling effect than cotton, which translates to cooler skin temperatures when wearing clothes made of the new...
View ArticleReusing waste energy with 2-D electron gas
More than 60 percent of the energy produced by fossil fuels is lost as heat. Thermoelectric energy conversion has attracted much attention as a way to convert waste heat from power plants, factories...
View ArticleImproving the femtosecond ultrashort pulse laser
MXenes, conductive materials widely used in many industries, now have one more promising application: helping lasers fire extremely short femtosecond pulses, which last just millionths of a billionth...
View ArticleDiscovery points the way to better and cheaper transparent conductors
Researchers at the University of Liverpool have made a discovery that could improve the conductivity of a type of glass coating which is used on items such as touch screens, solar cells and energy...
View ArticleResearch team develops new composite material made of carbon nanotubes
Carbon nanotubes are extremely lightweight, electrically highly conductive, and more stable than steel. Due to their unique properties, they are ideal for numerous applications, including...
View ArticleEngineering electron pathways in 2-D topological insulators
In a recent article published in Physical Review Letters a research collaborative has reported new insights into the electronic conduction and interference on 2-D topological insulators—an exotic kind...
View ArticleBetter mastery of heat flow leads to next-generation thermal cloaks
Ever heard of the invisibility cloak? It manipulates how light travels along the cloak to conceal an object placed behind it. Similarly, the thermal cloak is designed to hide heated objects from...
View ArticleResearchers demonstrate new concepts for heat management
For the first time, Prof. Dr. Markus Retsch and his research group at the University of Bayreuth have succeeded in precisely controlling temperature-dependent thermal conductivity with the help of...
View ArticleResearchers solve 'four-phonon' thermal-conductivity obstacle key to tech...
New findings have solved a longstanding obstacle in research to understand the effects of heat conduction in solid materials, a critical issue in many applications, from energy conversion to...
View ArticleThermoelectric power generation at room temperature: Coming soon?
Thermoelectric (TE) materials could play a key role in future technologies. Although the applications of these remarkable compounds have long been explored, they are mostly limited to high-temperature...
View ArticleSolid-state physics offers insights into dielectric properties of biomaterials
A team of Russian, Czech and German researchers has gained a new perspective on the properties of three materials of biological origin. Besides two reference materials with well-studied...
View ArticleInsulating bricks with microscopic bubbles
The better a building is insulated, the less heat is lost in winter—and the less energy is needed to achieve a comfortable room temperature. The Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE) regularly raises...
View ArticleInstagram, Google+ join EU group fighting hate speech
Facebook's Instagram and the Google+ social network have agreed to join an EU-sponsored group of US internet giants to combat online extremism, EU officials said Friday.
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