Tech

Solid-state inorganic materials are critical to the growth and development of electric vehicle, cellphone, laptop battery and solar energy technologies. However, finding the ideal materials with the desired functions for these industries is extremely challenging. Jianjun Hu, an associate professor of computer science at the University of South Carolina is the lead researcher on … [Read more...] about Deep learning algorithm to speed up materials discovery in emerging tech industries

Fuel cells are gaining in importance as an alternative to battery-operated electromobility in heavy traffic, especially since hydrogen is a CO2-neutral energy carrier if it is obtained from renewable sources. For efficient operation, fuel cells need an electrocatalyst that improves the electrochemical reaction in which electricity is generated. The platinum-cobalt nanoparticle … [Read more...] about Fuel cells for hydrogen vehicles are becoming longer lasting

Like biological fat reserves store energy in animals, a new rechargeable zinc battery integrates into the structure of a robot to provide much more energy, a team led by the University of Michigan has shown. This approach to increasing capacity will be particularly important as robots shrink to the microscale and below -- scales at which current stand-alone batteries are too … [Read more...] about Biomorphic batteries could provide 72 times more energy for robots

A touch of gold -- or another noble metal -- can change the structure of a crystal and its intrinsic properties, physicists at the University of Warwick have demonstrated in a display of modern-day alchemy. Scientists at the University of Warwick have found a way to induce electric effects in crystals that they were not previously capable of, such as converting movement or heat … [Read more...] about A touch of gold sends crystals electric with excitement

Physicists have discovered a new trigger for edge localized modes (ELMs) -- instabilities that can halt fusion reactions and damage the tokamaks that house such reactions. … [Read more...] about New findings could help scientists tame damaging heat bursts in fusion reactors