Electricity

Researchers at Purdue University have created a quantum spin wave for light. This can be a carrier of information for future nanotechnologies but with a unique twist: they only flow in one direction. The article "Unidirectional Maxwellian…

Scientists from EPFL in Switzerland and Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna in Italy are developing technology for the blind that bypasses the eyeball entirely and sends messages to the brain. They do this by stimulating the optic nerve with a new…

Optical fibres are our global nervous system, transporting terabytes of data across the planet in the blink of an eye. As that information travels at the speed of light across the globe, the energy of the light waves bouncing around inside…

Excess heat given off by smartphones, laptops and other electronic devices can be annoying, but beyond that it contributes to malfunctions and, in extreme cases, can even cause lithium batteries to explode. To guard against such ills,…

Researchers at Columbia University have developed a way to harness more power from singlet fission to increase the efficiency of solar cells, providing a tool to help push forward the development of next-generation devices. In a study…

The valve train is the "respiratory organ" of combustion engines: it manages the aspiration of fresh air and the discharge of exhaust gases, which is referred to as "gas exchange." Today, only mechanically driven camshafts are used in…

High-temperature superconductors, which carry electricity with zero resistance at much higher temperatures than conventional superconducting materials, have generated a lot of excitement since their discovery more than 30 years ago because…

As the microelectronic industry is now shifting toward wearable electronic gadgets and electronic (e-)textiles, the comprising electronic materials, such as ferroelectrics, should be integrated with our clothes. Nylons, a family of…

Organic solar cells are made of cheap and abundant materials, but their efficiency and stability still lag behind those of silicon-based solar cells. A Chinese-German team of scientists has found a way to enhance the electric conductivity…

It seems the days are gone when just tossing a smart watch on your wrist makes you look cool. The wearable biotech industry has recently revealed its insatiable hunger for futuristic items. Pain relief goggles that monitor brain waves,…