Category Physics

Computer security experts have developed a system capable of guessing computer and smartphone users’ passwords in seconds by analyzing the traces of heat their fingertips leave on keyboards and screens.

Researchers from the University of Glasgow developed the system, called ThermoSecure, to demonstrate how falling prices of thermal imaging cameras and rising access to machine learning are creating new risks for “thermal attacks.”

Thermal attacks can occur after users type their passcode on a computer keyboard, smartphone screen or ATM keypad before leaving the device unguarded...

Progress has been made on the path to sunlight-driven production of hydrogen. Chemists present a new enzyme-like molecular catalyst for water oxidation. Humankind is facing a central challenge: it must manage the transition to a sustainable and carbon dioxide-neutral energy economy.

Hydrogen is considered a promising alternative to fossil fuels. It can be produced from water using electricity. If the electricity comes from renewable sources, it is called green hydrogen. But it would be even more sustainable if hydrogen could be produced directly with the energy of sunlight.

In nature, light-driven water splitting takes place during photosynthesis in plants...

A new technique enables on-device training of machine learning models on edge devices like microcontrollers, which have very limited memory. This could allow edge devices to continually learn from new data, eliminating data privacy issues, while enabling user customization.

Microcontrollers, miniature computers that can run simple commands, are the basis for billions of connected devices, from internet-of-things (IoT) devices...

A professor is reporting on a new type of solar energy harvesting that breaks the efficiency record of all existing technologies. And no less important, it clears the way to use solar power 24/7. Thomas Edison once said, “So long as the sun shines, man will be able to develop power in abundance.”

They’ve done an amazing job with photovoltaic cells which convert sunlight directly into energy. And still, with all the research, history and science behind it, there are limits to how much solar power can be harvested and used — as its generation is restricted only to the daytime.

A University of Houston professor is continuing the historic quest, repo...