Category Physics

A plasmonic detector that is directly coupled to a silicon optical waveguide and smaller than one micrometer was developed by KIT. Credit: Graphics: KIT

Data traffic is growing worldwide. Glass-fiber cables transmit information over long distances at the speed of light. These optical signals have to be converted into electrical signals for processing in the computer. KIT researchers have now developed a novel type of photodetector that needs far less space than conventional ones. The component has a base area of <1 millionth sq mm without data transmission rate being affected adversely.

The newly developed photodetectors, the smallest photodetectors worldwide for optical data transmission, can be used for integrated optical circuits that significantly enhance the performance of optical com...

An example of 3D printed food, created by one of Professor Hod Lipson’s students. Credit: Timothy Lee Photographers/Columbia Engineering

Prof. Lipson and his students have been developing a 3D food printer that can fabricate edible items through computer-guided software and the actual cooking of edible pastes, gels, powders, and liquid ingredients – all in a prototype that looks like an elegant coffee machine.”Food printers are not meant to replace conventional cooking – they won’t solve all of our nutritional needs, nor cook everything we should eat,” says Lipson, a pioneering roboticist who works in the areas of artificial intelligence and digital manufacturing at Columbia Engineering ...

The SAW robot. Credit: Image courtesy of American Associates, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

Applications in medicine, homeland security, search and rescue. The first single actuator wave-like robot (SAW) has been developed by engineers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU). The 3D-printed robot can move forward or backward in a wave-like motion, moving much like a worm would in a perpendicular wave.

SAW can climb over obstacles or crawl through unstable terrain like sand, grass and gravel, reaching a top speed of 22.5 inches/s, 5X faster than similar robots. Its minimalistic mechanical design produces an advancing sine wave with a large amplitude, using only a single motor with no internal straight spine...

Simulated sunlight powers a solar cell that converts atmospheric carbon dioxide directly into syngas. Credit: University of Illinois at Chicago/Jenny Fontaine

1,000-fold improved chemistry leads to ‘artificial leaf’ that makes Syngas. A provisional patent application has been filed by the by University of Illinois researchers. Unlike conventional solar cells, which convert sunlight into electricity that must be stored in heavy batteries, the new device essentially does the work of plants, converting atmospheric carbon dioxide into fuel, solving 2 crucial problems at once. A solar farm of such “artificial leaves” could remove significant amounts of carbon from the atmosphere and produce energy-dense fuel efficiently.

“The new solar cell is not photovoltaic – it’s photosynthetic,” says Amin ...