Category Physics

A typical solar cell, at max, converts <33% of light into electricity, so researchers have been working to find ways to surpass this limit. In the past, scientists have put an extra photon upconversion filter before or after the cell to catch the low energy, unused light and convert it into usable, high-energy light. But, FSU Assistant Prof Hanson wanted to integrate this process directly into the cell.

The researchers did this by using self-assembly. Through a soaking procedure, they assembled 2 molecules, an acceptor and sensitizer, on a surface which work in concert to perform photon upconverion, ie via triplet–triplet annihilation (TTA-UC) combining 2 low energy, green photons to generate a higher energy, blue photon, which can then be used to generate electricity...

The material, technically known as hexagonal boron nitride, features better transparency than its sister, graphene, is chemically inert, or non-reactive, and atomically smooth. It also features high mechanical strength and thermal conductivity. Unlike graphene, however, it is an insulator instead of a conductor of electricity, making it useful as a substrate and the foundation for the electronics in cell phones, laptops, tablets and many other devices.

Growth and transfer of 2-D material such as hexagonal boron nitride and graphene was performed by a team that included Yijing Stehle of Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Credit: ORNL

“Imagine batteries, capacitors, solar cells, video screens and fuel cells as thin as a piece of paper,” said ORNL’s Yijing Stehle...

Snowstorm, the personal flying machine. (Photo: S Shiva)

Comprising an intricate design of motors, propellers and inflated landing gear set within a hexagonal frame, Snowstorm is an electric-powered aircraft capable of vertical take-off and landing that can be controlled by a single person seated within it. The NUS team envisions this as a clean and simple way to realise our dreams of flying.

The personal flying machine was built over a one-year period, under the auspices of FrogWorks, a collaboration between NUS Faculty of Engineering’s Design-Centric Programme (DCP) and the University Scholars Programme (USP). FrogWorks engages students in the study, design and construction of clean leisure craft, a rapidly growing segment of green technology...

Stick with me and I’ll show you the universe. Artist’s impression of LISA Pathfinder. ESA, CC BY-ND

LISA pathfinder mission will prepare the way for us to study violent events that we’ve never seen before – such as the creation of massive black holes. The probe is to test technology needed to launch another mission, eLISA, in 2034, which will aim to detect gravitational waves. Intriguingly, the project may also help us prove some of the most extreme aspects of 3Einstein’s theory of general relativity.

Defn: General relativity states that gravity is just a manifestation of the fact that mass causes the surrounding space to curve, and it is the curvature of space that dictates the path followed by any other object, or indeed by light...