Category Physics

The UW team used ambient signals from this Wi-Fi router to power sensors in a low-resolution camera and other devices. Credit: Dennis Wise/University of Washington

UW engineers have developed a novel technology that uses a Wi-Fi router – a source of ubiquitous but untapped energy in indoor environments – to power devices. The Power Over Wi-Fi (PoWiFi) system is one of the most innovative and game-changing technologies of the year, according to Popular Science, which included it in the magazine’s annual “Best of What’s New” awards announced Wednesday.

Researchers earlier this year show how they harvested energy fr to further improve the efficiency of the system to enable operation at larger distances and power numerous more sensors and applications,” said co-author Shyam Gollakota, assistan...

Assistant Professor of Physics Hanwei Gao, left, and Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering Biwu Ma, right, look at their new LED. Credit: Bruce Palmer/Florida State University

Florida State University materials researchers has developed a new type of LED, using an organic-inorganic hybrid, organometal halide perovskites, that could lead to cheaper, brighter and mass produced lights and displays in the future. Perovskites are any materials with the same type of crystal structure as calcium titanium oxide.

After months of experiments using synthetic chemistry to fine-tune the material properties and device engineering to control the device architectures, they ultimately created an LED that performed even better than expected. The material glowed exceptionally bright...

Chandra image of the black hole at the center of spiral galaxy M81. Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/Wisconsin/D.Pooley & CfA/A.Zezas; Optical: NASA/ESA/CfA/A.Zezas; UV: NASA/JPL-Caltech/CfA/J.Huchra et al.; IR: NASA/JPL-Caltech/CfA

A high-performance computing researcher has predicted a physical effect that would help physicists and astronomers provide fresh evidence of the correctness of Einstein’s general theory of relativity. Bin Chen, who works at the university’s Research Computing Center, describes the yet-to-be-observed effect in the paper “Probing the Gravitational Faraday Rotation Using Quasar X-ray Microlensing,” in the journal Scientific Reports. “To be able to test general relativity is of crucial importance to physicists and astronomers,” Chen said.

This testing is especially so in re...

As they are cooled by the laser, the nanocrystals developed by the UW team emit a reddish-green “glow” that can be seen by the naked eye. Credit: Dennis Wise/University of Washington

Since the first laser was invented in 1960, they’ve always given off heat, but have never been able to cool liquids. University of Washington researchers are the first to solve a decades-old puzzle – figuring out how to make a laser refrigerate water and other liquids under real-world conditions.
They used an infrared laser to cool water by about 36F – a major breakthrough in the field.

It could help industrial users “point cool” tiny areas with a focused point of light...