Category Physics

The prototype of the dual frequency charger is a thin, rectangular box (12.5 centimeters × 8.9 centimeters) that contains two transmitter coils: an inner coil optimized to operate at a frequency of 200 kHz (orange), and an outer coil optimized to operate at 6.78 MHz (red). The prototype setup is pictured with the two receiver coils off the charging platform (top) and side by side on the platform (bottom). The transmitter coils and receiver coils are attached to green circuit boards. Credit: UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering

Uni of CA, SD Electrical engineers have developed a dual frequency wireless charging platform that could be used to charge multiple devices, such as smartphones, smartwatches, laptops and tablets, at the same time – regardless of which wireless standard, or fre...

How the brain changes in space and ISS ways to deal with those changes. The Spaceflight Effects on Neurocognitive Performance: Extent, Longevity, and Neural Bases (NeuroMapping) study is examining changes in both brain structure and function and determining how long it takes to recover after returning from space.

In space, there is no “up” or “down.” That can mess with the human brain and affect the way people move and think in space. Previous research and first-hand reports suggest that humans have a harder time controlling physical movement and completing mental tasks in microgravity. Astronauts have experienced problems with balance and perceptual illusions – feeling as if, for example, they are switching back and forth between right-side-up and upside down.

Researchers are using ...

A research team has found the first actual “sensor mechanism” that allows a living cell detect an electric field (stock image). Credit: © Sergey Nivens / Fotolia

A variety of animals are able to sense and react to electric fields, and living human cells will move along an electric field, eg in wound healing. Now researchers have found the first actual ‘sensor mechanism’ that allows a living cell detect an electric field.

“We believe there are several types of sensing mechanisms, and none of them are known. We now provide experimental evidence to suggest one which has not been even hypothesized before, a 2-molecule sensing mechanism,” Zhao said.

Zhao and colleagues have been studying these “electric senses” in cells from both larger animals (fish skin cells, human cell lines) and in the so...

The fiber sensor. Credit: ETRI

The researchers, from Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute and Konkuk University in the Republic of Korea, coated cotton and polyester yarn with a nanoglue called bovine serum albumin (BSA). The yarns were then wrapped in graphene oxide sheets.

The graphene sheets stuck very well to the nanoglue – so much so that further testing showed the fabrics retained their electrical conducting properties after 1,000 consecutive cycles of bending and straightening and 10 washing tests with various chemical detergents. Finally, the graphene oxide yarns were exposed to a chemical reduction process, which involves the gaining of electrons.

The reduced-graphene-oxide-coated materials were found to be particularly sensitive to detecting NO2, a pollutant gas ...