Category Technology/Electronics

Wirelessly Charging Multiple Devices Simultaneously

Omnidirectional Transmitter, image: Prasad Jayathurathnage/Aalto University
True wireless charging would mean a little less hassle in a world increasingly dependent on smart devices. Image: Prasad Jayathurathnage/Aalto University

A new type of wireless charger can charge multiple devices simultaneously, researchers report. The device transfers energy with 90% efficiency within 20cm charging range. Mobile phones and tablets have allowed us to stay in touch regardless of our location, yet they still rely on plugs, sockets, and charging pads to power up. New technology developed at Aalto University may be the key to true wireless charging for these and other electronics in years to come. The research team includes researches Dr. Prasad Jayathurathnage and Dr. Xiaojie Dang, and professors Sergei Tretyakov and Constantin Simovski...

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Researchers demonstrate technique for Recycling Nanowires in Electronics

Researchers demonstrate technique for recycling nanowires in electronics
This image shows how the new recycling approach can take silver nanowires from a finished product (such as the flexible sensor patch in the top left) through the entire life cycle of the technology until it has been broken down for re-use (bottom left). Credit: Yong Zhu, North Carolina State University

Researchers at North Carolina State University have demonstrated a low-cost technique for retrieving nanowires from electronic devices that have reached the end of their utility, and then using those nanowires in new devices. The work is a step toward more sustainable electronics.

“There is a lot of interest in recycling electronic materials because we want to both reduce electronic waste and maximize the use we get out of rare or costly materials,” says Yuxuan Liu, first author of a ...

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‘Magic-Angle’ Trilayer Graphene may be a rare, Magnet-Proof Superconductor

magic-angle twisted trilayer graphene
MIT physicists have observed signs of a rare type of superconductivity in a material called “magic-angle” twisted trilayer graphene.
Credits:Image: Courtesy of the researchers

New findings might help inform the design of more powerful MRI machines or robust quantum computers. MIT physicists have observed signs of a rare type of superconductivity in a material called magic-angle twisted trilayer graphene. In a study appearing in Nature, the researchers report that the material exhibits superconductivity at surprisingly high magnetic fields of up to 10 Tesla, which is three times higher than what the material is predicted to endure if it were a conventional superconductor.

The results strongly imply that magic-angle trilayer graphene, which was initially discovered by the same grou...

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Scientists create World’s Thinnest Magnet

Illustration of magnetic coupling in a cobalt-doped zinc-oxide monolayer. Red, blue, and yellow spheres represent cobalt, oxygen, and zinc atoms, respectively. (Credit: Berkeley Lab)

The development of an ultrathin magnet that operates at room temperature could lead to new applications in computing and electronics—such as high-density, compact spintronic memory devices—and new tools for the study of quantum physics. It was discovered by scientists at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and UC Berkeley.

“We’re the first to make a room-temperature 2-D magnet that is chemically stable under ambient conditions,” said senior author Jie Yao, a faculty scientist in Berkeley Lab’s Materials Sciences Division and associate professor of material...

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