Category Technology/Electronics

New 3D Printable Phase-changing Composites can Regulate Temperatures Inside Buildings

New 3D printable phase-changing composites can regulate temperatures inside buildings
New phase-change material composites can regulate ambient temperatures inside buildings. Credit: Texas A&M University College of Engineering

Changing climate patterns have left millions of people vulnerable to weather extremes. As temperature fluctuations become more commonplace around the world, conventional power-guzzling cooling and heating systems need a more innovative, energy-efficient alternative, and in turn, lessen the burden on already struggling power grids.

In a new study, researchers at Texas A&M University have created novel 3D printable phase-change material (PCM) composites that can regulate ambient temperatures inside buildings using a simpler and cost-effective manufacturing process...

Read More

Graphene for the Protection of Paintings: paving the way for Novel Methods in Art Preservation and Restoration

The exposure of colors used in artworks to ultraviolet (UV) and visible light in the presence of oxidizing agents triggers color degradation, fading and yellowing. These degradation mechanisms can lead to irreversible alteration of artworks. Protective varnishes and coatings currently used to protect art paintings are not acceptable solutions, since their removal requires the use of solvents, which can affect adversely the underlying work surface.

A team of researchers from the Institute of Chemical Engineering Sciences of the Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas (FORTH/ ICE-HT), the Department of Chemical Engineering of the University of Patras, and the Center for Colloid and Surface Science (CSGI) of the University of Florence, led by Professor Costas Galiotis, had the i...

Read More

Observation of D Coulomb drag between adjacent Quantum Spin Hall (QSH) Edges separated by an Air Gap

1D Coulomb drag in topological circuits. Credit: Du et al.

Two important factors limiting Moore’s Law are power consumption and Coulomb interactions. Coulomb interactions are interactions between electric charges that follow Coloumb’s law, an electrodynamics theory. These interactions can be a major challenge for the development of nanoelectronic circuits.

QSH insulators are particularly promising materials for the development of low-power electronics, yet so far the impact of Coulomb interactions on nanocircuits made by these materials have only been examined theoretically, rather than experimentally.

Researchers at Nanjing University and Peking University have recently observed one-dimensional (1D) Coulomb drag between adjacent QSH edges separated by an air gap...

Read More

Novel Heat-Management material keeps Computers Running Cool

Schematic illustrating thermal management in electronics chip packaging
Schematic illustrating thermal management in electronics chip packaging

UCLA engineers have demonstrated successful integration of a novel semiconductor material into high-power computer chips to reduce heat on processors and improve their performance. The advance greatly increases energy efficiency in computers and enables heat removal beyond the best thermal-management devices currently available.

The research was led by Yongjie Hu, an associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering. Nature Electronics recently published the finding in this article.

Computer processors have shrunk down to nanometer scales over the years, with billions of transistors sitting on a single computer chip...

Read More