Category Technology/Electronics

An illustration shows how lithium metal anodes developed at Rice University are protected from dendrite growth by a film of carbon nanotubes. Courtesy of the Tour Group

Scientists’ method quenches lithium metal dendrites in batteries that charge faster, last longer. Rice University scientists are counting on films of carbon nanotubes to make high-powered, fast-charging lithium metal batteries a logical replacement for common lithium-ion batteries.

The Rice lab of chemist James Tour showed thin nanotube films effectively stop dendrites that grow naturally from unprotected lithium metal anodes in batteries. Over time, these tentacle-like dendrites can pierce the battery’s electrolyte core and reach the cathode, causing the battery to fail...

Andreas Malikopoulos tests technologies for connected and automated vehicles on a smaller scale at the University of Delaware’s Scaled Smart City (UDSSC) testbed.
Credit: University of Delaware/ Owen Fitter

Pair of studies outline innovations that will improve coordination of traffic patterns and save fuel. New driverless car technologies could lead to a world without traffic lights and speeding tickets. Researchers also hope the innovations will bring about the development of driverless cars that use 19 to 22% less fuel.

Imagine a daily commute that’s orderly instead of chaotic. Connected and automated vehicles could provide that relief by adjusting to driving conditions with little to no input from drivers...

Physicists Jackson Matteucci and Will Fox with poster displaying their research.

Feature describes unexpected discovery of a role the process that seeds magnetic fields plays in mediating a phenomenon that occurs throughout the universe and can disrupt cell phone service and knock out power grids on Earth. Magnetic forces ripple throughout the universe, from the fields surrounding planets to the gasses filling galaxies, and can be launched by a phenomenon called the Biermann battery effect. Now scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) have found that this phenomenon may not only generate magnetic fields, but can sever them to trigger magnetic reconnection – a remarkable and surprising discovery.

The Biermann battery effect, a possible s...

The new optical gyroscope — shown here with grains of rice — is 500 times smaller than the current state-of-the-art device.
Credit: Ali Hajimiri/Caltech

Engineers create an optical gyroscope smaller than a grain of rice. A new tiny optical gyroscope fits on the tip of your finger and could find its way into drones and spacecraft in the future. Gyroscopes are devices that help vehicles, drones, and wearable and handheld electronic devices know their orientation in three-dimensional space. They are commonplace in just about every bit of technology we rely on every day. Originally, gyroscopes were sets of nested wheels, each spinning on a different axis...