Category Technology/Electronics

Coiled carbon nanotube yarns, created at the University of Texas at Dallas and imaged here with a scanning electron microscope, generate electrical energy when stretched or twisted. Credit: University of Texas at Dallas

An international team led by scientists at The University of Texas at Dallas and Hanyang University in South Korea has developed high-tech yarns that generate electricity when they are stretched or twisted. In a study published in the Aug. 25 issue of the journal Science, researchers describe “twistron” yarns and their possible applications, such as harvesting energy from the motion of ocean waves or from temperature fluctuations. When sewn into a shirt, these yarns served as a self-powered breathing monitor.

“The easiest way to think of twistron harvesters is, you have a p...

Crystalline samples of CeRhIn5 from Los Alamos were cut into microscopic, crystalline conducting paths with a focused ion beam at MPI-CPfS.
© MPI CPfS

New research shows a rare state of matter in which electrons in a superconducting crystal organize collectively. The findings lay the groundwork for answering one of the most compelling questions in physics: How do correlated electron systems work, and are they related to one another? Electrons in most metals act individually, free to move through a metal to conduct electric currents and heat. But in a special sample of layered cerium, rhodium and indium (CeRhIn5), scientists discovered that electrons unite to flow in the same direction (a behavior called “breaking symmetry”) when in high magnetic fields of 30tesla...

Fast kinetics of magnesium monochloride cations in interlayer-expanded titanium disulfide for magnesium rechargeable batteries. Nature Communications, August 2017 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-017-00431- 9

Nanostructured cathode, understanding of new electrolyte lead to greater efficiency. Magnesium batteries offer promise for safely powering modern life – unlike traditional lithium ion batteries, they are not flammable or subject to exploding – but their ability to store energy has been limited. Researchers reported Aug. 24 in the journal Nature Communications the discovery of a new design for the battery cathode, drastically increasing the storage capacity and upending conventional wisdom that the magnesium-chloride bond must be broken before inserting magnesium into the host.

The work was first ...

This is a full robot set. Credit: MIT CSAIL

MIT CSAIL’s ‘Interactive Robogami’ lets you design in minutes, and 3D-print, assemble origami-inspired robots from 2D designs in 4 hours. Even as robots become increasingly common, they remain incredibly difficult to make. From designing and modeling to fabricating and testing, the process is slow and costly: even one small change can mean days or weeks of rethinking and revising important hardware. But what if there was a way to let non-experts craft different robotic designs – in one sitting?

One of the key features of the system is that it allows designers to determine both the robot’s movement (“gait”) and shape (“geometry”), a capability that’s often separated in design systems...