Category Technology/Electronics

A schematic shows the single-beam SAVI system developed at Rice and Northwestern universities. The system employs a single beam, multiple images and sophisticated software to capture detailed images from a distance. Click on the image for a larger version. Courtesy of Jason Holloway

1. A microscopic look at the atomic structure of a cobalt-manganese-titanium mixture (Co2MnTi) that is one of the newly predicted and manufactured magnetic materials. Each color shows the distribution of a different element. The uniformity for each material matches the predictions for a stable three-element material.
2. A microscopic look at the atomic structure of a manganese-platinum-palladium mixture (Mn2PtPd), that is one of the newly predicted and manufactured magnetic materials. Each color shows the distribution of a different element. The uniformity for each material — with the exception the small spots indicating a different phase state — matches the predictions for a stable three-element material.

The Structure and Rechargeability of a Room-Temperature Li-N2 Battery
(A) Structure of a Li-N2 battery with a Li-foil anode, ether-based electrolyte, and CC cathode.
(B) N2 fixation (blue) and N2 evolution (red) curves of a Li-N2 battery with a CC cathode at a current density of 0.05 mA cm−2.
(C) CV curves of a Li-N2 battery at a scan rate of 0.05 mV s−1 in N2-saturated (black) and Ar-saturated (red) atmospheres.
(D) Cyclic performance of a Li-N2 battery at a current density of 0.05 mA cm−2.

This is the water harvester built at MIT with MOFs from UC Berkeley. Using only sunlight, the harvester can pull liters of water from low-humidity air over a 12-hour period. Credit: MIT photo from laboratory of Evelyn Wang