Category Technology/Electronics

Sidy Ndao and Mahmoud Elzouka, University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Engineering, developed this thermal diode that may allow computers to use heat as an alternate energy source. Credit: Karl Vogel | University of Nebraska-Lincoln Engineering

Engineers devise thermal diode that allows computing at ultra-high temperatures. Instead of combating the heat, two University of Nebraska-Lincoln engineers have embraced it as an alternative energy source that would allow computing at ultra-high temperatures. Sidy Ndao, assistant professor of mechanical and materials engineering, said his research group’s development of a nano-thermal-mechanical device, or thermal diode, came after flipping around the question of how to better cool computers...

Illustrations of the design principles of using methyl viologen to form a stable coating to allow the stable cycling of lithium metal. Credit: UC Riverside

High performing lithium-ion batteries are a key component of laptops, smart phones, and electric vehicles. Currently, the anodes side of lithium ion batteries, are generally made with graphite or other carbon-based materials. But, the performance of carbon based materials is limited because of the weight and energy density, which is the amount of energy that can be stored in a given space. As a result, a lot of research is focused on lithium-metal anodes.

The success of lithium metal anodes will enable many battery technologies, including lithium metal and lithium air, which can potentially increase the capacity of today’s best lithium-...

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

Imaging array proves adept at capturing details as small as a fingerprint. A unique camera that can capture a detailed micron-resolution image from a distance uses a laser and techniques that borrow from holography, microscopy and “Matrix”-style bullet time. A prototype built and tested by engineers at Rice and Northwestern universities reads a spot illuminated by a laser and captures the “speckle” pattern with a camera sensor...

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.

Magnets built atom-by-atom in first effort of its kind, using high-throughput computa...