Category Technology/Electronics

A slice of (white) lithium garnet electrolyte coated with a (black) lithium compound acting as the battery’s minus pole in the laboratory of the ETH researchers. Credit: ETH Zurich / Fabio Bergamin

A new lithium-ion battery made entirely of solid material has been developed by scientists. It has neither liquids nor gels. The battery is non-flammable, even at very high temperatures, giving it a safety advantage over conventional batteries. Mobile phones, laptops, e-bikes and electric cars are all powered by such batteries.

Conventional lithium-ion batteries are not without their dangers: mobile phone batteries have exploded several times in the past, resulting in injuries, and only 6 months ago an entire row of houses burned down in the old town of Steckborn on Lake Constance...

Scientists have proposed a graphene-based sensor that can ‘sniff out’ a single molecule of explosives. Credit: Graphene-based sensor

A graphene-based spaser can detect even small amounts of various substances, including explosives, toxic chemicals, and other organic compounds based on a single molecule. Scientists have long been fascinated by the potential applications of a quasiparticle called the plasmon, a quantum of plasma oscillations. In the case of a solid body, plasmons are the oscillations of free electrons.

Of special interest are the effects from the surface interactions of electromagnetic waves with plasmons – usually in the context of metals or semimetals, as they have a higher free electron density...

Artistic rendition of a metallic carbon nanotube being pulled into solution, in analogy to the work described by the Adronov group.

Imagine an electronic newspaper that you could roll up and spill your coffee on, even as it updated itself before your eyes. It’s an example of the technological revolution that has been waiting to happen. Researchers at McMaster University have developed a new way to purify carbon nanotubes – smaller, flexible semiconductors expected to replace silicon within computer chips and a wide array of electronics. “Once we have a reliable source of pure nanotubes that are not very expensive, a lot can happen very quickly,” says Prof Adronov.

A major problem standing in the way of the new technology, however, has been untangling metallic and semiconducting carbon nano...

A new class of gas-fired heat pump water heaters, based on a novel semi-open sorption concept, could replace the evaporator in a traditional devices with a vapor-permeable membrane that more efficiently absorbs and transfers heat for residential applications. Credit: ORNL

Scientists from Dept of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the University of Florida has developed a novel method that could yield lower-cost, higher-efficiency systems for water heating in residential buildings. The theory behind the newly termed “semi-open” natural gas-fired design reduces the cost and complexity of traditional closed gas-fired systems by streamlining, and even eliminating, certain components.

“When applied, the new concept could result in better than 100% energy efficiency, because the system d...