Category Technology/Electronics

Researchers have found a way to make the valuable chemical ethyl acetate while generating H2 gas to power fuel cells.
CREDIT
Nanfeng Zheng

Hydrogen is widely regarded as a promising and clean alternative energy source. The traditional source of hydrogen (H2) for fuel cell use is water, which is split into H2 and oxygen (O2). But O2 is a low-value product. So, this week in ACS Central Science, researchers report a new approach and a new catalyst that can produce not just hydrogen but also valuable chemicals, including the most common ingredient in nail polish.

Nanfeng Zheng and colleagues recognized that to produce H2, it is necessary to have a source that contains both hydrogen and oxygen. Although water is the typical source, other substances could also fit the bill...

A plasmonic detector that is directly coupled to a silicon optical waveguide and smaller than one micrometer was developed by KIT. Credit: Graphics: KIT

Data traffic is growing worldwide. Glass-fiber cables transmit information over long distances at the speed of light. These optical signals have to be converted into electrical signals for processing in the computer. KIT researchers have now developed a novel type of photodetector that needs far less space than conventional ones. The component has a base area of <1 millionth sq mm without data transmission rate being affected adversely.

The newly developed photodetectors, the smallest photodetectors worldwide for optical data transmission, can be used for integrated optical circuits that significantly enhance the performance of optical com...

An example of 3D printed food, created by one of Professor Hod Lipson’s students. Credit: Timothy Lee Photographers/Columbia Engineering

Prof. Lipson and his students have been developing a 3D food printer that can fabricate edible items through computer-guided software and the actual cooking of edible pastes, gels, powders, and liquid ingredients – all in a prototype that looks like an elegant coffee machine.”Food printers are not meant to replace conventional cooking – they won’t solve all of our nutritional needs, nor cook everything we should eat,” says Lipson, a pioneering roboticist who works in the areas of artificial intelligence and digital manufacturing at Columbia Engineering ...

The SAW robot. Credit: Image courtesy of American Associates, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

Applications in medicine, homeland security, search and rescue. The first single actuator wave-like robot (SAW) has been developed by engineers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU). The 3D-printed robot can move forward or backward in a wave-like motion, moving much like a worm would in a perpendicular wave.

SAW can climb over obstacles or crawl through unstable terrain like sand, grass and gravel, reaching a top speed of 22.5 inches/s, 5X faster than similar robots. Its minimalistic mechanical design produces an advancing sine wave with a large amplitude, using only a single motor with no internal straight spine...