Category Technology/Electronics

Borides are hard, heat-resistant materials, often used for coating structures that will have to withstand high temperatures and high-pressure environments. But even the best borides are susceptible to oxidation — the chemical reaction that causes corrosion and rusting.

Borides are among the hardest and most heat-resistant substances on the planet, but their Achilles’ Heel, like so many materials’, is that they oxidize at high temperatures. Oxidation is the chemical reaction commonly known as corrosion or rusting — it can signal the end for a material’s structural integrity...

(Colour online) Pre- and post-video test scores by age group (Study A). Values shown are means ± standard errors. All pre-test to post-test improvements were statistically significant (paired t-tests, p < .001 for each)

Does “edutainment” such as content-rich music videos have any place in the rapidly changing landscape of science education? A new study indicates that students can indeed learn serious science content from such videos. The study, titled ‘Leveraging the power of music to improve science education’ and published by International Journal of Science Education, examined over 1,000 students in a 3-part experiment, comparing learners’ understanding and engagement in response to 24 musical and non-musical science videos.

The central findings were that
(1) across ages and g...

Hybrid solar and wind harvesting cells on the top of this model house collect enough energy to light it up inside. Credit: American Chemical Society

The “Internet of Things” could make cities “smarter” by connecting an extensive network of tiny communications devices to make life more efficient. But all these machines will require a lot of energy. Rather than adding to the global reliance on fossil fuels to power the network, researchers report on a single device that harvests wind and solar energy appears in the journal ACS Nano.

Hybridized nanogenerator, including a solar cell (SC) and a triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG), that can individually/simultaneously scavenge solar and wind energies, which can be extensively installed on the roofs of the city buildings...

A laser pulse hits nickel (green). Spin-up-electrons (red) change into silicon (yellow). Electrons with both spin-orientations change back from silicon into nickel. Credit: Image courtesy of Vienna University of Technology, TU Vienna

They are essential for spintronics, a technology that could replace today’s electronics.For years scientists have been working on elements using electrons angular momentum (their spin) rather than their electrical charge. This new approach, “spintronics” has major advantages compared to common electronics. It can operate with much less energy. TU Wien (Vienna) scientists have now proposed a new method to produce gigantic spin currents in a very small period of time. The secret is using ultra short laser pulses.

For every electron, 2 different spin-states are p...