Category Technology/Electronics

Crystal structures of the competing phases.

The quantum behaviour of hydrogen affects the structural properties of hydrogen-rich compounds, which are possible candidates for the elusive room temperature superconductor. New theoretical results suggest that the quantum nature of hydrogen – meaning that it can behave like a particle or a wave — strongly affects the recently discovered hydrogen sulphur superconductor, a compound that when subjected to extremely high pressure, is the highest-temperature superconductor yet identified...

Afsaneh Rabiei examines a sample of metal foam. A new study by Rabiei finds that novel light-weight composite metal foams are significantly more effective at insulating against high heat than the conventional base metals and alloys that they’re made of, such as steel. The finding means the CMF is especially promising for use in storing and transporting nuclear material, hazardous materials, explosives and other heat-sensitive materials, as well as for space exploration. Credit: North Carolina State University

Novel light-weight composite metal foams are more effective at insulating against high heat than the conventional base metals and alloys that they’re made of, such as steel...

Sandia National Laboratories researcher Todd Monson and his colleagues have demonstrated the fabrication of iron nitride transformers in power-conversion test beds. Credit: Photo by Randy Montoya

Iron nitride Transformers could boost energy storage options. A Sandia-led team has developed a way to make a magnetic material that could lead to lighter and smaller, cheaper and better-performing high-frequency transformers, needed for more flexible energy storage systems and widespread adoption of renewable energy. Transportable energy storage and power conversion systems, which can fit inside a single semi-trailer, could make it cost effective to rapidly install solar, wind and geothermal energy systems in even the most remote locations.

“Such modular systems could be deployed quickly to multi...

Duke scientists have discovered a new class of inexpensive and long-lived molecular tags that enhance MRI signals by 10,000-fold. To activate the tags, the researchers mix them with a newly developed catalyst (center) and a special form of hydrogen (gray), converting them into long-lived magnetic resonance ‘lightbulbs’ that might be used to track disease metabolism in real time. Credit: Thomas Theis, Duke University

Discovery could enable cheaper, more versatile bioimaging. Duke University researchers have taken a major step towards realizing a new form of MRI that could record biochemical reactions in the body as they happen. A new class of molecular tags enhance MRI signals by 10,000-fold and generate detectable signals that last over an hour...