Category Technology/Electronics

Polyhedral representation of the crystal structure of fluoride-phosphate of vanadium and potassium. The yellow denotes a three-dimensional channel system, which provides rapid transport of Li+ ions. Credit: Stanislav Fedotov

A cathode material for li-ion batteries with a very high charge rate – down to 90s – has been created, retaining more than 75% of an initial capacity. The discovery may stipulate the development of batteries where expensive lithium could be replaced with cheaper potassium.

Nowadays Li-ion batteries power a wide range of electronic devices: mobile phones, tablets, laptops. They became popular in 90s and subsequently ousted widespread nickel-metal hydride batteries. However, their capacity may drop when temperature falls below 0...

Dartmouth College Professor David Kotz demonstrates a commercial prototype of ‘Wanda’ imparting information such as the network name and password of a WiFi access point onto a blood pressure monitor. Credit: Dartmouth College

Dartmouth College researchers have developed a digital “magic wand” to improve home healthcare and to prevent hackers from stealing your personal data. The system, called “Wanda,” will be presented at the IEEE International Conference on Computer Communications in April. “Wanda” is part of a National Science Foundation-funded project led by Dartmouth called “Trustworthy Health and Wellness...

A patented breakthrough by researchers at Technion-Israel Institute of Technology improves efficiency of organic photovoltaic cells by 50%, and could someday provide a huge boost for the viability of solar power as a major source of energy.

Organic photovoltaic cells convert solar energy into electric power through organic molecules. One of their advantages over “traditional” solar cells made of silicon is that they can be mounted on lightweight, flexible, and easy-to-replace sheets, which can be spread on roofs and buildings like wallpaper, converting solar energy into electrical current. In the future, they could also be used to provide a cost-efficient and reliable source of electricity in isolated regions...

This artist’s rendition shows a laser light guiding the evolution of an electronic spin within an atomic-scale defect in diamond. These light-driven loops give rise to a geometric phase, a quantum logic operation that shows remarkable resilience to noise. Credit: Peter Allen

The quantum bit ie ‘qubit’ is represented by a vector, pointing to a simultaneous combination of the 1 and 0 states. To fully implement a qubit, it is necessary to control the direction of this qubit’s vector, which is generally done using fine-tuned and noise-isolated procedures. Researchers have demonstrated the ability to generate a quantum logic operation, or rotation of the qubit, that – surprisingly—is intrinsically resilient to noise as well as to variations in the strength or duration of the control...