Category Technology/Electronics

This scanning electron microscope image shows bee pollen studied for potential use as electrodes for lithium-ion batteries. Color was added to the original black-and-white image. Credit: Purdue University image/ Jialiang Tang

Pollen could represent a boon for battery makers: Recent research has suggested their potential use as anodes in Li-ion batteries. “Our findings have demonstrated that renewable pollens could produce carbon architectures for anode applications in energy storage devices,” said A/Prof Vilas Pol. The anodes in most of today’s lithium-ion batteries are made of graphite. Lithium ions are contained in electrolyte, and these ions are stored in the anode during recharging.

The researchers tested bee pollen- and cattail pollen-derived carbons as anodes...

Iron-dotted boron nitride nanotubes, made in Yoke Khin Yaps’ lab at Michigan Tech, could make for better wearable tech because of their flexibility and electronic behaviors. Credit: Michigan Tech, Sue Hill

The road to more versatile wearable technology is dotted with iron. Specifically, quantum dots of iron arranged on boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs). Yap says the iron-studded BNNTs are pushing the boundaries of electronics hardware. The transistors modulating electron flow need an upgrade.

“Look beyond semiconductors,” he says, explaining that materials like silicon semiconductors tend to overheat, can only get so small and leak electric current. The key to revamping the fundamental base of transistors is creating a series of stepping-stones that use quantum tunneling.

The nanotubes are t...

A high-speed camera captured this image of an elastic sphere bouncing off the water surface in a tank. Credit: Chris Mabey

Skipping stones across the water surface can be tricky. So why is it so easy to get such impressive water-skipping performance from an elastic ball? Researchers say they have answers that may reveal a lot about water impact physics – important in naval applications and maritime and ocean engineering.

In collaboration the Naval Undersea Warfare Center in R.I., and Brown University, Assistant Prof Tadd Truscott’s team at USU’s Splash Lab have unraveled the physics of how elastic spheres bounce on water more easily than rigid ones. They uses high-speed cameras to capture images of elastic spheres bouncing across tanks of water in a laboratory...