Category Technology/Electronics

Schematic Diagram of the Fabrication of the Pillar P-SPAES Membrane and Its Working Principle of Interlocking Effects. Credit: Copyright KAIST

Scientists have developed a new way of making fuel cell membranes using nanoscale fasteners, paving the way for lower-cost, higher-efficiency and more easily manufactured fuel cells. The internal workings of fuel cells vary, but basically all types mix hydrogen and oxygen to produce a chemical reaction that delivers usable electricity and exhausts ordinary water as a by-product. One of the most efficient types is the proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell, which operates at low enough temperatures to be used in homes and vehicles.

To generate electricity, PEM fuel cells rely on 2 chemical compartments separated by a permeable catalyst membrane...

User opening a file in a PixelDrone cone tree. Credit: Image courtesy of Queen’s University

An interactive swarm of flying 3D pixels (voxels) is set to revolutionize the way people interact with virtual reality. The system, called BitDrones, allows users to explore virtual 3D information by interacting with physical self-levitating building blocks – materials capable of changing their 3D shape in a programmable fashion – using swarms of nano quadcopters. Apps include real-reality 3D modeling, gaming, molecular modeling, medical imaging, robotics and online information visualization.

“BitDrones brings flying programmable matter, such as featured in the futuristic Disney movie Big Hero 6, closer to reality,” says Dr. Vertegaal...

In this artistic rendering, a magnetic pulse (right) and X-ray laser light (left) converge on a high-temperature superconductor to study the behavior of its electrons. (SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory)

A team has combined powerful magnetic pulses with some of the brightest X-rays on the planet to discover a surprising 3D arrangement of a material’s electrons that appears closely linked to a mysterious phenomenon known as high-temperature superconductivity. It also resolves an apparent mismatch in data from previous experiments and charts a new course for fully mapping the behaviors of electrons in these exotic materials under different conditions.

“This was totally unexpected, and also very exciting…Nobody had seen this 3D picture before,” said Jun-Sik Lee, at SLAC...

VTT Smart fabric provides “air conditioning” for the wearer – adjustable 

VTT, Finland has developed a new high-volume production method for hot embossing microscopic channel structures onto large areas of plastic film at a low cost for use, eg, in wearable technology and cosmetic applications. One of VTT’s goals is to engineer a smart fabric adjustable with a mobile app for controlling the wearer’s temperature. With the high-volume method, microchannels can be produced on large areas of plastic film in a short time. Pumping cold or hot liquid through a network of microchannels enables the temperature control of functional clothes.

So far, the utilisation of microscopic channels for other than diagnostic purposes has been limited by relatively high production costs and the small siz...