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    Day to Night and Back again: Earth’s Ionosphere during the Total Solar Eclipse

    August 12, 2017, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    graphic showing layers of Earth atmosphere

    A layer of charged particles, called the ionosphere, surrounds Earth, extending from about 50 to 400 miles above the surface of the planet. Credits: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Duberstein

     
    3 NASA-funded studies will use the Aug. 21 total solar eclipse as a ready-made experiment, courtesy of nature, to improve our understanding of the ionosphere and its relationship to the Sun. On Aug. 21, 2017, the Moon will slide in front of the Sun and for a brief moment, day will melt into a dusky night. Moving across the country, the Moon’s shadow will block the Sun’s light, and weather permitting, those within the path of totality will be treated to a view of the Sun’s outer atmosphere, called the corona.
     
    But the total solar eclipse will also have imperceptible effects, such as ...
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    New Handheld Spectral Analyzer uses Power of Smartphone to detect Disease

    August 11, 2017, Categories  Technology/Electronics, Health/Medical, Biology/Biotechnology

    The spectral transmission-reflectance-intensity (TRI)-Analyzer attaches to a smartphone and analyzes patient blood, urine, or saliva samples as reliably as clinic-based instruments that cost thousands of dollars. Credit: Department of Bioengineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

    The spectral transmission-reflectance-intensity (TRI)-Analyzer attaches to a smartphone and analyzes patient blood, urine, or saliva samples as reliably as clinic-based instruments that cost thousands of dollars. Credit: Department of Bioengineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

    Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have developed technology that enables a smartphone to perform lab-grade medical diagnostic tests that typically require large, expensive instruments...

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    Flexible Batteries Power the Future of Wearable Technology

    August 11, 2017, Categories  Physics, Technology/Electronics, Chemistry/Nanotechnology

    Flexible batteries power the future of wearable technology

    The development of graphene-based flexible textile supercapacitor using a simple and scalable printing technique is a significant step towards realising multifunctional next generation wearable e-textiles Credit: University of Manchester

    New research from Manchester University has demonstrated flexible graphene oxide battery-like devices printed directly on to textiles using a simple screen-printing technique. The current hurdle with wearable technology is how to power devices without the need for cumbersome battery packs. Devices known as supercapacitors are one way to achieve this. A supercapacitor acts similarly to a battery but allows for rapid charging which can fully charge devices in seconds.

    The new solid-state flexible supercapacitor device has been demonstrated by using conductiv...

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    IV and Cellular Fluids Power Flexible Batteries

    August 11, 2017, Categories  Technology/Electronics, Health/Medical, Chemistry/Nanotechnology, Biology/Biotechnology

    1. This is an artistic rendering of fiber-shaped implantable batteries using biocompatible electrolytes. Credit: Guo et al. 2. Guo et al. Multi-functional Flexible Aqueous Sodium-Ion Batteries with High Safety. Chem, 2017 DOI: 10.1016/j.chempr.2017.05.004

    1. This is an artistic rendering of fiber-shaped implantable batteries using biocompatible electrolytes.
    Credit: Guo et al.
    2. Guo et al. Multi-functional Flexible Aqueous Sodium-Ion Batteries with High Safety. Chem, 2017 DOI: 10.1016/j.chempr.2017.05.004

    Researchers in China have engineered bendable batteries that can run on body-inspired liquids such as normal IV saline solution and cell-culture medium. In their work the authors designed alternatives to lithium-ion batteries by focusing on the mechanical-stress demands of wearable electronics such as smartwatches and the safety requirements of implantable electronics.

    “Current batteries like the lithium-ion ones used in medical implants generally come in rigid shapes,” says Yonggang Wang, a chemistry professor at Fudan University and the C...

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