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    Harnessing Energy from Glass Walls

    May 30, 2017, Categories  Physics, Technology/Electronics, Chemistry/Nanotechnology

    1.Prototype of a semi-transparent perovskite solar cell with thermal-mirror functionality. Copyright : Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) 2. Thermal images are taken by an infrared camera to compare the heat rejection performance of automobile window film, semi-transparent solar cell and glass. Copyright : Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) 3. Typical solar cells today are made of crystalline silicon, which is difficult to make translucent. Copyright : Liu Fuyu / 123rf

    1.Prototype of a semi-transparent perovskite solar cell with thermal-mirror functionality.
    Copyright : Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST)
    2. Thermal images are taken by an infrared camera to compare the heat rejection performance of automobile window film, semi-transparent solar cell and glass.
    Copyright : Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST)
    3. Typical solar cells today are made of crystalline silicon, which is difficult to make translucent.
    Copyright : Liu Fuyu / 123rf

    A Korean team has developed semi-transparent perovskite solar cells that could be great candidates for solar windows...

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    3D Printer Inks from the Woods

    May 30, 2017, Categories  Biology/Biotechnology, Environment/Geology

    Rod-like cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) approximately 120 nanometers long and 6.5 nanometers in diameter under the microscope. Credit: Empa

    Rod-like cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) approximately 120 nanometers long and 6.5 nanometers in diameter under the microscope.
    Credit: Empa

    Empa researchers have succeeded in developing an environmentally-friendly ink for 3D printing based on cellulose nanocrystals (CNC). This technology can be used to fabricate microstructures with outstanding mechanical properties, which have promising potential uses in implants and other biomedical applications. In order to produce 3D microstructured materials for automobile components, for instance, Empa researchers have been using a 3D printing method called “Direct Ink Writing” for the past year (DIW)...

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    ‘Halos’ discovered on Mars Widen Time Frame for Potential Life

    May 30, 2017, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    A mosaic of images from the navigation cameras on the NASA Curiosity rover shows “halos” of lighter-toned bedrock around fractures. These halos comprise high concentrations of silica and indicate that liquid groundwater flowed through the rocks in Gale crater longer than previously believed. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

    A mosaic of images from the navigation cameras on the NASA Curiosity rover shows “halos” of lighter-toned bedrock around fractures. These halos comprise high concentrations of silica and indicate that liquid groundwater flowed through the rocks in Gale crater longer than previously believed. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

    Lighter-toned bedrock that surrounds fractures and comprises high concentrations of silica – called “halos” – has been found in Gale crater on Mars, indicating that the planet had liquid water much longer than previously believed. “The concentration of silica is very high at the centerlines of these halos,” said Jens Frydenvang, a scientist at Los Alamos National Laboratory and the University of Copenhagen...

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    Camera on NASA’s Lunar Orbiter survived 2014 Meteoroid hit

    May 30, 2017, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    1.The first wild back-and-forth line records the moment on October 13, 2014 when the left Narrow Angle Camera's radiator was struck by a meteoroid. Credits: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Arizona State University 2. The Narrow Angle Camera sits on a bench in the clean room at Malin Space Science Systems. The radiator (right) extends off the electronics end and keeps the sensor cool while imaging the moon. Computer modeling shows the meteoroid impacted somewhere on the radiator. Credits: Malin Space Science Systems/Arizona State University

    1.The first wild back-and-forth line records the moment on October 13, 2014 when the left Narrow Angle Camera’s radiator was struck by a meteoroid.
    Credits: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Arizona State University
    2. The Narrow Angle Camera sits on a bench in the clean room at Malin Space Science Systems. The radiator (right) extends off the electronics end and keeps the sensor cool while imaging the moon. Computer modeling shows the meteoroid impacted somewhere on the radiator.
    Credits: Malin Space Science Systems/Arizona State University

    On Oct.13, 2014 something very strange happened to the camera aboard NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO)...

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