solar tagged posts

A window film with a specially designed molecule could be capable of taking the edge off the worst midday heat and instead distributing it evenly from morning to evening. The molecule has the unique ability to capture energy from the sun’s rays and release it later as heat. This is shown by researchers at Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, in the scientific journal Advanced Science.

On sunny summer days it can be little short of unbearable to stay indoors or in cars. The heat radiates in and creates an unpleasantly high temperature for people, animals and plants...

Researchers at Oregon State University use new technology to control the formation and release of bubbles. Here that technology is illustrated with the letters “OSU” printed on a substrate. Credit: Image courtesy of Oregon State University

Engineers at Oregon State University have found a new way to induce and control boiling bubble formation, that may allow everything from industrial-sized boilers to advanced electronics to work better and last longer. The concept could be useful to either to boil water and create steam more readily, like in a boiler or a clothing iron; or with a product such as an electronics device to release heat more readily while working at a cooler temperature.

“One of the key limitations for electronic devices is the heat they generate, and something that helps dis...

Over time, the zinc ions in MOF-5 (pink solutions) get replaced with cobalt ions, (blue solutions) demonstrating the dynamics of metal organic frameworks. Credit: American Chemical Society.

MOF’s have many potential apps: antimicrobial agents, H-storage materials and solar-cell components.

Despite their rigid-sounding name, MOF structures are also dynamic – much more so than previously thought. This discovery could lead to the synthesis of brand-new types of materials. As the name implies, MOFs are composed of networks of organic (carbon-based) compounds interspersed with metal ions. Many different combinations of metals and organic components exist, but much of what we know about these systems comes from a zinc and benzene di-acid framework called MOF5...