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Transparent insulating aerogel brewed up from beer by-product

Michael Irving August 13, 2018

Aerogels are among the best thermal insulators, but their cloudy appearance doesn't work for windows, one of the worst offenders for letting heat escape a building. Now, researchers at Colorado University Boulder have found a way to make them transparent, recycling a beer by-product in the process.

Researcher Qingkun Liu holds up samples of the new transparent aerogel, which could make windows better ...

Electronics

Nanofilm recycles electronic waste heat as electricity

Michael Irving April 16, 2018

Waste heat generated by electronics can damage components, and represents a large amount of energy going to waste. Now scientists at the UCB have developed a thin film that could be built into computers, cars or factories to capture and recycle the energy from waste heat.

An illustration of how the new UCB thin film works to generate electricity from waste heat

Materials

Holographic data storage could cram 1,000 DVDs onto a 4-in square film

Michael Irving April 8, 2018

A team of Chinese scientists has developed a new nanoparticle-based film that can store information as 3D holograms, improving data density, read and write speeds and stability in harsh conditions.

Lead researcher Shencheng Fu conducts experiments on a new film that can store data as 3D ...

Science

Moth's eyes inspire film to reduce smartphone screen glare

Michael Irving June 25, 2017

If you’ve ever used your phone in sunlight only to see a reflection of your own face, moths might have your back. Inspired by the natural nanostructures that keep the insect’s eyes from being shiny, a team from the University of Central Florida has developed an antireflective film for phone screens.

A new film, inspired by the surface of a moth's eye, could reduce screen glare on ...

Electronics

First transparent OLED display with graphene electrodes created

Colin Jeffrey January 10, 2017

Researchers have created OLED (organic light-emitting display) electrodes from graphene. This could lead the way to a range of new components, including better touchscreens and much more efficient solar cells

The breakthrough could lead the way to a range of new components, including better touchscreens and ...

Materials

Conductive thin film clears the way for improved solar cells

Dario Borghino June 13, 2016

A new material combines high transparency with high electrical conductivity for the first time, holding promise for more efficient solar panels, self-heating smart windows, high-performance cooling surfaces, and even flexible displays.

A new thin sheet combining high transparency and high conductivity could have future applications in touchscreens, ...

Telecommunications

Smart whiskey bottle talks to smartphones

Nick Lavars February 26, 2015

Diageo, the company behind popular poisons like Smirnoff and Baileys, has announced a Johnnie Walker Blue Label smart whiskey bottle. The connected bottle could enable distributors to better track stock, connect with user's smartphones and detect when someone has cracked it open prematurely.

The smart whiskey bottle can, among other things, detect when its seal has been broken

Physics

Researchers discover a universal law of superconductivity

Colin Jeffrey January 11, 2015

MIT researchers claim to have discovered a new universal law for superconductors that, if proved accurate, will bring the physics of superconductors in line with other universal laws and may help advance superconducting circuits for quantum and ultra low-power computing.

MIT researchers have used a superthin film of niobium and nitrogen atoms to aid their discovery ...

Science

"Nanograss" boosts the efficiency of organic solar cells

Dario Borghino October 13, 2014

A long sought-after "nanograss" structure promises to significantly boost the efficiency of organic solar cells by capturing light more efficiently while also allowing the use of cheaper, lower-grade materials.

An array of nanoscale pillars ("nanograss") structure could make organic solar cells more efficient by capturing ...

Electronics

First flexible graphene-based display created

Colin Jeffrey September 11, 2014

A new prototype flexible display created by the University of Cambridge and UK firm Plastic Logic, represents the first time graphene has been used in a transistor-based flexible screen and may well provide the least expensive, easiest to manufacture solution for these devices yet.

A new prototype display represents the first time graphene has been used in a transistor-based flexible ...