Energy & Particles : Science World Report

Mar 27, 2012 06:35 AM EDT

A New Dimension for Solar Energy

Intensive research around the world has focused on improving the performance of solar photovoltaic cells and bringing down their cost. But very little attention has been paid to the best ways of arranging those cells, which are typically placed flat on a rooftop or other surface, or sometimes attach...

Mar 26, 2012 03:35 PM EDT

More Energy Efficient Transistors through Quantum Tunneling

Researchers at the University of Notre Dame and Pennsylvania State University have announced breakthroughs in the development of tunneling field effect transistors (TFETs), a semiconductor technology that takes advantage of the quirky behavior of electrons at the quantum level.

Mar 23, 2012 03:35 PM EDT

US Dept. of Energy offers $100,000 for cool apps

Get ready to change the way you think about your utility bill data. With the Energy Department's new Apps for Energy competition, we're challenging developers to use the Green Button data access program to bring residential and commercial utility data to life.

Mar 23, 2012 01:53 PM EDT

The Lithium Battery as a Source of Hope

The future belongs to electric vehicles - the experts are convinced of this. But there are a few challenges to overcome before quietly whirring electric cars can completely replace the combustion engine. One such challenge is the power supply: batteries have to be safe, reliable and reasonably price...

Mar 23, 2012 08:10 AM EDT

Performing Under Pressure

Imagine a robot sent out on the prowl on this energy hungry planet looking for methane, the principal component of what we call "natural gas" and probably the most abundant organic compound on earth.

Mar 22, 2012 05:03 PM EDT

Invisibility of Magnetic Fields Made Reality

UAB researchers, in collaboration with an experimental group from the Academy of Sciences of Slovakia, have created a cylinder which hides contents and makes them invisible to magnetic fields. The device was built using superconductor and ferromagnetic materials available on the market. The inventio...

Mar 22, 2012 11:29 AM EDT

Dance Like a Neutrino: New Quantum Scheme to Simulate Particle Oscillations

The behaviour of some of the most elusive particles in the known universe can be simulated using three atoms in a lab, CQT researchers have found.

Mar 22, 2012 09:24 AM EDT

New Technique Lets Scientists Peer within Nanoparticles, See Atomic Structure in 3-D

UCLA researchers are now able to peer deep within the world's tiniest structures to create three-dimensional images of individual atoms and their positions. Their research, published March 22 in the journal Nature, presents a new method for directly measuring the atomic structure of nanomaterials.

Mar 22, 2012 07:53 AM EDT

Study Shows far Higher Potential for Wind Energy in India than Previously Estimated

A new assessment of wind energy in India by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has found that the potential for on-shore wind energy deployment is far higher than the official estimates- about 20 times and up to 30 times greater than the current government estimate of 102 gigawatts. This landmark...

Mar 21, 2012 04:54 PM EDT

Nanopower: Avoiding Electrolyte Failure in Nanoscale Lithum Batteries

It turns out you can be too thin-especially if you're a nanoscale battery. Researchers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the University of Maryland, College Park, and Sandia National Laboratories built a series of nanowire batteries to demonstrate that the thickness of ...

Mar 21, 2012 04:32 PM EDT

Quantum Plasmons Demonstrated in Atomic-scale Nanoparticles

The physical phenomenon of plasmon resonances in small metal particles has been used for centuries. They are visible in the vibrant hues of the great stained-glass windows of the world. More recently, plasmon resonances have been used by engineers to develop new, light-activated cancer treatments an...

Mar 21, 2012 03:34 PM EDT

Scientists Discover New Method of Proton Transfer

Scientists at USC and Lawrence Berkeley National Lab have discovered a new route by which a proton (a hydrogen atom that lost its electron) can move from one molecule to another - a basic component of countless chemical and biological reactions.