Energy & Particles : Science World Report

Mar 20, 2012 09:30 AM EDT

Better Organic Electronics

Future prospects for superior new organic electronic devices are brighter now thanks to a new study by researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)'s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab). Working at the Lab's Molecular Foundry, a DOE nanoscience center, the team has provided ...

Mar 20, 2012 05:12 PM EDT

New Paper by Notre Dame Researchers Describes Method for Cleaning Up Nuclear Waste

While the costs associated with storing nuclear waste and the possibility of it leaching into the environment remain legitimate concerns, they may no longer be obstacles on the road to cleaner energy.

Mar 20, 2012 05:03 PM EDT

Nuclear Fusion Simulation Shows High-gain Energy Output

High-gain nuclear fusion could be achieved in a preheated cylindrical container immersed in strong magnetic fields, according to a series of computer simulations performed at Sandia National Laboratories.

Mar 20, 2012 11:34 AM EDT

Engineers Enlist Weather Model to Optimize Offshore Wind Plan

Politics aside, most energy experts agree that cheap, clean, renewable wind energy holds great potential to help the world satisfy energy needs while reducing harmful greenhouse gases. Wind farms placed offshore could play a large role in meeting such challenges, and yet no offshore wind farms exist...

Mar 19, 2012 04:21 PM EDT

Air Force Office of Scientific Research Hosts Nanotechnology Pioneer

On March 6, the Air Force Office of Scientific Research in Arlington, Va., hosted a presentation by Dr. Chad Mirkin from Northwestern University.

Mar 19, 2012 10:26 AM EDT

Straintronics: Engineers Create Piezoelectric Graphene

In what became known as the 'Scotch tape technique," researchers first extracted graphene with a piece of adhesive in 2004. Graphene is a single layer of carbon atoms arranged in a honeycomb, hexagonal pattern. It looks like chicken wire.

Mar 19, 2012 09:01 AM EDT

Researchers Increase Speed of Single-molecule Measurements

As nanotechnology becomes ever more ubiquitous, researchers are using it to make medical diagnostics smaller, faster, and cheaper, in order to better diagnose diseases, learn more about inherited traits, and more. But as sensors get smaller, measuring them becomes more difficult-there is always a tr...

Mar 19, 2012 07:10 AM EDT

A Surprising New Kind of Proton Transfer

When a proton - the bare nucleus of a hydrogen atom - transfers from one molecule to another, or moves within a molecule, the result is a hydrogen bond, in which the proton and another atom like nitrogen or oxygen share electrons. Conventional wisdom has it that proton transfers can only happen usin...

Mar 16, 2012 12:33 PM EDT

New Test Finds Neutrinos didn't Beat Light Barrier

New research suggests neutrinos that appeared to break a basic law of physics by travelling faster than the speed of light kept within the universal speed limit after all.

Mar 16, 2012 07:27 AM EDT

Fighting Cancer with Nanotechnology

Imagine a test that sifts through millions of molecules in a drop of a patient's blood to detect a telltale protein signature of a cancer subtype, or a drug ferry that doesn't release its toxic contents until it slips inside cancer cells.

Mar 15, 2012 04:12 PM EDT

Researchers Develop Graphene Supercapacitor Holding Promise for Portable Electronics

Electrochemical capacitors (ECs), also known as supercapacitors or ultracapacitors, differ from regular capacitors that you would find in your TV or computer in that they store substantially higher amounts of charges. They have garnered attention as energy storage devices as they charge and discharg...

Mar 15, 2012 11:32 AM EDT

Researchers Create More Efficient Hydrogen Fuel cells

Hydrogen fuel cells, like those found in some "green" vehicles, have a lot of promise as an alternative fuel source, but making them practical on a large scale requires them to be more efficient and cost effective.