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May 14 | News
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory scientists have developed a way to generate power using harmless viruses that convert mechanical energy into electricity. The milestone could lead to tiny devices that harvest electrical energy from the vibrations of everyday tasks. It also points to a simpler way to make microelectronic devices.
Apr 27 | News
Taking
their cue from the humble leaf, researchers have used microscopic folds
on the surface of photovoltaic material to significantly increase the
power output of flexible, low-cost solar cells. Though the work by
Princeton University researchers involved plastic-based cells that are
not yet in widespread use, they reported a substantial increase in
electricity generation through channeling of light waves.
Apr 23 | News
Physicists
have discovered a possible solution to a mystery that has long baffled
researchers working to harness fusion. If confirmed by experiment, the
finding
could help scientists eliminate a major impediment to the development of
fusion
as a clean and abundant source of energy for producing electric power.
Apr 20 | News
Theoretically,
a solar cell can achieve 33.5% efficiency under ideal conditions, but
until now researchers had hit only 26%. This past year, a company called
Alta Devices acted on the theory that emission and voltage go
hand-in-hand by creating solar cell that acts like a light-emitting
diode. Its prototype broke the record, achieving 28.3% efficiency.
Apr 18 | News
A
collaboration between Tsinghua University in China and Rice University
has produced a potentially low-cost, efficient alternative to
silicon-based solar cells. Single-wall nanotube arrays, grown in a
process invented at Rice, have been shown in recent studies to be more
electroactive and potentially cheaper than platinum, a common catalyst
in dye-sensitized solar cells.
Apr 12 | News
Equipped
with a fuel cell by Clarkson University engineers, a snail was able to
regenerate glucose consumed by biocatalytic electrodes, and, upon
feeding and relaxing, produce a new portion electrical energy. The
world's first "electrified snail" joins menagerie of cockroaches, rats,
rabbits, and other animals previously implanted with biofuel cells that
generate electricity.
Apr 11 | News
Technological
advances have produced implantable, electronic solutions for dosing and
therapeutic functions in humans. However, these medical devices use
probes, actuators, and electronic controls that need power. Researchers
at the Fraunhofer Institute for Ceramic Technologies have recently
succeeded in wirelessly transmitting power from a portable transmitter
module to a receiver, offering the possibility of wirelessly-powered
medical devices.
Apr 11 | News
Researchers
at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have combined gold
nanoparticles with copper nanoparticles to form hybrid nanoparticles.
Transformed into a powder they can catalyze a carbon dioxide reduction
that uses less energy than previous methods and may help reduce
emissions of greenhouse gases at powerplants and other point sources.
Apr 9 | News
As
the world moves toward greater use of low-carbon and zero-carbon energy
sources, a possible bottleneck looms, according to a new Massachusetts
Institute of Technology study: The supply of certain metals needed
for key
clean-energy technologies.
Apr 3 | News
According
to a new study using SWITCH, a highly detailed computer model of the
electric power grid, University of California, Berkeley researchers have
learned that goals for decarbonization of the electric power sector are
most easily achieved using renewable or nuclear energy sources in lieu
of coal.
