Editors Picks
New Methods for Modeling Physical Systems
October 9, 2012 1:01 pm | by Maplesoft | Articles | CommentsCurrent engineering practices create computer models that are numerical in nature to explore different design concepts and evaluate their performance. However, a more natural way to model a system is to use mathematics.
Simulating Pipeline Rupture with Finite Element Analysis
October 9, 2012 12:47 pm | by Lance Hill, ME, Technical Expert, Simulia North American Energy Industry | Articles | CommentsFEA predicts the initiation and evolution of damage in metals, providing an alternative to laboratory structural testing.
Reducing Development Time in Thermal Imaging FPGAs
October 9, 2012 12:30 pm | by Sudhir Sharma, Product Marketing Manager, MathWorks | Articles | CommentsAn imaging systems developer accelerated the implementation of advanced thermal imaging filters and algorithms on FPGA hardware.
CFD Simulation Key for Supersonic UAV
October 9, 2012 12:20 pm | by Scott Imlay, Chief Technology Officer, Tecplot Inc. | Articles | CommentsAn unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that will fly at speeds approaching Mach 1.4—faster than anything in the sub-50-kg vehicle category today—using an engine two to four times more efficient than any other in its class is under development by researchers at the University of Colorado, Boulder, through a university startup Starcor. The prototype is expected to be ready within a year.
Simulating Quality, Cost, and Schedule
October 9, 2012 12:07 pm | by Robert Harwood, PhD, Aerospace and Defense Industry Director, Ansys and Margaret Schmitt, Area Director Apache Design (subsidiary of Ansys) | Articles | CommentsThe aerospace and defense community is considered a pioneer in physics-based simulation development and one of its earliest adopters. Design engineers use simulation software to create virtual representations of practically anything and everything, including complete unmanned aerial systems (UAS).
Researchers aim to create 'MacGyver' robot
October 9, 2012 11:47 am | News | CommentsRobots are increasingly being used in place of humans to explore hazardous and difficult-to-access environments, but they aren't yet able to interact with their environments as well as humans. If today's most sophisticated robot was trapped in a burning room by a jammed door, it would probably not know how to locate and use objects in the room to climb over any debris, pry open the door, and escape the building.
On track for terabyte discs
October 9, 2012 10:52 am | News | CommentsBusiness and consumers may soon have a simple, cheaper way to store large amounts of digital data. Case Western Reserve University researchers have developed technology aimed at making an optical disc that holds 1 to 2 terabytes of data, the equivalent of 1,000 to 2,000 copies of Encyclopedia Britannica. The entire print collection of the Library of Congress could fit on five to 10 discs.
Researchers seek way to make solar cell ultrathin, flexible
October 9, 2012 10:32 am | News | CommentsResearchers at the University of Texas at Dallas are developing nanotechnology that could lead to a new platform for solar cells, one that could drive the development of lighter, flexible, and more versatile solar-powered technology than is currently available.
Frenchman, American win Nobel for quantum physics
October 9, 2012 10:00 am | by Karl Ritter and Louise Nordstrom, Associated Press | News | CommentsSerge Haroche of France and American David Wineland shared the 2012 Nobel Prize in physics Tuesday for inventing methods to observe the bizarre properties of the quantum world. Their methods allowed them to manage and measure and control fragile quantum states, and the research has led to the construction of extremely precise clocks and helped scientists take the first steps toward building superfast computers.
Drawing a line, with carbon nanotubes
October 9, 2012 8:06 am | by Anne Trafton, MIT News Office | News | CommentsCarbon nanotubes offer a powerful new way to detect harmful gases in the environment. However, the methods typically used to build carbon nanotube sensors are hazardous and not suited for large-scale production. A new fabrication method created by chemists may overcome that obstacle.
A welcome predictability
October 8, 2012 12:19 pm | News | CommentsLawrence Berkeley National Laboratory researchers have developed an "adaptor" that makes the genetic engineering of microbial components sustantially easier and more predictable by converting regulators of translation into regulators of transcription in Escherichia coli.
New technique reveals lithium in action
October 8, 2012 11:50 am | by David L. Chandler, MIT | News | CommentsExactly what goes inside advanced lithium-air batteries as they charge and discharge has always been impossible to observe directly. Now, a new technique developed by Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers promises to change that, allowing study of this electrochemical activity as it happens.
Researchers develop new way to determine amount of charge remaining in battery
October 8, 2012 11:09 am | News | CommentsResearchers from North Carolina State University have developed a new technique that allows users to better determine the amount of charge remaining in a battery in real time. Using the researchers' new technique, models are able to estimate remaining charge within 5%.
Computational model identifies potential pathways to improve plant oil production
October 8, 2012 8:21 am | News | CommentsUsing a computational model they designed to incorporate detailed information about plants' interconnected metabolic processes, scientists at Brookhaven National Laboratory have identified key pathways that appear to "favor" the production of either oils or proteins. The research may point the way to new strategies to tip the balance and increase plant oil production.
Scientists study bridge over troubled water
October 8, 2012 7:58 am | News | CommentsOver a hundred years ago, English aristocrat William Armstrong used electricity to build a bridge out of water. It was only an inch or so across, but the physics behind it has entranced scientists for the past century and more. Fortunately, a new experiment at Argonne National Laboratory may shed light on the properties of the "flowing water bridge" and perhaps help resolve an old dispute about the physical nature of water.
Improving performance of a solar fuel catalyst
October 4, 2012 5:17 am | News | CommentsHydrogen gas that is created using solar energy to split water into hydrogen and oxygen has the potential to be a cost-effective fuel source if the efficiency of the catalysts used in the water-splitting process can be improved. By controlling the placement of key additives in an iron oxide catalyst, researchers from NIST have found that the final location of the dopants and the temperature at which they are incorporated into the catalyst crystal lattice determine overall catalytic performance in splitting water.
Researchers develop process for making renewable liquid fuels
October 4, 2012 4:51 am | News | CommentsUsing simple technology developed primarily for producing electricity from hydrogen, a team of researchers has developed what could be a commercially viable, continuous process for converting biomass and electricity into renewable liquid transportation fuels.
The mathematics of leaf decay
October 4, 2012 4:48 am | by Jennifer Chu | News | CommentsThe natural decay of organic carbon contributes more than 90% of the yearly carbon dioxide released into Earth's atmosphere and oceans. Understanding the rate at which leaves decay can help scientists predict this global flux of carbon dioxide. But a single leaf may undergo different rates of decay depending on a number of variables. Researchers have just built a mathematical model that incorporates these variables, and have discovered a commonality within the diversity of leaf decay.
Researchers develop 'BIGDATA' toolbox to help genome researchers
October 4, 2012 3:41 am | News | CommentsToday's life scientists are producing genomes galore. But there's a problem: The latest DNA sequencing instruments are burying researchers in trillions of bytes of data and overwhelming existing tools in biological computing. It doesn't help that there's a variety of sequencing instruments feeding a diverse set of applications. Researchers from Iowa State University are developing a set of solutions using high-performance computing.
A one-of-a-kind energy grid simulator
October 3, 2012 7:38 am | News | CommentsA one-of-a-kind, high-tech modeling tool designed to simulate different situations on the electric power grid will be on display at the White House. The result of a multi-year funding effort, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory researchers will joining Energy Secretary Steven Chu to demonstrate how GridLAB-D can help power system operators, industry, innovators, and entrepreneurs understand how making a change to one part of the power system impacts other parts on the grid.
Visionary transparent memory a step closer to reality
October 3, 2012 4:31 am | News | CommentsResearchers at Rice University are designing transparent, two-terminal, 3D computer memories on flexible sheets that show promise for electronics and sophisticated heads-up displays. The technique is based on the switching properties of silicon oxide.
Watermelon shown to boost heart health
October 3, 2012 4:01 am | News | CommentsEating an apple a day may keep the doctor away, but eating watermelon may just keep the cardiologist at bay. A study from Purdue University and the University of Kentucky showed that mice fed a diet including watermelon juice had lower weight, cholesterol, and arterial plaque than a control group.
Agreement will lead to commercialization of batteries for renewable energy storage
October 2, 2012 1:50 pm | by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory | News | CommentsA Washington state firm with a 27,000 square foot manufacturing and design facility in Mukilteo has signed a license agreement with Battelle to further develop and commercialize a type of advanced battery that holds promise for storing large amounts of renewable energy and providing greater stability to the energy grid.
Egyptian toes likely to be the world's oldest prosthetics
October 2, 2012 6:28 am | News | CommentsThe results of scientific tests using replicas of two ancient Egyptian artificial toes, including one that was found on the foot of a mummy, suggest that they're likely to be the world's first prosthetic body parts.
Research shows graphene nanopores can be controlled
October 2, 2012 4:16 am | News | CommentsEngineers at the University of Texas at Dallas have used advanced techniques to make the material graphene small enough to read DNA. Shrinking the size of a graphene pore to less than one nanometer, small enough to thread a DNA strand, opens the possibility of using graphene as a low-cost tool to sequence DNA.
