Tech

Governments don't care if solar power actually saves anyone any money or energy, they primarily want to know how much to increase your taxes. Consistent appraisals of homes and businesses outfitted with photovoltaic (PV) installations are missing but a new tool developed by Sandia National Laboratories and Solar Power Electric™ and licensed by Sandia addresses that issue.

A serological test is highly accurate at finding tuberculosis infection in elephants, and can determine such infection years before culture, according to a study in the August Clinical and Vaccine Immunology. The issue is critical not only for elephants, which are an endangered species, but for human public health, because elephants are among the very rare animal species which are commonly infected by human strains of tuberculosis, says first author Konstantin P. Lyashchenko of Chembio Diagnostic Systems, Inc., Medford, NY.

CORVALLIS, Ore. – The same type of microwave oven technology that most people use to heat up leftover food has found an important application in the solar energy industry, providing a new way to make thin-film photovoltaic products with less energy, expense and environmental concerns.

Engineers at Oregon State University have for the first time developed a way to use microwave heating in the synthesis of copper zinc tin sulfide, a promising solar cell compound that is less costly and toxic than some solar energy alternatives.

Physicists from the University of Southampton were among the first researchers to use the new high magnetic-field beamline at Diamond Light Source, the UK's national synchrotron facility, to search for 'hidden magnetic states'.

If found, they will provide important confirmation of a theoretical model, which could have important applications in magnetic data storage.

Singapore, August 24, 2012 – Using a mixture of gold, copper and platinum nanoparticles, IBN researchers have developed a more powerful and longer lasting fuel cell material. This breakthrough was published recently in leading journal, Energy and Environmental Science.

When it comes to applications like standoff sensing — using lasers to detect gas, explosives, or other materials from a safe distance — the laser's strength is of the utmost importance. A stronger and purer beam means devices can sense danger more accurately from a greater distance, which translates into safer workers, soldiers, and police officers.

The worst drought to hit the United States in at least 50 years does have one benefit: it has created the smallest "dead zone" in the Gulf of Mexico in years, says a Texas A&M University researcher who has just returned from gulf waters.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Most metals — from the steel used to build bridges and skyscrapers to the copper and gold used to form wires in microchips — are made of crystals: orderly arrays of molecules forming a perfectly repeating pattern. In many cases, including the examples above, the material is made of tiny crystals packed closely together, rather than one large crystal.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — College football exploits players in an "invisible labor market," and the only plausible way for student-athletes to address their interests is the credible threat of unionization, according to research from a University of Illinois expert in labor relations and collective bargaining in athletics.

ARLINGTON, Va.—The Office of Naval Research (ONR) is demonstrating the next phase of an augmented-reality project Aug. 23 in Princeton, N.J., that will change the way warfighters view operational environments—literally.

Researchers from Rice University today unveiled a new multi-antenna technology that could help wireless providers keep pace with the voracious demands of data-hungry smartphones and tablets. The technology aims to dramatically increase network capacity by allowing cell towers to simultaneously beam signals to more than a dozen customers on the same frequency.

CAMBRIDGE, MA -- The discovery of graphene, a material just one atom thick and possessing exceptional strength and other novel properties, started an avalanche of research around its use for everything from electronics to optics to structural materials. But new research suggests that was just the beginning: A whole family of two-dimensional materials may open up even broader possibilities for applications that could change many aspects of modern life.

People will reject an offer of water, even when they are severely thirsty, if they perceive the offer to be unfair, according to a new study funded by the Wellcome Trust. The findings have important implications for understanding how humans make decisions that must balance fairness and self-interest.

It's been known for some time that when humans bargain for money they have a tendency to reject unfair offers, preferring to let both parties walk away with nothing rather than accept a low offer in the knowledge that their counterpart is taking home more cash.

PHILADELPHIA, Aug. 22, 2012 — The corn industry produces almost 4,000 products from every bushel. Oil refineries produce fuels and ingredients for an estimated 6,000 products with a thoroughness that actually squeezes 44 gallons of products from every 42-gallon barrel of crude.

DENVER - The Bureau of Reclamation has found that silicone foul release coatings may be an important tool for mitigating invasive quagga and zebra mussels' impacts to water and hydropower infrastructure. Allen D. Skaja, Ph.D., PCS, of Reclamation's Technical Service Center tested more than 50 coatings and metal alloys over three years at Parker Dam on the Colorado River.