Tech

In the effort to convert sunlight into electricity, photovoltaic solar cells that use conductive organic polymers for light absorption and conversion have shown great potential. Organic polymers can be produced in high volumes at low cost, resulting in photovoltaic devices that are cheap, lightweight and flexible.

In the last few years, much work has been done to improve the efficiency with which these devices convert sunlight into power, including the development of new materials, device structures and processing techniques.

BOULDER –- Equipped with specialized lasers and GPS technology, scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) are working with colleagues to solve a critical wintertime weather mystery: how to accurately measure the amount of snow on the ground.

There is an ever-increasing need for advanced batteries for portable electronics, such as phones, cameras, and music players, but also to power electric vehicles and to facilitate the distribution and storage of energy derived from renewable energy sources. But, once a battery fails, there are no corrective measures—how do you look inside a battery without destroying it?

Electric cars have been heralded as environmentally friendly, but findings from University of Tennessee, Knoxville, researchers show that electric cars in China have an overall impact on pollution that could be more harmful to health than gasoline vehicles.

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Many people are willing to pay a premium for ethanol, but not enough to justify the government mandate for the corn-based fuel, a Michigan State University economist argues.

Soren Anderson studied the demand for ethanol, or E85, in the United States. He found that when ethanol prices rose 10 cents per gallon, demand for ethanol fell only 12 percent to 16 percent on average.

There is an ever-increasing need for advanced batteries for portable electronics, such as phones, cameras, and music players, but also to power electric vehicles and to facilitate the distribution and storage of energy derived from renewable energy sources. But, once a battery fails, there are no corrective measures—how do you look inside a battery without destroying it?

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – When it comes to treating people with hip pain, physicians should not replace clinical observation with the use of magnetic resonance images (MRI), according to research being presented today at the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine's (AOSSM) Specialty Day in San Francisco, CA.

"We performed MRI scans on a sample of volunteers without any hip pain, and discovered about 73% had abnormal findings," commented the study's lead author Bradley C. Register, MD, of the Steadman-Philippon Research Institute.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – Concussions and the issues that can occur following one, continue to be a serious problem for football players. However, one simple game strategy: proper helmet fit, may be one of the easiest game winners for prevention, say researchers presenting their study at the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine's Specialty Day in San Francisco.

Microscopic channels of gold nanoparticles have the ability to transmit electromagnetic energy that starts as light and propagates via "dark plasmons," according to researchers at Rice University.

A new paper in the American Chemical Society journal Nano Letters shows how even disordered collections of nanoparticles in arrays as thin as 150 nanometers can be turned into waveguides and transmit signals an order of magnitude better than previous experiments were able to achieve. Efficient energy transfer on the micrometer scale may greatly improve optoelectronic devices.

MANHATTAN, KAN. -- The happiest young couples may be involved in a different kind of engagement.

Young adults who easily engage in rewarding conversations with their partners are less likely to hold onto anger and stress and more likely to be satisfied with the relationship, according to research from Kansas State University.

Researchers at the Nano-Science Center at the University of Copenhagen have developed a new nano-technology platform for the development of molecule-based electronic components using the wonder material graphene. At the same time, they have solved a problem that has challenged researchers from around world for ten years.

A joint research project between the University of Southampton and lithium battery technology company REAPsystems has found that a new type of battery has the potential to improve the efficiency and reduce the cost of solar power.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – When low-income cohabiting couples with children decide to no longer live together, that doesn't necessarily mean the end of their romantic relationship.

A new study suggests that about one in four of these couples who split their households still maintain some type of romantic relationship.

Streamlined sharks are legendary for their effortless swimming. George Lauder from Harvard University, USA, explains that the fish have long inspired human engineers, but more recently attention has focused on how the fish's remarkable skin boosts swimming. Coated in razor sharp tooth-like scales, called denticles, the skin is thought to behave like the dimples on a golf ball, disturbing the flow of water over the surface to reduce the drag. But something didn't quite sit right with Lauder.

For swimmers looking to gain an edge on the competition, the notion that simply donning a different swimsuit – like a Speedo Fastskin II suit, with a surface purportedly designed to mimic by shark skin – can be the difference between first and last place is a powerful one.

It's also one that's almost completely misplaced, said George Lauder, the Henry Bryant Bigelow Professor of Ichthyology.