http://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. (Phys.org) —A new process for growing forests of manganese dioxide nanorods may lead to the next generation of high-performance capacitors. http://phys.org/news285342671.html Nanotechnology Tue, 16 Apr 2013 14:51:22 EST news285342671 Memory is a central component of any computer or mobile device. Digital memories must not only store large amounts of data in a small space—and in a way that it is conveniently written, read and erased—but also meet ever-increasing demands on their size as well as their speed and energy efficiency. Phase-change materials, which switch their physical properties depending on whether they are in their crystalline or non-crystalline form, are being used to meet these requirements. A new kind of phase-change material with interesting features for memory applications—and with unexpected optical characteristics—has now been discovered by Wen Dong Song from the A*STAR Data Storage Institute and co-workers in Singapore. http://phys.org/news277547723.html Physics Wed, 16 Jan 2013 08:35:30 EST news277547723 (Phys.org)—Researchers at Penn State University have developed a chemical model that mimics a possible step in the formation of cellular life on Earth four-billion years ago. Using large "macromolecules" called polymers, the scientists created primitive cell-like structures that they infused with RNA—the genetic coding material that is thought to precede the appearance of DNA on Earth—and demonstrated how the molecules would react chemically under conditions that might have been present on the early Earth. The journal Nature Chemistry will post the research as an Advance Online Publication on 14 October 2012. http://phys.org/news269437917.html Biology Sun, 14 Oct 2012 13:00:27 EST news269437917 (Phys.org) -- For the first time, engineers at the University of New South Wales have demonstrated that hydrogen can be released and reabsorbed from a promising storage material, overcoming a major hurdle to its use as an alternative fuel source. http://phys.org/news264241712.html Nanotechnology Wed, 15 Aug 2012 09:50:02 EST news264241712 From smartphones to e-bikes, the number of mobile electronic devices is steadily growing around the world. As a result, there is an increased need for batteries that are small and light, yet powerful. As the potential for the further improvement of lithium-ion batteries is nearly exhausted, experts are now turning to a new and promising power storage device: lithium-sulfur batteries. http://phys.org/news253279770.html Nanotechnology Tue, 10 Apr 2012 12:29:49 EST news253279770 University of Oregon chemists have developed a boron-nitrogen-based liquid-phase storage material for hydrogen that works safely at room temperature and is both air- and moisture-stable -- an accomplishment that offers a possible route through current storage and transportation obstacles. http://phys.org/news241192603.html Chemistry Tue, 22 Nov 2011 13:56:53 EST news241192603 (PhysOrg.com) -- If hydrogen is to ever to serve as an onboard energy carrier for the transportation industry, a material will be needed that can store large amounts of hydrogen at ambient temperature and pressure. So far, researchers have not found any material that can meet these requirements. But in a new study, a team from China and the US has taken a significant step toward this goal by identifying a material that can store hydrogen with a density as high as 4.6 wt. % (i.e., the hydrogen accounts for 4.6% of the total weight of the storage material), enabling it to meet the target of 4.3 wt. % set by the US department of Energy for 2010. http://phys.org/news239344433.html Physics Tue, 01 Nov 2011 09:10:02 EST news239344433 (PhysOrg.com) -- Hydrogen could be one of the most important fuels in a new energy economy based on renewable resources. However, no ideal hydrogen storage material has yet been found. A team led by Yaroslav Filinchuk at the Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium, and Torben R. Jensen at the University of Aarhus in Denmark has now introduced a new highly porous form of magnesium borohydride in the journal Angewandte Chemie. This material can store hydrogen in two ways: chemically bound and physically adsorbed. http://phys.org/news236499113.html Chemistry Thu, 29 Sep 2011 07:12:06 EST news236499113 Using a catch-and-release method of swapping out hydrogen atoms, scientists at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and the University of Connecticut have tested a solid-state hydrogen storage material that operates at low temperatures. Scientists improved the dynamics of the reversible system at a significantly lower temperature by employing additives and a mechanical process called "ball milling." These results tackle two prime objectives for improving the performance and safety of hydrogen fuel cells: lower the temperature and increase the storage capacity. http://phys.org/news208688492.html Chemistry Thu, 11 Nov 2010 09:03:02 EST news208688492 An unusual substance known as "dry water," which resembles powdered sugar, could provide a new way to absorb and store carbon dioxide, the major greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming, scientists reported today at the 240th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society. http://phys.org/news201957650.html Chemistry Wed, 25 Aug 2010 16:20:01 EST news201957650 (PhysOrg.com) -- Proteins are solids. When heated they do not melt; instead, they decompose or sublime directly to the gas phase at low pressures. They cannot be converted into a liquid form unless they are dissolved in a solvent. A team at the University of Bristol (UK) and the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces in Golm (Germany) has now successfully liquefied a protein without the assistance of a solvent. As the research team headed by Stephen Mann reports in the journal Angewandte Chemie, the trick is to modify the surface of the protein with a polymeric surfactant. http://phys.org/news169725144.html Chemistry Mon, 17 Aug 2009 10:53:08 EST news169725144 (PhysOrg.com) -- University of Missouri researchers recently showed how carbon nanostructures can be engineered to become excellent media for hydrogen storage, work that may be important for the advancement of hydrogen-energy technologies for vehicles and other applications, which have been slow to develop due to the lack of suitable storage materials. http://phys.org/news162195986.html Nanotechnology Fri, 22 May 2009 07:27:40 EST news162195986 (PhysOrg.com) -- A clever materials science technique that uses a silicon crystal as a sort of nanoscale vise to squeeze another crystal into a more useful shape may launch a new class of electronic devices that remember their last state even after power is turned off. Computers that could switch on instantly without the time-consuming process of “booting” an operating system is just one of the possibilities, according to a new paper by a team of researchers spanning four universities, two federal laboratories and three corporate labs.* http://phys.org/news160838773.html Nanotechnology Wed, 06 May 2009 14:26:48 EST news160838773