News tagged with power efficiency

Related topics: power consumption

Dopant gives graphene solar cells highest efficiency yet

(Phys.org) -- By taking advantage of graphene’s favorable electrical and optical properties, and then adding an organic dopant, researchers have achieved the highest power conversion efficiency yet for ...

Nanotechnology / Nanophysics

created May 21, 2012 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (11) | comments 14 | with audio podcast feature

LED's efficiency exceeds 100%

(PhysOrg.com) -- For the first time, researchers have demonstrated that an LED can emit more optical power than the electrical power it consumes. Although scientifically intriguing, the results won’t ...

Physics / General Physics

created Mar 05, 2012 | popularity 4.4 / 5 (65) | comments 60 | with audio podcast report

Rational design can improve hydrogen fuel cell efficiency

(PhysOrg.com) -- Hydrogen fuel cells, in which the chemical energy of hydrogen is converted into electricity, offer the potential for a wide variety of applications, especially in transportation and power ...

Chemistry / Materials Science

created Feb 29, 2012 | popularity 4.4 / 5 (12) | comments 0 | with audio podcast feature

Near-threshold computing could enable up to 100x reduction in power consumption

(PhysOrg.com) -- While electronic devices have greatly improved in many regards, such as in storage capacity, graphics, and overall performance, etc., they still have a weight hanging around their neck: they’re ...

Technology / Engineering

created Feb 17, 2010 | popularity 4.2 / 5 (37) | comments 6 | with audio podcast feature

Jellyfish Robot Swims Like its Biological Counterpart

(PhysOrg.com) -- "Jellyfish are one of the most awesome marine animals, doing a spectacular and psychedelic dance in water," explain engineers Sung-Weon Yeom and Il-Kwon Oh from Chonnam National University ...

Electronics / Robotics

created Jun 26, 2009 | popularity 4.4 / 5 (10) | comments 1 feature

Researchers develop technique to keep cool high-power semiconductor devices used in wireless applications, electric cars

A group of researchers at the University of California, Riverside Bourns College of Engineering have developed a technique to keep cool a semiconductor material used in everything from traffic lights to electric cars.

Nanotechnology / Nanophysics

created May 08, 2012 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (6) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Discovery of a 'dark state' could increase maximum theoretical efficiency of solar cells from 31 to 44 percent

The efficiency of conventional solar cells could be significantly increased, according to new research on the mechanisms of solar energy conversion led by chemist Xiaoyang Zhu at The University of Texas at Austin.

Physics / Condensed Matter

created Dec 15, 2011 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (23) | comments 12 | with audio podcast

Nvidia Tegra 3 quad-core chip stokes tablet wars

(PhysOrg.com) -- Nvidia has launched its Tegra 3, the quad-core chip designed for mobile devices. Tech and investor blogs were busy yesterday assessing what this means for upcoming tablets and smartphones ...

Electronics / Hardware

created Nov 10, 2011 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (11) | comments 2 | with audio podcast report

New 'Koomey’s Law' of power efficiency parallels Moore'e Law

(PhysOrg.com) -- For most of the computer age, the central theme in computer hardware architecture has been: create more computational power using the same amount of chip space. Intel founder Gordon Moore ...

Technology / Semiconductors

created Sep 15, 2011 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (8) | comments 21 | with audio podcast report

Solar-thermal flat-panels that generate electric power

(PhysOrg.com) -- High-performance nanotech materials arrayed on a flat panel platform demonstrated seven to eight times higher efficiency than previous solar thermoelectric generators, opening up solar-thermal ...

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

created May 01, 2011 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (6) | comments 7 | with audio podcast

Solar power goes viral: Modified virus improves solar-cell efficiency by one-third

(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at MIT have found a way to make significant improvements to the power-conversion efficiency of solar cells by enlisting the services of tiny viruses to perform detailed assembly ...

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

created Apr 25, 2011 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (21) | comments 6 | with audio podcast

US energy use chart shows we waste more than half of our energy

(PhysOrg.com) -- This flow chart of the estimated US energy use in 2009, assembled by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), paints a pretty sobering picture of our energy situation. To begin with, ...

Technology / Energy & Green Tech

created Apr 09, 2011 | popularity 3.5 / 5 (27) | comments 101 | with audio podcast report

Home's electrical wiring acts as antenna to receive low-power sensor data

If these walls had ears, they might tell a homeowner some interesting things. Like when water is dripping into an attic crawl space, or where an open window is letting hot air escape during winter.

Technology / Engineering

created Sep 15, 2010 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (6) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Study predicts nanoscience will greatly increase efficiency of next-generation solar cells

As the fastest growing energy technology in the world, solar energy continues to account for more and more of the world’s energy supply. Currently, most commercial photovoltaic power comes from bulk semiconductor materials. ...

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

created Aug 13, 2010 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (26) | comments 1 | with audio podcast feature

Elusive 'hot' electrons captured in ultra-thin solar cells

Boston College researchers have observed the "hot electron" effect in a solar cell for the first time and successfully harvested the elusive charges using ultra-thin solar cells, opening a potential avenue to improved solar ...

Physics / General Physics

created Dec 11, 2009 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (13) | comments 3