'Floppy' atomic dynamics help turn heat into electricity

Materials scientists at Duke University have uncovered an atomic mechanism that makes certain thermoelectric materials incredibly efficient near high-temperature phase transitions. The information will help fill critical ...

Plutonium-238 to help power Perseverance on Mars

After its long journey to Mars beginning this summer, NASA's Perseverance rover will be powered across the planet's surface in part by plutonium produced at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Laser-powered rover to explore moon's dark shadows

A laser light shone through the dark could power robotic exploration of the most tantalizing locations in our solar system: the permanently-shadowed craters around the moon's poles, believed to be rich in water ice and other ...

Untwisting plastics for charging Internet-of-Things devices

Untwisting chains of atoms within a plastic polymer improves its ability to conduct electricity, according to a report by researchers, led by Nagoya University applied physicist Hisaaki Tanaka, in the journal Science Advances. ...

Creating stretchable thermoelectric generators

For the first time, a soft and stretchable organic thermoelectric module has been created that can harvest energy from body heat. The breakthrough was enabled by a new composite material that may have widespread use in smart ...

Voyager 2 engineers working to restore normal operations

Engineers for NASA's Voyager 2 spacecraft are working to return the mission to normal operating conditions after one of the spacecraft's autonomous fault protection routines was triggered. Multiple fault protection routines ...

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