Smart windows get darker to filter out the sun's rays on bright days, and turn clear on cloudy days to let more light in. This feature can help control indoor temperatures and offers some privacy without resorting to aids ...
Optics & Photonics
Nov 16, 2016
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384
Next-generation anodes for lithium ion batteries will probably no longer be made of graphite. Silicon, which is a related material, can provide a much higher capacity than graphite, but its crystallinity poses problems. In ...
Materials Science
Oct 11, 2016
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A team of researchers led by the University of Pittsburgh's Scott X. Mao has observed at atomic scale a previously unknown mechanism of shear-driven crystal to amorphously transform in silicon. The paper "In situ observation ...
Nanophysics
Sep 19, 2016
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226
On Thursday Alice Furlan receives her PhD for her study in which she experimented with stacking different types of material layers in flexible, thin solar cells. By combining these with a thin layer of silicon into a 'tandem ...
Energy & Green Tech
Feb 24, 2016
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19
Glass ranks as one of the most important materials of our age. You have only to think about smartphones, or drinking glasses, or look out of the window to realise that glass in its various forms is omnipresent. Fibre-optic ...
Condensed Matter
Jun 5, 2014
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Researchers at the Helmholtz Center Berlin (HZB) have taken a leap forward towards a deeper understanding of an undesired effect in thin film solar cells based on amorphous silicon – one that has puzzled the scientific ...
General Physics
Feb 13, 2014
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Engineers at the University of California, Berkeley, have built a device that could speed up medical imaging without breaking the bank. The key ingredient? An engine lubricant called molybdenum disulfide, or MoS2, which has ...
Optics & Photonics
Aug 5, 2013
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Using a simple solar cell and a photo anode made of a metal oxide, HZB and TU Delft scientists have successfully stored nearly five percent of solar energy chemically in the form of hydrogen. This is a major feat as the ...
Materials Science
Jul 29, 2013
12
1
Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) have many advantages over their silicon-based counterparts. They offer transparency, low cost, and high power conversion efficiencies under cloudy and artificial light conditions. However, ...
Energy & Green Tech
Jul 10, 2013
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It may be possible soon to charge cell phones, change the tint on windows, or power small toys with peel-and-stick versions of solar cells, thanks to a partnership between Stanford University and the U.S. Department of Energy's ...
Energy & Green Tech
Apr 16, 2013
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