Vortex pinning could lead to superconducting breakthroughs

A team of researchers from Russia, Spain, Belgium, the U.K. and the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory announced findings last week that may represent a breakthrough in applications of superconductivity.

'Nanocable' could be big boon for energy storage

Thanks to a little serendipity, researchers at Rice University have created a tiny coaxial cable that is about a thousand times smaller than a human hair and has higher capacitance than previously reported microcapacitors.

"Better" copper means higher-efficiency electric motors

Researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) have increased the conductivity of copper wire by about five percent. That may seem like a small amount but it can make a big difference in motor efficiency. Higher ...

Will raindrops stick to a spider web's threads?

If you go out after a rain, you may notice spider webs glistening with water droplets. The soggy webs resemble human-made meshes for fog collection: They both have thin fibers that collect water from droplets in the air.

Hybrid nanowires eyed for computers, flexible displays

A new process for coating copper nanowires with graphene - an ultrathin layer of carbon – lowers resistance and heating, suggesting potential applications in computer chips and flexible displays.

Photonic communication comes to computer chips

With novel optoelectronic chips and a new partnership with a top silicon-chip manufacturer, MIT spinout Ayar Labs aims to increase speed and reduce energy consumption in computing, starting with data centers.

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