Designer glue improves lithium-ion battery life

(Phys.org) —When it comes to improving the performance of lithium-ion batteries, no part should be overlooked – not even the glue that binds materials together in the cathode, researchers at SLAC and Stanford have found.

Electric fishes spark safer power line technology

Melbourne researchers have invented and patented a way of detecting and locating potential electrical faults along large stretches of power line before they occur.

Unzipped nanotubes unlock potential for batteries

(Phys.org) —Researchers at Rice University have come up with a new way to boost the efficiency of the ubiquitous lithium ion (LI) battery by employing ribbons of graphene that start as carbon nanotubes.

Lightning detected from space can indicate thundercloud height

High within towering thunderclouds, a distinct form of intracloud lightning, known as "narrow bipolar pulse" discharges, can occur. Like other forms of lightning, narrow bipolar events (NBE) can be either negative or positive ...

Plasma screens enhanced as disorder strikes

A new study improves our understanding of plasma sources, a state of matter similar to gas in which a certain portion of the particles are ionised and which are used for example in plasma display panels. These results revealed ...

Methane on Mars may be result of electrification of dust-devils

Methane on Mars has long perplexed scientists; the short-lived gas has been measured in surprising quantities in Mars' atmosphere over several seasons, sometimes in fairly large plumes. Scientists have taken this to be evidence ...

Toughened silicon sponges may make tenacious batteries

(Phys.org) -- Researchers at Rice University and Lockheed Martin reported this month that they've found a way to make multiple high-performance anodes from a single silicon wafer. The process uses simple silicon to replace ...

New nanostructure for batteries keeps going and going

(Phys.org) -- For more than a decade, scientists have tried to improve lithium-based batteries by replacing the graphite in one terminal with silicon, which can store 10 times more charge. But after just a few charge/discharge ...

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