As thousands of vacationers hit the beach this summer, many of them will expose their unprotected bare limbs to direct UV sunlight, potentially putting them at risk of skin cancer later in life. To fight back, scientists ...
Analytical Chemistry
Aug 5, 2014
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Soiling—the accumulation of dust and sand—on solar power reflectors and photovoltaic cells is one of the main efficiency drags for solar power plants, capable of reducing reflectivity up to 50 percent in 14 days. Though ...
Energy & Green Tech
Jan 30, 2014
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(Phys.org) —When a major wildfire destroys a large forested area in the seasonal snow zone, snow tends to accumulate at a greater level in the burned area than in adjacent forests. But a new study found that the snowpack ...
Earth Sciences
Sep 18, 2013
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(Phys.org) —Live in a large city like New York, London, Beijing or Mumbai, and you are likely exposed to more air pollution than people in smaller cities in surrounding areas. But exactly how a city's pollution relates ...
Environment
Aug 19, 2013
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(Phys.org) —Quasars are active black holes—primarily from the early universe. Using a special method where you observe light that has been bent by gravity on its way through the universe, a group of physics students from ...
Astronomy
Aug 7, 2013
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The use of plasmonic black metals could someday provide a pathway to more efficient photovoltaics (PV) —- the use of solar panels containing photovoltaic solar cells —- to improve solar energy harvesting, according to ...
Optics & Photonics
Jul 30, 2013
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Hydrogen is deceptively simple. It has only a single electron per atom, but it powers the sun and forms the majority of the observed universe. As such, it is naturally exposed to the entire range of pressures and temperatures ...
Condensed Matter
Jul 29, 2013
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From the vantage point of the International Space Station, astronauts frequently observe atmospheric and surface phenomena in ways that are impossible to view from the ground. Two such phenomena—gravity waves and sunglint—are ...
Earth Sciences
Jul 23, 2013
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(Phys.org) —The Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Lab has announced a world record of 31.1% conversion efficiency for a two-junction solar cell under one sun of illumination.
Energy & Green Tech
Jun 25, 2013
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Humans' closest animal relatives, chimpanzees, have the ability to "think about thinking" – what is called "metacognition," according to new research by scientists at Georgia State University and the University at Buffalo.
Plants & Animals
Apr 3, 2013
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