Top Stories

Thermopower waves draw big power from tiny wires

Carbon nanotubes with a special coating of reactive fuel can, when ignited, create a thermal wave that not only spreads quickly but also pushes electrons along the tube, creating a substantial electric current. The energy created by MIT engineers far exceeds that predicted by thermoelectric calculations.

Lending a helping hand

Transforming polyethylene into heat-conducting material

Thermopower waves draw big power from tiny wires

Blogs

more

Lunar tires, space MRSA, and resonating microfluidics

Lunar tires, space MRSA, and resonating microfluidics

I typically attend the annual Pittsburgh Conference on Analytical Chemistry and Applied Spectroscopy each year in pursuit of specific coverage. This year, I sought out candidates for coverage in a vacuum technology article, and pulled together some instruments for a spectroscopy guide. But as busy as that kept me, it wasn’t all mass spectrometers and vacuum pumps on the show floor.  

The Next Best Thing?

The Next Best Thing?

There is no doubt that developing and launching a new product is a challenge. Over the past 47 years, the R&D 100 awards have recognized the 100 most technologically significant new consumer, industrial, medical, and technical products, including multiple technologies (besides accelerator pedals) from Toyota.

Editor's Picks

more

High-speed pipeline revs up biomass analysis

High-speed pipeline revs up biomass analysis

Researchers at the National Renewable Energy Lab are analyzing 1,000 samples of biomass at a time, finding which one, combined with the right enzyme, most eagerly gives up its sugars to be converted into biofuel. Their work is part of an effort to meet federal regulations that require the U.S. produce 36 billion gallons of biofuel by 2022.

Evidence: Snowball Earth was iced to the equator

Evidence: Snowball Earth was iced to the equator

Ancient tropical rocks that now reside in the remote northern reaches of Canada tell the tale: about 716.5 million years ago the Earth lay bound in a layer of ice that limited life to eukaryotes. Strangely, this glaciation—history’s most extensive at 5 million years, say researchers at NSF and Harvard—occurred at about the same time that animals appear in the fossil record.

Advertisement

Advertisement

This Week's Poll

The DOE's renewable energy lab in Colorado recently reported that it is possible to supply up to 20% of Eastern U.S. energy needs by wind power by 2024. Is this a feasible goal?