Novel yarns made with carbon nanotubes can generate electricity from mechanical energy better than any other material to date, a new study finds. The high-tech yarns, known as twistrons, can be sewn into clothes to produce electricity from human motion or deployed in the ocean to harvest energy from waves, researchers say. Electromagnetic generators, which […]
A wearable ultrasound imager for the heart that is roughly the size of a postage stamp, can be worn for up to 24 hours, and works even during exercise may one day help doctors spot cardiac problems that current medical technology might miss, a new study finds. Heart disease is the leading cause of death […]
Organic electronics appear to be, as the name might imply, quite good at interacting with a biological body and brain. Now scientists have created record-breaking, high-performance organic electronic devices using a potentially cheap, easy, and scalable approach that adopts a vertical architecture instead of a flat one, according to a new study. Modern electronics rely […]
Electric-vehicle batteries may help store renewable energy to help make it a practical reality for power grids, potentially meeting grid demands for energy storage by as early as 2030, a new study finds. Solar and wind power are the fastest growing sources of electricity, according to climate think tank Ember. However, the variable nature of […]
A powerful trillion-watt laser shot at the sky can generate lightning rods in the air that can guide lightning strikes to keep them from causing havoc, a new study finds. To date, the most common and effective form of protection against lightning is the lightning rod invented by Benjamin Franklin in 1752. These pointed electrically […]
Even simple robotic grippers can perform complex tasks—so long as it’s smart about using its environment as its handy aide. This, at least, is the finding of new research from Carnegie Mellon University’s Robotics Institute. In robotics, simple grippers are typically assigned straightforward tasks such as picking up objects and placing them somewhere. However, by […]
IBM’s Condor, the world’s first universal quantum computer with more than 1,000 qubits, is set to debut in 2023. The year is also expected to see IBM launch Heron, the first of a new flock of modular quantum processors that the company says may help it produce quantum computers with more than 4,000 qubits by […]
A battery-free electronic pill that can help doctors wirelessly analyze molecules generated during vital bodily chemical reactions in the gut has been demonstrated for the first time, say the researchers behind a new study. The team of engineers, from the University of California at San Diego (UCSD), detailed their findings online in the 1 December […]
Solid-state lithium-ion batteries promise to be more safe, lightweight, and compact than their conventional counterparts. However, metal spikes can grow inside them, leading to short-circuit breakdowns. Now a new study finds that applying pressure on these batteries may be a simple way to prevent such failures. Conventional batteries supply electricity via chemical reactions between two […]
“Electrically conductive Play-Doh” is how scientists describe new materials they can make like plastic but conduct like metal. It remains a mystery why they conduct electricity so well, since their doing so flies in the face of much of what is known about conductivity. Indeed, the stretchy conductor’s surprising capabilities may open up new directions […]