Removing carbon dioxide directly from the air can be expensive, and it requires setups with large land and energy footprints. Now researchers propose a portable, practical solution that relies on retrofitted train cars that capture and store carbon dioxide as they shuttle around on their normal routes. The concept, outlined in a paper published in […]
A new lithium-ion battery works at frigid temperatures of -40 °C all the way to a scorching high of 50 °C. With a cathode made of sulfur, the new lithium-sulfur battery could also pack more energy than is possible with today’s chemistries. The batteries could increase the driving range of EVs in cold climates. They […]
To fulfill the vision of EVs that travel a thousand miles or phones that run for days on a single charge, most battery developers are racing to make batteries that can pack twice the energy in the same weight. Not startup Tyfast, which is “approaching next-generation battery development in a counter-current direction,” says GJ la […]
Blood pressure measurement hasn’t changed much since the invention of the inflatable cuff-based sphygmomanometer in 1881. People can use the device to give readings a few times a day, but that’s not enough to give a holistic view of cardiovascular health. New electronic tattoos made of graphene continuously read blood pressure for days. The ultrathin, […]
Since graphene’s discovery 18 years ago—leading to a Nobel Prize in Physics in 2010—the versatile material has been investigated for hundreds of applications. These include strong composite materials, high-capacity battery electrodes, transparent conductive coatings for displays and solar cells, supersmall and ultrafast transistors, and printable electronics. While graphene is finding its way into sports equipment […]
There are millions of elevators around the world. And they spend a significant amount of time sitting idle. Engineers in Austria now propose using those empty elevators in high-rise buildings as a way to store excess wind and solar energy. This inventive concept for gravity-based energy storage would require empty spaces at the top and […]
In the latest push for nuclear power in space, the Pentagon’s Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) awarded a contract in May to Seattle-based Ultra Safe Nuclear to advance its nuclear power and propulsion concepts. The company is making a soccer ball–size radioisotope battery it calls EmberCore. The DIU’s goal is to launch the technology into space […]
Stretching across the northern coasts of Oman and the United Arab Emirates loom the vast jagged peaks of the Al Hajar mountains. The craggy outcrops are made mostly of a rock called peridotite, which absorbs carbon dioxide from the air and turns it into solid minerals. The mountains could store trillions of tonnes of human-made […]
Pacemakers, implantable insulin pumps, neural implants, and other in vivo medical devices all need a way to send their data to the outside world. But ways to do that wirelessly, which would be more comfortable for patients, lend themselves to security risks, biocompatibility issues, and high power consumption. Researchers have now tapped into the charge […]
By taking advantage of the temperature difference between a solar panel and ambient air, engineers have made solar cells that can produce electricity at night. Compared to the 100 to 200 watts per square meter that solar cells produce when the sun is shining, the nighttime production is a trickle at 50 mW/m2. “But it […]