Since the development of the transistor in 1947, the semiconductor industry has been working to rapidly and continuously improve performance and processing speeds of computer chips. Following Gordon Moore’s iconic law—stating that transistor density would double every two years—the semiconducting silicon chip has propelled technology through a wave of electronic transformation. Next Electronics Revolution But all good things must come to an end. The process of packing silicon transistors onto computer chips is reaching its physical limits. However, IBM researchers…
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The 2015 MacArthur Foundation geniuses have just been revealed, with seven prolific scientists receiving the prestigious title. Of those scientists, inorganic chemist Peidong Yang was named as one of this year’s geniuses for his pioneering work in nanomaterials science. His work is not only transformative for the science of semiconductor nanowires and nanowire photonics, it is also opening new paths for clean, renewable energy. His research has led to innovative commercial productions for the conversion of waste heat to electricity,…
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Even after the release of the highly anticipated iPhone 6s, Apple remains in the spotlight with the announcement of the company’s potential electric car. Apple’s entrance into the electric car race puts them up against competitors such as Tesla and Google. The company aims to follow a Tesla path rather than Google—delivering cars directly to the consumers rather than selling the technology to established automobile manufactures. It is expected that the first iCar (presumed name) will hit the market by…
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Martin Winter of the Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster will be awarded the 2015 Carl Wagner Memorial Award for his outstanding scientific work in fundamental or applied electrochemical science and technology. Martin Winter has focused on R&D of new materials, components and cell designs for batteries and supercapacitors—in particular for lithium-ion batteries—for nearly 25 years. Currently, he holds a Chair for Applied Materials Science for Electrochemical Energy Storage and Conversion at the Institute of Physical Chemistry at Münster University, Germany. Aside from…
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There are more than 250 million cars and trucks on U.S. roads. From these vehicles, roughly 135 billion gallons of gasoline are consumed each year in the United States. In fact, 28 percent of energy used in the country is in the transportation sector. While many may think that the majority of this consumption would come from planes or trains, personal cars and trucks actually consume 60 percent of all energy used here. Unfortunately, most of that energy is lost…
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The development to the first colorful, flexible, skin-like display is taking wearable electronics to a whole new level. Researchers from the University of Central Florida’s NanoScience Technology Centre have created a digital “skin” that can cloak wearers in realistic images. This new technology could be applied to concepts as simple as outfit changes, or more serious matters like replacing camouflage for members of the military. The research was led by Professor Debashis Chanda, who took inspiration for this development from…
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The sun produces an astronomical amount of energy each day, but scientists and engineers are still trying to better understand how to convert that energy into an efficient, usable form. Recently, work in photovoltaics deals with utilizing different materials, new arrangements of cell components, and interdisciplinary work to improve efficiently levels. However, a new and exciting area of photovoltaics is now rising in the ranks: turning sunlight into liquid fuels. With this new development on the rise, the possibility of…
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Stanford University researchers have developed a new “designer carbon” that can be fine-tuned for a variety of applications, including energy storage and water filters. The newly developed carbon material has shown that it can significantly improve the power delivery rate of supercapacitors and boost the performance of energy storage technologies. “We have developed a ‘designer carbon’ that is both versatile and controllable,” said Zhenan Bao, past member of ECS and the senior author of the study. “Our study shows that…
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A revolutionary system with the potential to affect global energy harvesting has recently been developed by a company called Plant-e. The system generates electricity from water-logged plants such as rice grown in patty fields to collect and distribute energy to all areas, even desolate villages. “It’s based on the principle that plants produce more energy than they need,” said Marjolein Helder, co-founder of Plant-e. “The advantage of this system over wind or solar is that it also works at night…
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LIVE WEBCAST: April 30th at 5:00pm Find out more and register today! Flow Batteries for Grid-Scale Energy Storage Large-scale energy storage is required to meet a multitude of current energy challenges. These challenges include modernizing the grid, incorporating intermittent renewable energy sources (so as to dispatch continuous electrical energy), improving the efficiency of electricity transmission and distribution, and providing flexibility of storage independent of geographical and geological location. Read more. How to Publish in ECS Journals ECS publications span the…
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