Tag: physics
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Clinical Eye Testing Simulation Software Developed
Physicists at University of Tennessee Space Institute in Tullahoma developed a computer model to simulate human eye behavior for testing potential eye treatments. The system written by space institute physics faculty member Ying-Ling Chen (pictured left) aims to improve the efficiency and reduce the time needed by clinical trials involving human eyes. Clinical trials of…
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Nanotech Solution Could Block Laser Beams from Aircraft
Researchers at University of Central Florida in Orlando and Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh created a new material based on nanotechnology that could keep lasers from affecting aircraft pilots and sensitive equipment. Optical science professor Jayan Thomas of Central Florida’s NanoScience Technology Center (pictured right) led the team, which published its findings last month in…
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Power Cell Converts and Stores Energy in Single Unit
Researchers at Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta developed a single device that converts mechanical energy directly into chemical energy, and stores the power until released as an electrical current. The Georgia Tech team led by materials scientist and engineer Zhong Lin Wang (pictured right) published its findings earlier this month in the journal Nano…
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Propulsion Systems Created for Micro Space Satellites
A research group at Massachusetts Institute of Technology developed propulsion systems for miniature space satellites that can help prevent these research devices becoming harmful space clutter. Aeronautics and astronautics professor Paulo Lozano and colleagues from MIT’s Space Propulsion Lab discussed their work at the recent Joint Propulsion Conference of the American Institute of Aeronautics and…
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Imaging Technology Devised to Identify Infection Response
Researchers at Vanderbilt University in Nashville developed techniques using current imaging technologies to generate a three-dimensional view of the body’s response to infection. The findings of the team led by pathologist Eric Skaar (pictured right) appear in a recent issue of the journal Cell Host and Microbe; paid subscription required. The Vanderbilt team combines magnetic…
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NASA Awards Contracts for Commercial Human Space Flights
NASA signed new agreements today with three American companies to design and develop the next round of U.S. human space flights, succeeding the Space Shuttle and leading to a launch of astronauts from U.S. soil in the next five years. The agreements, which call for a base development period of 21 months, were made through…
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University, Company Boost LC Projector Energy Efficiency
Engineers at North Carolina State University and ImagineOptix Corporation, both in Raleigh, have created a technology to convert unpolarized light into polarized light, making liquid crystal (LC) projectors — the kind often used in classrooms and conferences — almost twice as energy efficient. Their research appeared last week in the journal Applied Optics (paid subscription…
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Robotic Legs Developed with Human Walking Motion
Engineers at University of Arizona in Tucson have developed a robotic pair of legs with a biologically accurate walking motion. Theresa Klein (pictured right) and Anthony Lewis at Arizona’s Robotics and Neural Systems Laboratory published the results of their work this week in the Journal of Neural Engineering. The researchers say the robotic legs have…
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Lab Seeking Commercial Partners for Detection Technology
Sandia National Laboratory in Livermore, California is developing a new process that the lab says can make radiation detection in cargo and baggage more effective and less costly. Sandia lab is seeking partners to commercialize the new technology. The process, known as spectral shape discrimination, makes use of a new type of nanomaterials called metal-organic…
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Nanotube Paint Developed to Reveal Structural Strains
Engineers, chemists, and physicists at Rice University and University of Houston in Texas have developed a paint with carbon nanotubes and fluorescent properties that can reveal structural strains in bridges and airplanes. The Rice/Houston team describes its work online in the journal Nano Letters (paid subscription required). The new material developed by the team led…