Tag: physical sciences
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Nanotech Compound Helps Convert Waste Heat Into Electricity
Researchers at Northwestern University have placed nanocrystals of rock salt into lead telluride, a compound of lead and tellurium, creating a material that can harness electricity from heat-generating items more efficiently than has been reported in the past. The results of the study are published by the journal Nature Chemistry (paid subscription required). The new…
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University, Start Up Develop Anti-Counterfeit Technology
A student at Simon Fraser University (SFU) in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada researched a new method based on nanotechnology for stopping counterfeiters, which has led to the founding of a new company to develop the product. Nanotechnology uses materials at nanometer scale, with one nanometer equal to one billionth of a meter. Clint Landrock, an…
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Greener Process Developed for Producing Industrial Chemical
A U.S.-U.K. chemistry and engineering team has developed a more environmentally friendly process for producing benzyl benzoate, a common chemical found in food additives, insecticides, fragrances, and used in other industrial chemical processes. The research was partially funded by the Dow Chemical Company and the findings are published in this week’s issue of the journal…
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Biofuel Developer to Build Commercial-Scale Ethanol Plant
Mascoma Corporation, a biofuels company in Lebanon, New Hampshire, said today it has secured financing to build a commercial-scale refinery to produce wood-based cellulosic ethanol. The company says the plant, located in Kinross Charter Township, Michigan, will be one of the first of its kind. Mascoma Corporation was founded by Lee Lynd and Charles Wyman,…
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New Math Tools Developed to Monitor Power Grid
University and company engineers have developed new mathematical tools for monitoring and measuring electrical power grid performance. The team that developed the tools — from North Carolina State University in Raleigh, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, and Southern California Edison in Los Angeles — published their results in the online issue of IEEE…
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U.K. University Hosts Environmental Tech Training Center
The University of Leicester in the U.K. will soon launch a new €3.5 million ($4.54 million) research center to train environmental researchers in using current satellite technologies. The new European Centre of Excellence in Earth Observation Research Training or GIONET is set to begin on 18 January 2011. The center plans to train 14 researchers…
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Enviro. Engineer Recalibrates Solar Panel Placement
An environmental engineer at University of California San Diego (UCSD) has researched the optimum placement of fixed solar panels in the U.S., and for some installations, it may mean making adjustments. UCSD environmental engineering professor Jan Kleissl computed the optimum tilt and azimuth angles for photovoltaic solar panels in the continental U.S., with his findings…
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National Lab, University Develop Tougher, Stronger Glass
A group of engineering and materials scientists have developed a new type of damage-tolerant metallic glass, demonstrating a strength and toughness that they say goes beyond that of any known material. The team had members from California Institute of Technology in Pasadena and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, California.…
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Univ. Engineers Develop New Sewage Treatment Device
Research engineers at University of Utah in Salt Lake City have developed and commercialized an alternative device to help growing communities deal with sewage treatment. The device, known as Poo-Gloos because of their igloo-like shape (pictured right), supplement wastewater lagoons often used for sewage treatment, particularly in small, rural towns. Kraig Johnson and research colleagues…
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Univ. Developing Plastic That Tells When Food Goes Bad
Chemists at University of Strathclyde in the U.K. are developing a new form of food packaging that tells consumers when the contents have started to spoil. The university received a £325,000 ($502,500) grant from the Scottish Enterprise Proof of Concept Programme to support the project. The problem of food spoilage is important to both consumers…