Corsair Carbide Air 540 Review
A closer look at the Corsair Carbide Air540.
Read More ...
Beginning to Unify Theories of Exotic Superconductivity
They say 'two heads are better than one' and it turns out to be true for electrons as well, as electrons pairing up in certain materials allows them to travel without resistance. These pairings are what lead to superconductivity, but with so many different kinds of high temperature superconductors that behave so differently, the question is what mechanics are common to them all? Researchers at Brookhaven National Laboratory and the University of California, Berkeley believe they are on their way to identifying and explaining that commonality.
Ferromagnetism occurs when the spins of electrons within a material all align and add together to create a large magnetic field. Antiferromagnetism however has some of the electrons aligned in the opposite direction, subtracting from the sum. Some researchers have proposed that it is antiferromagnetic interactions that lead to superconductivity, but this has been difficult to prove because of the number of complicating, intertwined electronic phases that may emerge in a high temperature superconductor. Now these researchers appear to have found a model that describes how these intertwined phases and superconductivity arise from the antiferromagnetic interactions, by considering how antiferromagnetism interacts with the arrangements free electrons can move in, on a conductor.
If accurate, this theory could lead to a much better understanding of high temperature superconductors, and potentially the ability to design such materials. For now though, the theory has to be tested by applying it to newly discovered materials.
Source: Brookhaven National Laboratory
Read More ...
Light Used for Wireless Data Transmission
Researchers at the Fudan University in Shanghai have demonstrated the latest technology they are working on, using light to transmit wireless data instead of radio waves. As the use of Wi-Fi becomes more widespread this research could provide breakthroughs in wireless data as it "gets around the congestion issue and could be 10 times faster than traditional Wi-Fi." By using a very common household item, the light bulb, data can be transferred at higher frequencies and without any special equipment. A technology standard, Li-Fi, has been proposed and works by first sending data to a LED light bulb and then flickering it up to billions of times per second. The flickering is then decoded by another computer using a camera that captures the light flicker. You might have guessed the limitation of this technology, the computers need to be able to see the light bulb to interpret the flickering. It will be interesting to see if this research can be developed to the point where it becomes useful over a wider range.
Source: Mashable
Read More ...
Narrowing Gap to Artificial Photosynthesis
One of the greatest scientists ever is Nature itself, as it has been routinely tweaking processes and materials to arrive at optimal states. In many cases, humanity has tried to replicate Nature's work, but generally, Nature is still superior. One example of this is photosynthesis, which has been proving difficult to replicate, but researchers at Boston College have made an important discovery.
Photosynthesis is a process that allows an organism to use the energy of sunlight to produce oxygen gas or organic molecules. The goal for artificial photosynthesis is to create a system to absorb and store the absorbed energy in chemical bonds. The catch is that the voltages needed to initiate the electrochemical reactions are too high for the system to be efficient, without using prohibitively expensive materials. The Boston researchers though have successfully created a photoanode that has cut this energy requirement in half, to 0.6 volts, which is just two-tenths above the necessary voltage.
Naturally more work has to be done, to reduce the energy requirement further as well as to produce a comparable photocathode. Currently the Boston researchers are considering partnering with other teams, that have had success in the field, and perhaps close the gap sooner.
Source: Boston College via EurekAlert!
Read More ...
Available Tags:Wireless ,
No comments:
Post a Comment