Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory August 18, 2021 On Aug. 8, 2021, an experiment at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s (LLNL’s) National Ignition Facility (NIF) made a significant step toward ignition, achieving an yield of more than 1.3 megajoules. This advancement puts researchers at the threshold of fusion ignition, an important goal of the NIF, and opens access to a new experimental regime. The experiment was enabled by focusing laser light onto a target that produces a hot-spot the diameter of a human hair, generating more than 10 quadrillion watts of fusion power for 100 trillionths of a second. While a full […]
Tag Archives: Energy
Woven nanotube fibers turn heat into power
Phys.org August 16, 2021 Invisibly small carbon nanotubes aligned as fibers and sewn into fabrics become a thermoelectric generator that can turn heat from the sun or other sources into energy. An international team of researchers (USA – Rice University, Japan) made custom nanotube fibers and test their potential for large-scale applications. They fabricated a textile thermoelectric generator based on these carbon nanotube fibers, which demonstrated high thermoelectric performance, weavability, and scalability. The power factor they observed make these fibers strong candidates for the emerging field of thermoelectric active cooling, which requires a large thermoelectric power factor and a large […]
A major challenge to harvesting fusion energy on Earth
Phys.org August 5, 2021 A key challenge to producing the fusion energy is preventing the runaway electrons that can bore holes in tokamaks. To see the electrons so that they can find ways to stop them before their population can grow into an avalanche an international team of researchers (USA – Princeton University, University of Wisconsin, Edgewood College, Japan, Switzerland) used a multi-energy pinhole camera which has the unique ability to record not only the properties of the plasma in time and space but its energy distribution as well. Use of the novel camera moves technology forward. Comparing their diagnosis […]
First 3D-printed proton-conductive membrane paves way for tailored energy storage devices
Phys.org April 15, 2021 Researchers in Japan chose mixtures of proton-conducting ionic liquids, inorganic silica nanoparticles, and UV-sensitive photocurable resins as inks for 3D printing of membranes. They found that the mixing ratio of the precursors enabled tuning of the viscosity of inks, and the inks with an appropriate mixing ratio could be applied for 3D printing. They confirmed that the inks can function as proton exchange membranes in all-solid-state electrochemical double-layer capacitors after curing by UV irradiation…read more. TECHNICAL ARTICLE
This hydrogen fuel machine could be the ultimate guide to self-improvement
Science Daily April 5, 2021 Development of an efficient and durable photoelectrode is important for the deployment of solar-fuel production. A team of researchers in the US (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, University of Michigan) has shown the photoelectrochemically self-improving behaviour of a silicon/gallium nitride photocathode for hydrogen production with efficiency approaching ~100%. Using correlative approach based on different spectroscopic and microscopic techniques, and density functional theory calculations, they provided a mechanistic understanding of the chemical transformation as the origin of the self-improving behaviour. A thin layer of gallium oxynitride forms on the side walls of the […]
Big breakthrough for ‘massless’ energy storage
Science Daily March 22, 2021 Stiff and strong batteries that use solid‐state electrolytes and resilient electrodes and separators are generally lacking. Researchers in Sweden have demonstrated a structural battery composite with unprecedented multifunctional performance featuring an energy density of 24 Wh kg−1 and an elastic modulus of 25 GPa and tensile strength exceeding 300 MPa. The structural battery is made from multifunctional constituents, where reinforcing carbon fibers (CFs) act as electrode and current collector. A structural electrolyte is used for load transfer and ion transport and a glass fiber fabric separates the CF electrode from an aluminum foil‐supported lithium–iron–phosphate positive electrode. The battery performs […]
New research could boost a solar-powered fuel made by splitting water
Science Daily March 10, 2021 Altering crystal facets exposed on the surface of photoelectrodes used for solar fuel production has been a major strategy for optimizing their properties. There are numerous ways to terminate the surface even for the same facet, which can considerably alter the photoelectrode properties. A team of researchers in the US (University of Wisconsin, University of Chicago, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Stony Brook University, Argonne National Laboratory) investigated using tightly integrated experimental and computational investigations of epitaxial BiVO4 photoelectrodes with vanadium- and bismuth-rich (010) facets. The study demonstrated that even for the same facet the surface Bi:V […]
On the road to invisible solar panels: How tomorrow’s windows will generate electricity
EurekAlert January 5, 2021 The transparent photovoltaic cell (TPC) is an invisible solar cell bypassing the visible range light while absorbing harmful UV light to generate electric power. An international team of researchers (South Korea, India, Viet Nam) fabricated the TPC using TiO2 as the n-type semiconductor to serve as the UV light absorber. Above TiO2 layer, p-type NiO is deposited for a high transmittance (>57%) for the visible light. The two different metal-oxide species are employed to make a transparent heterojunction. TPC is transparent to human eyes and which would serve as an invisible power source for the window […]
World’s First Ocean Hybrid Platform Converts Tidal Waves Into Energy
IEEE Spectrum October 28, 2020 The key players in this field were universities and startups until the recent entrance of bigger players. Now multinationals have interest in the sector. The floating platform built by a German company uses a combination of wave, wind, and solar energy to harness renewable energy on the open seas. To cope with the maritime environment, the company developed a product family consisting of electric machines, power electronics, and storage solutions. Their wind, wave, and photovoltaic platform is scalable in capacity and can be designed to generate 80 kilowatts to power small houses by the coast […]
Scientists Have Found a Molecule That Allows Bacteria to ‘Exhale’ Electricity
Science Alert September 27, 2020 At any given time, billions of the bacteria are buzzing with electricity beneath the seafloor. Using advanced microscopy techniques a team of researchers in the US (Yale University, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory) found that, stimulated by the electric field, the microbes assemble into dense biofilms, interlinked piles of hundreds of individual microbes, moving electrons through a single shared network. They found the “unique fingerprint” of each amino acid in the proteins that make up Geobacter’s signature nanowires. And when stimulated by an electric field, Geobacter produce a previously unknown kind of nanowire made of a […]