Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the solar system. As a source of clean energy, hydrogen is well-suited for sustainable development, and Earth is a natural hydrogen factory. However, most hydrogen vents reported to date are small, and the geological processes responsible for hydrogen formation—as well as the quantities that can be preserved in geological settings—remain unclear.
Researchers Shinjiro Takano, Yuya Hamasaki, and Tatsuya Tsukuda of the University of Tokyo have successfully visualized the geometric structure of growing gold nanoclusters in their earliest stages. During this process, they also successfully grew a novel structure of elongated nanoclusters, which they named gold quantum needles.
Researchers at the University of Missouri are working to make hydrogen energy as safe as possible. As more countries and industries invest heavily in cleaner, renewable energy, hydrogen-powered factories and vehicles are gaining in popularity. But hydrogen fuel comes with risks—leaks can lead to explosions, accidents and environmental harm. Most hydrogen-detecting sensors on the market are expensive, can’t operate continuously and aren’t sensitive enough to detect tiny leaks quickly.
UK photonics researchers have developed a new kind of hollow-core optical fibre that can transmit light signals about 45% further than current telecom fibres before needing a boost.
The scientists from Microsoft Azure Fiber and the University of Southampton have called this a “breakthrough result” which paves the way for a potential revolution in optical communications.
With further advancements, the new fibre could enable more energy-efficient optical networks with unprecedented data transmission capacities.
A team led by scientists from Peking University has developed a rubber-like material that converts body heat into electricity. This advance could allow the next generation of wearable electronics to generate their own power continuously without the need for bulky batteries or constant recharging.
“Our thermoelectric elastomers combine skin-like elasticity with high energy conversion efficiency, paving the way for next-generation self-powered wearables,” the team said.
Despite the modern world relying heavily on digital optical communication, there has not been a significant improvement in the minimum attenuation—a measure of the loss of optical power per kilometer traveled—of optical fibers in around 40 years. Decreasing this loss would mean that the signal could travel further without being amplified, leading to more data being transmitted over longer distances, faster internet and more efficient networks.
Current fibers transmit light through silica cores, which have limited room for loss improvement. Another option is the hollow-core fiber (HCF), which theoretically allows for faster speeds due to the ability of light to travel faster through air than through silica. Still, scientists struggled to design HCFs that actually performed better than silica-based cables. In most cases, the attenuation was worse or the design was impractical.
But now, researchers from the University of Southampton and Microsoft claim to have made a breakthrough in HCF design in a recently published study in Nature Photonics. The new fiber achieves a record low loss of 0.091 dB/km at 1,550 nm, compared to a 0.14 dB/km minimum loss for silica-based fibers. The new design maintains low losses of around 0.2 dB/km over a 66 THz bandwidth and boasts 45% faster transmission speeds.
Everyday occurrences like snapping hair clips or clicking retractable pens feature a mechanical phenomenon known as “snap-through.” Small insects and plants like the Venus flytrap cleverly use this snap-through effect to amplify their limited physical force, rapidly releasing stored elastic energy for swift, powerful movements.
Inspired by this natural mechanism, researchers from Hanyang University have developed a polymer-based jumper capable of both vertical and directional leaps, triggered simply by uniform ultraviolet (UV) light irradiation.
Published in Science Advances, this study tackles a classic engineering dilemma: how to make soft materials produce strong, rapid motions.
A research team affiliated with UNIST has unveiled a novel technology that enables hydrogen to be stored within polystyrene-derived materials, particularly those originating from Styrofoam. The research is published in the journal ACS Catalysis.
This advancement not only offers a solution to the low recycling rate of polystyrene —less than 1%—but also makes hydrogen storage and transportation more practical and accessible, addressing the challenges associated with handling gaseous hydrogen.
Led by Professor Kwangjin An from the School of Energy and Chemical Engineering at UNIST, in collaboration with Dr. Hyuntae Sohn from KIST and Professor Jeehoon Han from POSTECH, the team successfully designed a comprehensive, closed-loop system to convert waste polystyrene into a liquid organic hydrogen carrier (LOHC). This innovative process enables efficient hydrogen storage, retrieval, and reuse.
China’s.
Discover how nanotubes can revolutionize insulation in aerospace and energy sectors by resisting over 4,700°F.