Electronic textile makes for touchscreen curtains or clothes

Textiles have been getting smarter for years, but they’re usually fairly limited in size and scope. Now a team of scientists led by Cambridge has woven together a 46-inch textile display, loaded with LEDs, sensors and energy storage, which can be made … Continue reading Electronic textile makes for touchscreen curtains or clothes

Touchscreen tech swaps rare metal for graphene, with no performance drop

Indium is one of the rarest metals on Earth, but it’s a key ingredient in ubiquitous electronic devices. Engineers have now demonstrated a way to swap indium for graphene, to make devices with the exact same electronic properties.Continue ReadingCatego… Continue reading Touchscreen tech swaps rare metal for graphene, with no performance drop

“Electron family” state of matter hints at new type of superconductivity

Superconductivity occurs when electrons in a metal pair up and move through the material without resistance. But there may be more to the story than we thought, as scientists in Germany have now discovered that electrons can also group together into fa… Continue reading “Electron family” state of matter hints at new type of superconductivity

Flash-heating efficiently recycles precious metals from e-waste

Electronic waste (or e-waste) is not only a major pollutant in landfill, but huge amounts of useful resources are being thrown away. Engineers at Rice University have now shown that precious metals and rare earth minerals can be recovered by flash-heat… Continue reading Flash-heating efficiently recycles precious metals from e-waste

Twisted material conducts and insulates heat at the same time

Managing heat is a major challenge in electronics and engineering, and it’s controlled using materials that either conduct or insulate heat. A new material blurs that line by blocking heat in one direction but conducting it in another.Continue ReadingC… Continue reading Twisted material conducts and insulates heat at the same time

Helicopter-shaped microchip is smallest flying structure ever built

Engineers at Northwestern University have given microchips a new ability – the power of flight. Inspired by wind-dispersed seeds, these “microfliers” are shaped like tiny propellers to catch the wind, and may be the smallest flying structures ever made… Continue reading Helicopter-shaped microchip is smallest flying structure ever built

Wireless charging room takes plugs out of the picture

Plugging a phone in at night could one day seem quaint – eventually widespread wireless charging could keep our devices juiced up indefinitely. A new breakthrough has been made in that direction, as researchers in Japan have developed a system that can… Continue reading Wireless charging room takes plugs out of the picture

Dust-sized supercapacitor packs the same voltage as a AAA battery

An array of 90 tubular biosupercapacitors

By combining miniaturized electronics with some origami-inspired fabrication, scientists in Germany have developed what they say is the smallest microsupercapacitor in existence. Smaller than a speck of a dust but with a similar voltage to a AAA battery, the groundbreaking energy storage device is not only safe for use in the human body, but actually makes use of key ingredients in the blood to supercharge its performance.

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Continue reading Dust-sized supercapacitor packs the same voltage as a AAA battery

Graphene foam “thermal switch” keeps batteries warm or cool on demand

Electronics, and batteries in particular, are vulnerable to very high or very low temperatures, but a new thermal switch could help deal with both. It’s made from (what else) graphene foam that can dynamically trap heat when it’s cold out, or allow hea… Continue reading Graphene foam “thermal switch” keeps batteries warm or cool on demand