Purdue University researchers developed a novel turbomachine expander to harvest wasted energy in vapor-compression heat pump cycles. The device offers more efficient and safer cooling options for companies and vehicles.
High-performance electric propellants have a higher enthalpy due to internal energy storage, which affects efficiency. The study predicts the material's conductivity and ionization at extreme temperatures.
Researchers at University of Michigan developed nanoscale thermal switches that can control the flow of heat at the nanoscale. This discovery has the potential to revolutionize thermal management in devices such as transistors and diodes.
A University of Tsukuba-led research team created a thermocell with a material exhibiting temperature-induced phase transition, boosting output voltage from tens of millivolts to around 120 mV. This design enables efficient energy harvesting from waste heat to power small electronics sustainably.
Researchers at EPFL have developed a novel formulation that describes how heat spreads within crystalline materials. This breakthrough will help engineers design next-generation electronic devices by explaining hydrodynamic phenomena, which are prevalent in materials like graphite and graphene.
The system uses multiple layers of flat solar evaporators and condensers to harness sunlight and produce fresh potable water. It achieves an overall efficiency of 385 percent, surpassing previous records by two times.
Researchers identified a key driver of heat-seeking behavior in Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes, a primary vector of malaria transmission, by repurposing an ancestral thermoreceptor. Blocking this receptor significantly reduced the ability of female mosquitoes to find blood sources.
Researchers at North Carolina State University have demonstrated a flexible device that harvests body heat energy to monitor health and power wearable technologies, surpassing previous flexible harvesters in efficiency. The device uses a novel elastomer material with high thermal conductivity to improve performance.
Researchers at MARVEL have generalized Fourier's heat equation, explaining hydrodynamic heat propagation in materials. The new formulation yields results that agree with experimental results on graphite and predicts the possibility of observing hydrodynamic heat transfer in diamond at room temperature.
Researchers have developed a coating that releases water vapor to dissipate heat from running devices, outperforming existing strategies in cooling efficiency. The coating uses metal organic frameworks (MOFs) and can absorb moisture from the air, providing effective cooling and quick recovery.
Researchers create a novel material with different thermal conduction properties depending on direction, combining the benefits of insulation and heat dissipation. The material's unique structure allows for efficient transfer of heat within layers while blocking it perpendicular to the layers.
Researchers at Iowa State University have created liquid metal alloys that can change their surface structure in response to heat, allowing for the development of 'smart' alloy systems. This technology could inspire design of tunable surface patterns and their composition with temperature for applications such as sensing and catalysis.
Researchers found that greater lead occurrence is associated with fewer low-level clouds during winter in the Arctic. The study revealed that rapidly freezing leads can shut off moisture supply and accelerate sea ice freezing.
Researchers at Osaka University have developed a new method for generating nuclear fusion power using ultra-intense laser light, which improves upon current 'fast ignition' methods. This approach shows promise for achieving consistent nuclear fusion and potentially cheaper and emission-free energy production.
Researchers at KAUST have developed a stretchy and self-healing thermoelectric material that can generate electricity using body heat. The material has been shown to be robust enough to withstand daily stress and strain, making it a promising candidate for powering wearable technologies.
Researchers created a polymer thermal regulator that can switch between conducting and insulating states, allowing for precise control of heat flow. This breakthrough enables potential applications in fields such as refrigeration, computing, and waste heat scavenging.
Researchers developed a high-power thermoelectric device using aligned metallic carbon nanotubes, outperforming semiconducting counterparts. The breakthrough enables efficient conversion of waste heat into electricity.
Researchers from McGill University and the University of California, Davis, discovered that puffin beaks can drop by 5°C within 30 minutes of landing, suggesting an evolutionary trait to cool down during flight. This study suggests that large bills may have evolved to help birds dissipate heat from energetically demanding activities.
Brazilian researchers have reinterpreted the second law of thermodynamics by introducing statistical fluctuations, revealing that entropy can sometimes decrease. This study has practical interest for nanoscale machines and establishes a floor for fluctuations in thermodynamic quantities.
Researchers at the University of Houston have developed a new hybrid device that can capture and store solar energy, offering promise for applications from power generation to distillation and desalination. The device achieves high efficiency harvesting and storage, with up to 90% efficiency and 80% recovered energy at night.
Researchers tested heat tolerance in 5 aphid species against their endosymbionts' sensitivity to heat. Heat exposure reduced survival and reproduction in some species, while enhancing fecundity in others.
The new invention can efficiently convert low-grade heat to electricity, reducing greenhouse gas emission and cutting primary energy wastage. The Direct Thermal Charging Cell (DTCC) boasts a conversion efficiency of over 3.5%, surpassing existing technologies.
Scientists have found a way to harness excess energy from photons that are too energetic for materials to absorb, potentially increasing the efficiency of solar panels. By combining a perovskite with an acceptor material, hot electrons can be readily absorbed, even without slowing down their loss of energy.
Using waste heat helps reduce the cost of producing hydrogen, a key step towards cleaner energy. Researchers developed an approach that uses low-grade waste heat to produce hydrogen, with potential for lower production costs and increased efficiency.
Scientists at Vienna University of Technology have developed a new thermoelectric material with a ZT value of 5 to 6, generating electrical current very efficiently from temperature differences. This enables sensors and small processors to supply themselves with energy wirelessly.
Visualizing heat flow in bamboo reveals its natural structure and thermal properties, enabling the development of sustainable and energy-efficient buildings. The study aims to reduce carbon emissions by using renewable materials like bamboo, which can help mitigate climate change.
Researchers developed new techniques to measure heat tolerance in quinoa, a health food rich in essential amino acids. The method uses spectral reflectance indices to assess plant growth under high temperatures, providing insights into grain production and paving the way for breeding more resilient varieties.
Drexel researchers developed a computational platform that can quickly produce designs for 3D printing carbon-fiber composite materials with an internal vasculature optimized for active-cooling. Microvascular composites offer many advantages over existing liquid and air-cooling systems, including being much lighter and durable.
Researchers have developed porous polymer coatings that can reversibly switch their optical transmittance in solar and thermal wavelengths, enabling dynamic control of light and heat in buildings. The coatings can regulate indoor temperatures and light levels, making them suitable for heating, cooling, and lighting applications.
Researchers analyzed data from Galileo's 1995 fireball and found the recession rate exceeded predictions, highlighting issues with current heat shield models. New fluid dynamics models using faster computers and data from the probe have led to a better understanding of atmospheric entry vehicles.
Physicists at the University of Basel have experimentally verified that the heat generated through friction in topological insulators can be significantly reduced. By regulating voltage, they observed a novel quantum-mechanical dissipation mechanism, enabling targeted control over electronic friction.
A new study finds that heat wave sizes could increase substantially by mid-century, with potential impacts on public health and energy demand. The research suggests that considering the spatial size of heat waves is crucial for informing management decisions and planning for the future.
A team of scientists found that heat energy can transfer from a node with lower temperature to another node with higher temperature in certain complex network structures. This phenomenon becomes more evident when the network assortativity decreases. The study may shed new light on the search for good thermoelectric materials.
A new thermoelectric material has been developed using strontium titanate and titanium oxide, allowing for the transformation of exhaust heat into electrical energy. The material's biphase structure and nanosized grains increase its thermoelectric efficacy, enabling devices to operate at high temperatures without overheating.
Researchers at Ohio State University have found a new method for harnessing thermal energy by exploiting paramagnetic particles, which can produce spin and generate electricity. This breakthrough could lead to the development of more efficient thermoelectric materials and energy harvesting technologies.
Researchers observe that local thermal perturbations of spins in solids can convert heat to energy, even in paramagnetic materials. This effect, known as paramagnon drag thermopower, has the potential to enhance fuel efficiency and power smart clothing by harnessing body heat.
Researchers develop a low-cost thermoelectric generator that harnesses temperature differences to produce renewable electricity at night, when solar power is not available. The device can generate up to 25 milliwatts of energy per square meter and has the potential to be scaled for practical use.
Researchers at Brigham Young University developed a new wildfire model that uses plant chemistry to predict how quickly wildfires will burn. The study found that the type of shrub species affects the speed of combustion and chemical production, enabling more efficient fire management.
A new model suggests that planting more vegetation may be more effective in drier regions to cool cities, while wetter cities require alternative approaches such as shading or ventilation. The study's findings can provide guidance for climate-sensitive city design and planning heat mitigation efforts.
The study found that TRPV1 heat responses shifted from cool- to warm-adapted species, while TRPA1 activity increased in cool-adapted species, suggesting adaptations for thermal sensing
Researchers developed a tiny thermometer probe to measure temperature inside living cells, revealing quick bursts of heat from mitochondria releasing proton energy. This discovery could lead to new therapeutic targets for obesity and cancer.
A University of Texas at Dallas physicist has teamed with Texas Instruments Inc. to design a better way for electronics to convert waste heat into reusable energy. Thermoelectric nanoblades have been shown to greatly increase silicon's ability to harvest energy from heat, making it mass-producible.
A new model of heat transfer in crystals has been developed by a team of Russian scientists from Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University. The model describes the distribution of heat in ultrapure crystals at the atomic level, revealing certain directions along which heat rays distribute major energy.
Scientists at Stanford University have developed an atomically thin heat shield that is effective in preventing overheating in electronic devices. The new material, which consists of four layers just 10 atoms deep, can provide insulation comparable to a sheet of glass 100 times thicker.
A new study by Berkeley Lab researchers found that cool roofs could protect urbanites from heat waves, reducing air temperatures and bringing down heat wave exposures by 35 million each year. The study predicts that heat waves will become two to 10 times more frequent across California's cities by mid-century.
Researchers designed and tested an experimental system that uses a near-infrared laser to actively heat two gold nanorod antennae to different temperatures, defying thermal diffusion. The team measured temperature differences as high as 20 degrees Celsius by analyzing scattered photons from green light.
Researchers have designed an innovative radiative cooling system that can help cool buildings in crowded metropolitan areas without electricity. The system uses a special material to absorb heat from the air and transmit it into outer space, resulting in temperature reductions of up to 11 degrees Celsius at night.
New research from the University of Sydney suggests that electric fans can be beneficial in hot, humid conditions but detrimental in dry conditions. The study calls into question current guidelines recommending fan use only when temperature rises above 35 degrees Celsius.
A Rutgers-led study shows that permeable concrete pavement can reduce pavement temperature by up to 30% and reflect more heat than asphalt pavement. The design improves with high thermal conductivity, further reducing heat output.
The research team derived precise values of enthalpy and entropy of numerous silver compounds, enabling predictions of chemical processes in the gas phase. The findings will help manage thin film and pure sample deposition from the gas phase.
An international team of researchers has successfully measured how heat passes between two gold electrodes through a single molecule. The study employed a scanning thermal microscope to detect the vibrations of atoms in an alkane molecule carrying the heat, providing valuable insights into thermal conduction at the molecular scale.
Numerical simulations reveal that thin films with negative thermodiffusion coefficients increase the absorption of vapour, improving heat recycling. The study offers valuable new insights into enhancing the performance of falling film absorbers.
Researchers at Rice University have created a device that channels waste heat into light, enabling more efficient solar energy systems. The technology, which utilizes carbon nanotube films, aims to simplify the process of turning heat into electricity with high efficiency.
A team of researchers has identified a critical variable that improves the efficiency of polymer-based heat energy harvesting. By exploring this new factor, they hope to design more efficient polymers for thermo-electric devices.
Researchers have discovered a way to produce more electricity from heat than thought possible by creating a silicon chip that converts thermal radiation into electricity. The chip can generate electricity even closer two silicon surfaces are together, potentially increasing battery life by up to 50%.
Researchers from NUS have developed a novel approach to confine heat within a small region of a metal ring, demonstrating the application of anti-parity-time symmetry to thermal diffusion. This breakthrough has significant implications for optimizing cooling systems and efficient heat removal in modern technologies.
A study by Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (EMPA) suggests that Switzerland can transition to a low-CO2 energy system by reducing building heating requirements by 42%, electrifying 3/4 of remaining heating needs, and increasing electrification of private car journeys to 20%.
Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology have developed a window film that captures solar energy during the day and releases it as heat at night, helping to regulate indoor temperatures. The film uses a specially designed molecule that changes color when it absorbs sunlight, allowing it to capture energy.
Researchers at CBPF and UFABC used quantum correlations to reverse thermodynamic arrow of time, allowing heat to flow from cold to hot without external energy. The experiment demonstrates a generalized form of the second law of thermodynamics, highlighting the role of quantum correlations in thermal transfer.
Researchers at WMG found that inductive charging can increase temperature in mobile phones, potentially shortening battery lifespan. The study compared normal wire charging with aligned and misaligned inductive charging, finding that misalignment led to higher temperatures and reduced charging efficiency.