Tech
Superstorm Sandy brought flood-levels to the New York region that had not been seen in generations. Causing an estimated $74.1 billion in damages, it was the fourth-costliest U.S. storm behind Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and hurricanes Harvey and Maria in 2017 according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Now, due to the impact of climate change, researchers at Stevens Institute of Technology have found that 100-year and 500-year flood levels could become regular occurrences for the thousands of homes surrounding Jamaica Bay, New York by the end of the century.
A new study, led by a researcher at the Yale School of the Environment's Center for Industrial Ecology and published recently in the Journal of Industrial Ecology, has found that the total mass of electronic waste generated by Americans has been declining since 2015.
South Korean researchers have developed a new type of electrode structure for all-solid-state secondary batteries. If this technology is adopted, the energy density of the batteries could increase significantly when compared to existing technologies, contributing tremendously to the development of high-performance secondary batteries.
HANOVER, N.H. - December 2, 2020 - Temporary glues may not steal headlines, but they can make everyday life easier.
Sticky office notes, bandage strips and painter's tape are all examples of products that adhere to surfaces but can be removed with relative ease.
There's only one drawback. To remove any of those adhesives, the glued surfaces need to be pulled apart from each other.
Tsukuba, Japan - Computer simulations have struggled to capture the impact of elusive particles called neutrinos on the formation and growth of the large-scale structure of the Universe. But now, a research team from Japan has developed a method that overcomes this hurdle.
In a study published this month in The Astrophysical Journal, researchers led by the University of Tsukuba present simulations that accurately depict the role of neutrinos in the evolution of the Universe.
A partial transition of German road transport to hydrogen energy is among the possibilities being discussed to help meet national climate targets. A team of researchers from the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS) has examined the hypothetical transition to a hydrogen-powered transport sector through several scenarios. Their conclusion: A shift towards hydrogen-powered mobility could significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and greatly improve air quality - in particular, heavy duty vehicles represent a low-hanging fruit for decarbonization of German road transport.
A new polymer-based, solid-state transistor can more sensitively detect a weed killer in drinking water than existing hydrogel-based fluorescence sensor chips. The details were published in Chemistry-A European Journal.
The sensor is a specially designed organic thin-film transistor based on semiconducting molecules of carboxylate-functionalized polythiophene (P3CPT). What's special about this particular device is that, unlike other conjugated polymer-based sensors, this one is a solid-state device that can conduct an electric current when placed inside a fluid.
Through the manipulation of quasiparticles known as surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) metallic nanostructures can control light at the nanoscale, confining it to ultrathin gaps and magnifying the light intensity up to 1000 times. This light localization amplifies light-matter interactions and has wide ranging applications in nanoscale optics including low concentration molecular sensing, enhanced photocatalysis and super-resolution optics.
A new Curtin University-created database of electron-molecule reactions is a major step forward in making nuclear fusion power a reality, by allowing researchers to accurately model plasmas containing molecular hydrogen.
The Curtin study, published in the Atomic Data and Nuclear Data Tables journal, is supplying data to the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) - one of the largest scientific projects in the world aimed at developing fusion technology for electricity production on Earth.
Overview:
In collaboration with the Technical University of Denmark (DTU), the Department of Engineering at Aarhus University has developed photonic sensor technology that can pave the way for a portable, reliable and, above all, inexpensive device for detecting ammonia and other gases in agriculture.
Working with chemists and chemical engineers, photonics researchers from Aarhus University and DTU have developed a new sensor system that could contribute to a significant reduction in air pollution in Denmark.
The European Union is determined to undertake a major reform known as the European Green Deal with an aim of making Europe the first climate neutral continent in 2050. The biggest changes will take place in the energy production sector, which stands on the brink of a complete transition to renewable energy sources, including solar energy.
Reston, VA--A novel ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) study has pooled data from multiple sites to effectively visualize neuroinflammation, which is key to developing drugs to treat the disease. Pooling data acquired from different scanners, different neuroinflammation positron emission tomography (PET) markers and different sites enhanced researchers' ability to detect neuroinflammation in ALS patients. This research was published in the November issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine.
Skoltech researchers have investigated the procedure for catalyst delivery used in the most common method of carbon nanotube production, chemical vapor deposition (CVD), offering what they call a "simple and elegant" way to boost productivity and pave the way for cheaper and more accessible nanotube-based technology. The paper was published in the Chemical Engineering Journal.
In 2002 Professor Alceu Ranzi (Federal University of Acre) and Prof. Martti Parssinen (University of Helsinki) decided to form an international research team to study large geometric earthworks, called geoglyphs, at the Brazilian state of Acre in South-western Amazonia. Soon it appeared that a pre-colonial civilization unknown to international scholars built there geometric ceremonial centers and sophisticated road systems. This civilization flourished in the rainforest 2,000 years ago. The discovery supported Prof.