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Scientists Develop Color-Shifting, Multi-Surface Material

Andy Salisbury — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 16:34:45 -0500

Some folks that have (clearly) been hard at work at the New University of Lisbon have developed a breakthrough by creating a transistor that can change the color of almost any surface.

The team, which is responsible for most of the technology currently employed by Samsung displays, has so far been able to change the color of paper, glass, plastics, ceramics and metals. And, with the help of some friends at the University of Texas at Austin, they’ve filed for some patents right here in the US.

If you want to check out a video of the color change in progress (in Portuguese), be sure to peep a video here.

Image Credit: Expresso TV

MIT Announces “Breakthrough of the Decade” in Fluid Behavior

Andy Salisbury — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 18:15:09 -0500

We may or may not recognize it, but fluid is a very integral part of our everyday lives. It decides everything from our fuel economy to (in some cases) how cool our computer runs. Until now, there was only one key way of deciphering the mechanics of fluids, and that was the Prandtl equation, developed in 1904. Sadly though, the Prandtl equation has many limitations, including only having the ability to calculate only two-dimensional problems, and a steady flow (such as that of a car traveling slowly). Thanks to a breakthrough by MIT’s George Haller, that’s all about to change.

A recently developed new equation, which is a product of four years of work by Professor Haller, will apply to three-dimensional and unsteady flows. This was confirmed with the aid of Thomas Peacock, the Atlantic Richfield Career Development Associate Professor at MIT, who lead experiments in order to validate the equation. Professor Peacock states, “This is the tip of the iceberg, but we’ve shown that this theory works.” The new work will probably go down as one of the greatest scientific advances of the decade, if it survives the peer review that will come.

This innovation in the mechanics of liquids will have an overwhelming influence on many industries, including aerospace, automotive and even computers. With these breakthroughs in calculating how liquids will act and perform in different environments, there’s no doubt that your PC’s liquid cooling system will soon get an overhaul.

Image Credit: MIT

Breakthrough in Solar Panel Technology from a 12 Year Old?

Paul Lilly — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 16:25:26 -0500

It looks as though today's 12-year-olds are well past the days of building model volcanoes for the school science fair. And if not, well, William Yuan just put the smackdown on the competition

Yuan, a seventh grader from Oregon, set out to improve solar technology, which at the moment could be a lot more efficient. And he appears to have done just that. Yuan's project, which he calls "A Highly-Efficient 3-Dimensional Nanotube Solar Cell for Visible and UV Light," could shake up the energy industry and lead to real change into how solar energy is harnessed and distributed.

For his project, Yuan used a special solar cell capable of harnessing both visible and ultraviolet light, whereas most solar cells use either photovoltaic (only visible light), or thermal. Ultraviolet light holds interest because it can potentially provide more energy than the longer-wavelength members of the electromagnetic spectrum. And if that weren't enough, Yuan designed his project so it could stand freely in three dimensions to collect more light, and to make use of carbon nanotubes to distribute the energy more efficiently than traditional cells.

For his efforts, Yuan received a well deserved $25,000 scholarship, a fellowship at the Davidson Institute for Talent Development, and a various other awards.

What was your science project?