News tagged with thermodynamics

Scientists design solar cells that exceed the conventional light-trapping limit

(PhysOrg.com) -- The best performing solar cells are those that are thick enough to absorb light from the entire solar spectrum, while the cheapest solar cells are thin ones, since they require less, and potentially ...

Nanotechnology / Nanophysics

created Jan 20, 2012 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (36) | comments 27 | with audio podcast feature

Rice's 'quantum critical' theory gets experimental boost

New evidence this week supports a theory developed five years ago at Rice University to explain the electrical properties of several classes of materials -- including unconventional superconductors -- that ...

Physics / Superconductivity

created Jan 11, 2012 | popularity 4.1 / 5 (14) | comments 2 | with audio podcast

Recent advance in detonation theory

A detonation wave is a chemical reaction wave propagating at the velocity of a shock wave along the explosive charge. There is great demand for a detonation model that can accurately simulate the detonation process, which ...

Chemistry / Other

created Nov 18, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 3

Uranium adsorption in sediments varies with respect to grain size

Using experimental and modeling resources at EMSL, scientists from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory determined the equilibrium and kinetic properties of uranium(VI) adsorption to subsurface grains, ...

Space & Earth / Environment

created Sep 26, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 1

From seawater to freshwater with a nanotechnology filter

In this month's Physics World, Jason Reese, Weir Professor of Thermodynamics and Fluid Mechanics at the University of Strathclyde, describes the role that carbon nanotubes (CNTs) could play in the desalination of wat ...

Nanotechnology / Nanophysics

created Jun 01, 2011 | popularity 4.6 / 5 (5) | comments 4 | with audio podcast

Nanometer-scale layers between materials have both solid and liquid characteristics

Researchers at the Technion have discovered the nature of nanometer-thick layers between different materials and found that they have both solid and liquid properties. By doing so, the researchers made a crucial ...

Nanotechnology / Nanophysics

created May 23, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

On the way to hydrogen storage?

(PhysOrg.com) -- The car of the future could be propelled by a fuel cell powered with hydrogen. But what will the fuel tank look like? Hydrogen gas is not only explosive but also very space-consuming. Storage ...

Chemistry / Materials Science

created Apr 19, 2011 | popularity 3.8 / 5 (8) | comments 3 | with audio podcast

Maxwell's demon demonstration turns information into energy

(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists in Japan are the first to have succeeded in converting information into free energy in an experiment that verifies the "Maxwell demon" thought experiment devised in 1867.

Physics / General Physics

created Nov 15, 2010 | popularity 4.6 / 5 (47) | comments 23 | with audio podcast report

Rapidly rotating graphene is fastest-spinning macroscopic object ever

(PhysOrg.com) -- At 60 million rotations per minute, a two-dimensional sheet of graphene has become the fastest-spinning trapped macroscopic object ever. Graphene is known for its large strength, and it's ...

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

created Sep 30, 2010 | popularity 5 / 5 (14) | comments 9 | with audio podcast weblog

Tiny generators turn waste heat into power

The second law of thermodynamics is a big hit with the beret-wearing college crowd because of its implicit existential crunch. The tendency of a closed systems to become increasingly disordered if no energy is added or removed ...

Nanotechnology / Nanophysics

created Sep 28, 2010 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (10) | comments 2 | with audio podcast

Could thermodynamic fluctuations have led to the origins of life?

In the field of abiogenesis, scientists are currently investigating several ways in which life could have arisen from non-living matter. Generally, any theory of abiogenesis should account for two important ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Aug 16, 2010 | popularity 4.6 / 5 (28) | comments 38 | with audio podcast feature

'Econophysics' points way to fair salaries in free market

A Purdue University researcher has used "econophysics" to show that under ideal circumstances free markets promote fair salaries for workers and do not support CEO compensation practices common today.

Other Sciences / Mathematics

created Jul 13, 2010 | popularity 4.2 / 5 (18) | comments 47 | with audio podcast

Mathematical model explains marital breakups

(PhysOrg.com) -- Most people know love takes work, and effort is needed to sustain a happy relationship over the long term, but now a mathematician in Spain has for the first time explained it mathematically ...

Other Sciences / Mathematics

created May 17, 2010 | popularity 4.4 / 5 (43) | comments 8 | with audio podcast report

Revolutionary New Solution for Semiconductor, Nano Materials

(PhysOrg.com) -- University of Maryland researchers have created a completely new way to produce high quality semiconductor materials critical for advanced microelectronics and nanotechnology. Published in ...

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

created Mar 26, 2010 | popularity 4.4 / 5 (13) | comments 5 | with audio podcast

Evidence of a new phase in liquid hydrogen

(PhysOrg.com) -- We like to think that we’ve got hydrogen, one of the most basic of elements, figured out. However, hydrogen can still surprise, especially once scientists start probing its properties on the ...

Physics / Condensed Matter

created Feb 25, 2010 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (28) | comments 5 | with audio podcast feature