A 50-year quest to isolate the thermoelectric effect is now over: Magnon drag...
In a paper published in Nature Materials, a group of researchers at the Catalan Institute of Nanotechnology (ICN, Spain) led by Prof. Sergio O. Valenzuela reports the observation of the magnon drag....
View ArticlePyroelectric nanogenerator charges Li-ion battery with harvested energy
(Phys.org)—The idea of harvesting ambient energy from the environment that would otherwise not be purposefully used is, in theory, a great way to produce green, renewable energy. But the biggest...
View ArticleA 'turbo' for solid oxide fuel cells
To convert waste heat from solid oxide fuel cells into electricity is the goal of the "HITTEC" project. Researchers from Empa, in a strategic partnership with Hexis AG, are developing a thermoelectric...
View ArticleStirred, not shaken, lake mixing experiment shows promise
(Phys.org)—The question is simple: can a lake be cleansed of a pernicious invader by simply raising the water temperature?
View ArticleFujifilm breaks record with thermoelectric material
(Phys.org)—Photographic film maker Fujifilm has been busy this year at the Nanotech 2013 conference being held in Tokyo. First came news of bendable/roll up speakers. Now the company is showing off a...
View ArticleStratospheric aerosols and their impact on Sahelian rainfall
(Phys.org) —The Sahelian drought of the 1970s-1990s was one of the largest humanitarian disasters of the last fifty years, causing up to 250,000 deaths and creating 10 million refugees. This drought...
View ArticleStudy explores atmospheric impact of declining Arctic sea ice
There is growing recognition that reductions in Arctic sea ice levels will influence patterns of atmospheric circulation both within and beyond the Arctic. New research in the International Journal of...
View ArticleHurricanes could increase over western Europe as climate warms
Damaging hurricanes are familiar along the North American east coast but are relatively rare in western Europe. That could change as Earth's climate warms over the next century, according to a new...
View ArticleMagnetic fields significantly affect hot Jupiter atmospheres, research finds
Determining weather patterns in exoplanet atmospheres – hundreds to thousands of light years away – is extremely difficult. However, given that it may be one of our best ways to truly characterize...
View ArticleWind and rain belts to shift north as planet warms, research says
As humans continue to heat the planet, a northward shift of Earth's wind and rain belts could make a broad swath of regions drier, including the Middle East, American West and Amazonia, while making...
View ArticleUsing heat to make magnets
EPFL scientists have provided the first evidence ever that it is possible to generate a magnetic field by using heat instead of electricity. The phenomenon is referred to as the Magnetic Seebeck effect...
View ArticleHow heat can make your body melt from the inside out
Just as Ray Bradbury's novel Fahrenheit 451 identified a temperature at which paper self-combusts, the Australian Open has just shown the world that there is a temperature at which tennis players start...
View ArticleResearchers model how migration of DNA molecules is affected by charge, salt...
Only two mechanisms can move molecules in a fluid. They can follow a temperature gradient or an electrical potential. LMU physicists have modeled how migration of DNA molecules is affected by their...
View ArticleElectrochemical approach has potential to efficiently turn low-grade heat to...
Vast amounts of excess heat are generated by industrial processes and by electric power plants; researchers around the world have spent decades seeking ways to harness some of this wasted energy. Most...
View ArticleScientists manipulate molecules inside living cells with temperature gradients
(Phys.org) —The ability to make measurements of the biomolecular interactions that occur inside living cells is essential for understanding complex biological processes. But probing the inside of...
View ArticleWhat is heat conduction?
Heat is an interesting form of energy. Not only does it sustain life, make us comfortable and help us prepare our food, but understanding its properties is key to many fields of scientific research....
View ArticleMicropore labyrinths as crucibles of life
Water-filled micropores in hot rock may have acted as the nurseries in which life on Earth began. An LMU team has now shown that temperature gradients in pore systems promote the cyclical replication...
View ArticleWhere North meets South in the sea
(Phys.org) -- The Atlantic Ocean off Nova Scotia ... and off Florida. Along some 2,000 miles, its waters go from icy to steamy. Can a marine species live in both temperatures--and everywhere in between?
View ArticleTiny gears increase light-to-work conversion efficiency by five orders of...
(Phys.org)—Scientists have demonstrated that pinwheel-shaped microgears floating on a liquid surface can rotate at speeds of up to 300 r.p.m. when illuminated by an ordinary LED. This light-driven...
View Article'Molecular accordion' drives thermoelectric behavior in promising material
Engines, laptops and power plants generate waste heat. Thermoelectric materials, which convert temperature gradients to electricity and vice versa, can recover some of that heat and improve energy...
View ArticleDiscovery of stress-induced emotional fever in fish
Fish react emotionally to stress, indicating a degree of consciousness, a groundbreaking new study by scientists at the University of Stirling's Institute of Aquaculture has found.
View ArticleCould 80-year-old ether experiments have detected a cosmological temperature...
(Phys.org)—In a new study, scientists have proposed that tiny residual effects measured by ether-drift experiments in the 1920s and '30s may be the first evidence of a temperature gradient that was...
View ArticlePrescribed burning may benefit rattlesnakes
A forest at first appears devastated after a fire, devoid of color. Ash and smoky plant remains cover the forest floor. In a few short weeks, however, shrubs and forbs will poke through the ash, taking...
View ArticleClimate change 'tug of war' keeps scientists guessing on storm tracks
Storm tracks—regions where storms travel from west to east across oceans and continents driven by the prevailing jet stream—determine weather and climate in middle-latitude places like Chicago and New...
View ArticleFish express a form of fever related to that of humans
Fish express a form of fever in response to infection. This can save their live. A study, lead by Professor Alain Vanderplasschen of the Laboratory of Immunology-Vaccinology of the Univeristy of Liège...
View ArticleNew method uses heat flow to levitate variety of objects
Although scientists have been able to levitate specific types of material, a pair of UChicago undergraduate physics students helped take the science to a new level.
View ArticleProducing crystals without defects for research
When it comes to creating new materials, single crystals play an important role in presenting a clearer picture of a material's intrinsic properties. A typical material will be comprised of lots of...
View ArticleDeformable thermoelectric materials add a new twist to the design of...
Adding elasticity to the impressive properties of materials known as thermoelectrics could help us conserve more power, KAUST researchers have shown.
View ArticleThe role of single crystals in creating new materials
When it comes to creating new materials, single crystals play an important role in presenting a clearer picture of a material's intrinsic properties. A typical material will be comprised of lots of...
View ArticleStudy explains how droplets can 'levitate' on liquid surfaces
A drop or two of cold cream in hot coffee can go a long way toward improving one's morning. But what if the two liquids didn't mix?
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