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The Daily Fusion is the central hub for all scientific, technical and technological issues related to the energy industry worldwide. Our news are about the latest scientific developments and research in energy, such as the new solutions in solar panel technologies, power grid innovations, electric vehicles, batteries, etc.
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- May 22, 2013
- 02:55 PM
- 5 views
Offshore Drilling Helps Microbiologists Study Life on Earth and Beyond
by dailyfusion in The Daily Fusion
Offshore drilling is often discussed in terms of its positive effect on the economy and the potential risks it carries for the environment. There’s, however, another side to offshore drilling, one that is less often talked about.... Read more »
Parnell, J., Boyce, A., Hurst, A., Davidheiser-Kroll, B., & Ponicka, J. (2013) Long term geological record of a global deep subsurface microbial habitat in sand injection complexes. Scientific Reports. DOI: 10.1038/srep01828
- May 21, 2013
- 02:23 PM
- 25 views
Berkeley Lab Builds ‘Artificial Forest’ to Harvest Solar Energy
by dailyfusion in The Daily Fusion
Devices for artificial photosynthesis are often called “artificial leaves”. This leaves, however, are of no use unless you can create an “artificial forest” from them. Now, scientists with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have reported the first fully integrated nanosystem for artificial photosynthesis.... Read more »
Liu, C., Tang, J., Chen, H., Liu, B., & Yang, P. (2013) A Fully Integrated Nanosystem of Semiconductor Nanowires for Direct Solar Water Splitting. Nano Letters, 2147483647. DOI: 10.1021/nl401615t
- May 20, 2013
- 02:37 PM
- 84 views
Shale Gas Fracking Has No Impact on Groundwater in Arkansas, Study Concludes
by dailyfusion in The Daily Fusion
A new study by scientists at Duke University and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) finds no evidence of groundwater contamination from shale gas production in Arkansas.... Read more »
Warner, N., Kresse, T., Hays, P., Down, A., Karr, J., Jackson, R., & Vengosh, A. (2013) Geochemical and isotopic variations in shallow groundwater in areas of the Fayetteville shale development, north-central Arkansas. Applied Geochemistry. DOI: 10.1016/j.apgeochem.2013.04.013
- May 17, 2013
- 04:55 PM
- 36 views
Strategies for Breaking Even on Home Energy Consumption Suggested
by dailyfusion in The Daily Fusion
When you are buying a car you always look at official miles per gallon figures to find out how much fuel it will use. At the same time, most people have only a vague idea about how much energy their houses consume, even though home energy expenditures often account for a larger share of the household budget.... Read more »
N.A. McNabb. (2013) Strategies to Achieve Net-Zero Energy Homes: A Framework for Future Guidelines Workshop Summary Report. NIST Special Publication. DOI: 10.6028/NIST.SP.1140
- May 17, 2013
- 02:10 PM
- 36 views
Scientists Trying to Photograph Photosynthesis
by dailyfusion in The Daily Fusion
Photosynthetic oxidation of water is one of the central processes of life on Earth, but it is still not completely understood. Now, a German-American team of scientists has set out to observe the intermediate stages of this complex catalytic reaction using ultrashort snap shots taken at light sources including BESSY II in Berlin and the Linac Coherent Light Source at Stanford.... Read more »
Kern, J., Alonso-Mori, R., Hellmich, J., Tran, R., Hattne, J., Laksmono, H., Glockner, C., Echols, N., Sierra, R., Sellberg, J.... (2012) Room temperature femtosecond X-ray diffraction of photosystem II microcrystals. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 109(25), 9721-9726. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1204598109
- May 16, 2013
- 02:27 PM
- 32 views
Researchers Develop New Way to Produce Hydrogen From Water and Sunlight
by dailyfusion in The Daily Fusion
Using a combination of microanalytic techniques that at the same time image photoelectric current and chemical reaction rates across a surface on a micrometer scale, researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have shed new light on what may become a cost-effective way to generate hydrogen gas directly from water and sunlight.... Read more »
Esposito, D., Levin, I., Moffat, T., & Talin, A. (2013) H2 evolution at Si-based metal–insulator–semiconductor photoelectrodes enhanced by inversion channel charge collection and H spillover. Nature Materials. DOI: 10.1038/nmat3626
- May 15, 2013
- 12:45 PM
- 37 views
The Modern Prometheus: Scientists Uncover the Secret of ‘Magnetic Fire’
by dailyfusion in The Daily Fusion
A group of physicists from the New York University have uncovered how energy is released and dispersed in magnetic materials in a process similar to the spread of forest fires. This finding not only has the potential to deepen our understanding of self-sustained chemical reactions, but also could open new exciting possibilities for energy storage.... Read more »
Subedi, P., Vélez, S., Macià, F., Li, S., Sarachik, M., Tejada, J., Mukherjee, S., Christou, G., & Kent, A. (2013) Onset of a Propagating Self-Sustained Spin Reversal Front in a Magnetic System. Physical Review Letters, 110(20). DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.110.207203
- May 14, 2013
- 03:16 PM
- 34 views
Graphene Redefines Electric Current, Literally
by dailyfusion in The Daily Fusion
A new joint innovation by the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) and the University of Cambridge could pave the way for redefining the ampere in terms of fundamental constants of physics. The world’s first graphene single-electron pump (SEP) provides the speed of electron flow needed to create a new standard for electrical current based on electron charge.... Read more »
Connolly, M., Chiu, K., Giblin, S., Kataoka, M., Fletcher, J., Chua, C., Griffiths, J., Jones, G., Fal'ko, V., Smith, C.... (2013) Gigahertz quantized charge pumping in graphene quantum dots. Nature Nanotechnology. DOI: 10.1038/nnano.2013.73
- May 13, 2013
- 06:30 PM
- 30 views
Universal Access to Energy Would Cost Around $70 Billion, Researchers Find
by dailyfusion in The Daily Fusion
Worldwide access to modern energy could be achieved with an investment of between 65 and 86 billion US dollars per year up until 2030, a new study has shown.... Read more »
Pachauri, S., van Ruijven, B., Nagai, Y., Riahi, K., van Vuuren, D., Brew-Hammond, A., & Nakicenovic, N. (2013) Pathways to achieve universal household access to modern energy by 2030. Environmental Research Letters, 8(2), 24015. DOI: 10.1088/1748-9326/8/2/024015
- May 10, 2013
- 09:32 AM
- 50 views
Scientists Use Cyborg Plants to Harvest Solar Energy
by dailyfusion in The Daily Fusion
Our star, the Sun, provides most of the energy on this planet. (Essentially, all the energy except for nuclear, comes directly or indirectly from it.) Our current methods of converting solar radiation into electricity (photovoltaics) are not very efficient in comparison with plants. Researchers at the University of Georgia looked to nature for inspiration, and they are now developing a new technology that makes it possible to use plants to generate electricity.... Read more »
Calkins, J., Umasankar, Y., O'Neill, H., & Ramasamy, R. (2013) High photo-electrochemical activity of thylakoid–carbon nanotube composites for photosynthetic energy conversion. Energy . DOI: 10.1039/C3EE40634B
- May 9, 2013
- 05:39 PM
- 50 views
Scientists Get More Energy, Less Carbon Dioxide From Natural Gas
by dailyfusion in The Daily Fusion
As the world shifts from coal to natural gas, it is becoming more important to find ways of using natural gas efficiently and environmentally friendly. Now chemical engineering researchers have identified a new mechanism to convert natural gas into energy up to 70 times faster, while effectively capturing the greenhouse gas—carbon dioxide.... Read more »
Galinsky, N., Huang, Y., Shafiefarhood, A., & Li, F. (2013) Iron Oxide with Facilitated O Transport for Facile Fuel Oxidation and CO Capture in a Chemical Looping Scheme . ACS Sustainable Chemistry , 1(3), 364-373. DOI: 10.1021/sc300177j
- May 8, 2013
- 05:24 PM
- 36 views
Dual Color Semiconductor Device Opens Way to Cheaper Lighting
by dailyfusion in The Daily Fusion
A group of scientists from the Arizona State University have developed a semiconductor device that is capable of emitting two distinct colors simultaneously. An ability to emit light in a wide spectrum range from a single monolithic structure could potentially become a basis for a cheaper and more efficient lighting technology.... Read more »
Fan, F., Liu, Z., Yin, L., Nichols, P., Ning, H., Turkdogan, S., & Ning, C. (2013) Simultaneous two-color lasing in a single CdSSe heterostructure nanosheet. Semiconductor Science and Technology, 28(6), 65005. DOI: 10.1088/0268-1242/28/6/065005
- May 8, 2013
- 01:38 PM
- 41 views
Fluorescent Dye Increases Solar Cells’ Efficiency
by dailyfusion in The Daily Fusion
Scientists at Yale think that for some solar cells the future may be fluorescent. While many may believe that the purpose of a solar cell is to absorb light, not to emit it (fluorescence is the emission of light by a substance that has absorbed light or other electromagnetic radiation), it turns out that the addition of a fluorescent organic dye to the cell layer improves the ability of a promising type of solar cell to absorb light and convert it into electrical power.... Read more »
Huang, J., Goh, T., Li, X., Sfeir, M., Bielinski, E., Tomasulo, S., Lee, M., Hazari, N., & Taylor, A. (2013) Polymer bulk heterojunction solar cells employing Förster resonance energy transfer. Nature Photonics. DOI: 10.1038/nphoton.2013.82
- May 7, 2013
- 11:45 AM
- 47 views
Researchers Cook Solar Cells in Old Microwave Oven
by dailyfusion in The Daily Fusion
University of Utah metallurgists created a “recipe” to produce solar cell material in a microwave oven. Using this kitchen appliance, a nanocrystal semiconductor suitable for photovoltaic applications can be manufactured rapidly from cheap abundant and less toxic metals than other semiconductors.... Read more »
Sarswat, P., & Free, M. (2013) An investigation of rapidly synthesized Cu2ZnSnS4 nanocrystals. Journal of Crystal Growth, 87-94. DOI: 10.1016/j.jcrysgro.2013.03.022
- May 6, 2013
- 06:52 PM
- 54 views
Buildings May be Powered by Graphene-Coated Walls, Study Suggests
by dailyfusion in The Daily Fusion
A combination of graphene with other similar 2D crystals will allow to significantly increase the efficiency of solar cells and create the next generation of optoelectronic devices, scientists have revealed.... Read more »
Britnell, L., Ribeiro, R., Eckmann, A., Jalil, R., Belle, B., Mishchenko, A., Kim, Y., Gorbachev, R., Georgiou, T., Morozov, S.... (2013) Strong Light-Matter Interactions in Heterostructures of Atomically Thin Films. Science. DOI: 10.1126/science.1235547
- May 6, 2013
- 12:14 PM
- 38 views
Paper Suggests Ways to Develop Hydrocarbons in the Amazon With Minimal Environmental Impact
by dailyfusion in The Daily Fusion
Hydrocarbon development in the Western Amazon Basin continues to gain momentum. A group of scientists has recently published a paper that outlines ways to save the unique ecosystem of the largest rainforest in the world by reducing the negative impact of oil and gas projects.... Read more »
Finer, M., Jenkins, C., & Powers, B. (2013) Potential of Best Practice to Reduce Impacts from Oil and Gas Projects in the Amazon. PLoS ONE, 8(5). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0063022
- May 4, 2013
- 10:46 AM
- 74 views
New Battery Efficiently Stores Solar and Wind Energy
by dailyfusion in The Daily Fusion
Scientists from the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University have developed a relatively cheap, long-life “flow” battery that can be used to mitigate power fluctuations from solar and wind energy plants, therefore enabling them to become major suppliers to the electrical grid.... Read more »
Yang, Y., Zheng, G., & Cui, Y. (2013) A membrane-free lithium/polysulfide semi-liquid battery for large-scale energy storage. Energy , 6(5), 1552. DOI: 10.1039/C3EE00072A
- May 3, 2013
- 10:20 AM
- 72 views
No Anti-Gravity Yet, Researchers Conclude
by dailyfusion in The Daily Fusion
If you were hoping that antimatter powered anti-gravity hovercraft would be the next big thing in transportation, you might be disappointed. Scientists from Berkeley Lab and UC Berkeley have used data from the ALPHA Experiment at CERN to measure antimatter gravity directly. For now, it seems that antihydrogen refuses to fall upward.... Read more »
Amole, C., Ashkezari, M., Baquero-Ruiz, M., Bertsche, W., Butler, E., Capra, A., Cesar, C., Charlton, M., Eriksson, S., Fajans, J.... (2013) Description and first application of a new technique to measure the gravitational mass of antihydrogen. Nature Communications, 1785. DOI: 10.1038/ncomms2787
- May 2, 2013
- 05:12 PM
- 70 views
A Battery Charger for Electric Cars That Works 4 Times Faster Developed
by dailyfusion in The Daily Fusion
Scientists from the Chalmers University of Technology have created an integrated motor drive and a new battery charger for plug-in vehicles.... Read more »
Haghbin, S., Khan, K., Zhao, S., Alakula, M., Lundmark, S., & Carlson, O. (2013) An Integrated 20-kW Motor Drive and Isolated Battery Charger for Plug-In Vehicles. IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics, 28(8), 4013-4029. DOI: 10.1109/TPEL.2012.2230274
- May 1, 2013
- 10:28 AM
- 56 views
Two Enzymes Are Better Than One, Study Finds
by dailyfusion in The Daily Fusion
Researchers from the Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) found that two approaches to breaking down cell walls of biomass, if used together, are more effective than either method alone.... Read more »
Resch, M., Donohoe, B., Baker, J., Decker, S., Bayer, E., Beckham, G., & Himmel, M. (2013) Fungal cellulases and complexed cellulosomal enzymes exhibit synergistic mechanisms in cellulose deconstruction. Energy . DOI: 10.1039/C3EE00019B
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