Power Bits: Advanced Research
Graphene Magnets
Carbon atoms arranged in a sheet are an interesting concept, but what can you actually do with them?
The answer is apparently more than we thought. Researchers at the University of Manchester in the U.K. have given graphene magnetic properties by removing some atoms and replacing others with non-magnetic atoms. The result is a double negative effect, which turns it into a magnet.
Try throwing this on the fridge.
This is particularly interesting news for spintronics, which is a subject of much research for low-power computing over the next decade. And in case you were wondering, these magnetic graphene sheets will stick to your refrigerator.
More Efficient Driving Routes
Nothing wastes energy like idling in traffic. It even wastes energy in people, who get frustrated and sometimes blow an internal circuit.
The University of Cambridge in the U.K. has developed a Transport Information Monitoring Environment project, aka TIME, which uses real-time road data to evaluate congestion. Unlike previous efforts in this area to collect data from cell phones, the U.K. effort relies on infrared detectors mounted on lamp posts to count traffic in each direction, as well as at intersections controlled by traffic lights.
This kind of technology is particularly useful for transportation planners. By scheduling traffic and alerting people of the best times to travel, it can significantly reduce commute times and save fuel.
Better Solar Panels
Researchers at MIT are looking at a couple of new ways to make solar panels more efficient. One is quantum-dot-based PV cells. There has been plenty written on quantum dots since they were first discovered in the early 1980s by a Russian physicist. According to Wikipedia, quantum dots are ICs are semiconductors whose characteristics are closely related to crystals.
A second approach being used by MIT is to stack solar panels to smooth out variability over the course of a day. The school is trying this out on its own rooftop.
–Ed Sperling
Tags: graphene, MIT, University of Cambridge, University of Manchester