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Scientists Hack CD Player, Transform It into Lab Scanner
When researchers at the Universidad Polit cnica de Valencia needed a lab scanner, but didn't have the cash to pay for it, they didn't panic. Instead, Angel Maqueira and his colleagues bought a bog-standard CD player &mdash and hacked it, saving themselves a potential $70,000 in the process. More »
lions
Scientists Make Li-ion Batteries Last Twice as Long in Lab Tests
Just when everyone thought non-fuel cell battery technology was stagnant, scientists at the Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory found a way to increase battery life by up to twice as much. Sparing you to boring technical details, essentially what they did was find a new composite structure material to place inside batteries, giving the charge-store capacity a 250 mAh/g, which is about twice as much as what you're using now. More »
gadgets
Solar Breakthrough? As Soon As We Defy the Laws of Physics
Scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory say they've developed a new manufacturing process that allows them to build a material that could goose up the power output of solar cells, reaching efficiencies of 45% compared to the 25% to 39% currently possible. It's done using a tricky process of injecting additional oxygen into the semiconductor material, creating an extra layer that can capture more light. It's said to be a promising development:If they overcome some of the hurdles still presented by the laws of physics, at least one colleague at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory believes material scientists Wladek Walukiewicz and Kin Man Yu's research represents a "breakthrough" in solar energy generation technology.But wait. If we're going to overcome the laws of physics, who needs solar energy? Why not just create a perpetual motion machine? But still, we like solar; after all, it's going to power our new car. More »
