Spray on Solar Panels using CIGS nanocrystals

Photovoltaic devices (PVs) were fabricated by spray-coating an ink of copper indium diselenide (CIS) nanocrystals as the light-absorbing layer. Without high-temperature post-deposition annealing, PVs were made on glass and plastic substrates with power conversion efficiencies of up to 1.9% and 1.1% IEEE Spectrum covers this work and indicates if it works with 10% efficient, Korgel …

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Computational Material Design

Questek innovations develops nanosteel and alloys of titanium and other materials. Questek computationally designs materials to directly meet user-defined material needs by using our proprietary Materials by Design expertise and technology. They estimate that they reduce development times by as much as 50+% and costs by 70+% as compared to traditional material development methods. The …

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SENS looks at rejuvenating immunity through ablation

The degenerative aging of the immune system is responsible for an enormous burden of disease and disability, from the pain of recurrent Herpes zoster and postherpetic neuralgia, to elevated rates of chronic urinary tract infections, to complications in wounds, pressure sores, ulcers, and surgical incisions. Most prominently, it underlies the meteoric rise in mortality from …

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Sunlight to Hydrogen system works at ORNL

Neutron scattering analysis performed at DOE’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory reveals the lamellar structure of a hydrogen-producing, biohybrid composite material formed by the self-assembly of naturally occurring, light harvesting proteins with polymers. Oak ridge national lab’s sunlight to hydrogen system works. Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed a biohybrid …

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New DARPA projects for 2011

DARPA has new solicitations for 2011 Controlling Cellular Machinery – Vaccines Looking for new ideas about how to discover, design, evolve, assemble and demonstrate the ability to use genetic components, modules and circuits for the development of a highly efficacious nucleic acid based vaccine whose activity can be regulated in vivo by a mammalian host. …

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Carbon nanotubes for better solar cells

Angewandte Chemie International Edition – Flexible, Light-Weight, Ultrastrong, and Semiconductive Carbon Nanotube Fibers for a Highly Efficient Solar Cell Tubes for sunlight: Solar cells with high short-circuit photocurrent, incident monochromatic photon-to-electron conversion efficiency, and power conversion efficiency have been made from flexible, light-weight, ultrastrong, and semiconductive nanotube fibers (see picture above). The alignment of the …

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Bio-nano-chip in human trials to spot cardiac disease, cancer, drug abuse

To obtain a saliva sample for the Nano-Bio-Chip, health care providers swab a patient’s gums with a cotton-tipped stick. The saliva is transferred to the disposable diagnostic microchip. The microchip is then inserted into an analyzer and within a few minutes the saliva sample is checked and results delivered. The nano-bio-chip that can diagnose a …

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McKinsey has six predictions for China in 2011

Gordon Orr, a director in McKinsey’s Shanghai office, peers into 2011 and finds ways China may once again surprise the world 1. Inflation in food prices will take longer than expected to control. Chinese consumption patterns are shifting as people become wealthier—more meat eating requires more cereals to feed the animals. The food supply chain, …

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India confident of starting new 500 MW breeder reactor in 2012, Japanese, Polish and other reactor starts, restarts and plans

1. Japanese utility Chubu Electric Power Co has announced that it is restarting unit 5 at its Hamaoka nuclear power plant, which has been offline since a strong earthquake struck Shizuoka prefecture 18 months ago. Hamaoka 5 is a 1325 MWe reactor The status of the seven reactors at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Station Reactors 2,3 …

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Nanosail-D has been ejected and should deploy in three days

The NanoSail-D nanosatellite ejected from Fast Affordable Scientific and Technology Satellite, FASTSAT. Nanosail-D dashboard The NanoSail-D beacon signal can be found at 437.270 MHz. The NanoSail-D science team is hopeful the nanosatellite is healthy and can complete its solar sail mission. After ejection, a timer within NanoSail-D begins a three-day countdown as the satellite orbits …

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