Science

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Black silicon can take efficiency of solar cells to new levels

Scientists at Aalto University, Finland, have demonstrated results that show a huge improvement in the light absorption and the surface passivation on silicon nanostructures. This has been achieved by applying atomic layer coating. The results advance the development of devices that require high sensitivity light response such as high efficiency solar cells.

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SEM image of the Al2O3 coated CZ Si surface with b-Si where a thin Al2O3 layer can be seen on top of the nanostructure.

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Dye Sensitized Solar Cells Show Higher Performance with Bi-Layer Titanium Dioxide Nanostructures

Iranian researchers from Sharif University of Technology, in association with Cambridge University in Britain, successfully fabricated titanium dioxide dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs).

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Titan Gets a Dune 'Makeover'

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This set of images from the radar instrument on NASA's Cassini spacecraft shows a relatively "fresh" crater called Sinlap (left) and an extremely degraded crater called Soi (right). Sinlap has a depth-to-diameter ratio close to what we see on Jupiter's moon Ganymede. Soi has a shallow depth compared to similar craters on Ganymede. These craters are both about 50 miles (80 kilometers) in diameter.

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Study Finds Severe Climate Jeopardizing Amazon Forest

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At left, the extent of the 2005 megadrought in the western Amazon rainforests during the summer months of June, July and August as measured by NASA satellites. The most impacted areas are shown in shades of red and yellow. The circled area in the right panel shows the extent of the forests that experienced slow recovery from the 2005 drought, with areas in red and yellow shades experiencing the slowest recovery.

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A nano-gear in a nano-motor inside you: A molecular mechanism for generation of large force inside cells

To live is to move. You strike to swat that irritable mosquito, which skilfully evades the hand of death. How did that happen? Who moved your hand, and what saved the mosquito? Enter the Molecular Motors, nanoscale protein-machines in the muscles of your hand and wings of the mosquito. You need these motors to swat mosquitoes, blink your eyes, walk, eat, drink... just name it. Millions of motors tug as a team within your muscles, and you swat the mosquito. This is teamwork at its exquisite best.

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A phagosome transported inside a living cell by molecular motors is held by a laser trap. This allows measurement of the picoNewton forces exerted by motors as they haul the phagosome inside the cell.

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Soft Lego built in the computer

Barbara Capone of the Computational Physics Group of the University of Vienna has developed a new method for the construction of building blocks at the nanoscale. The researcher in Soft Matter Physics, who works at the group of Christos Likos, Professor for Multiscale Computational Physics, is specialized on topics of self-assembly of materials at the nanoscale and she has published, together with her colleagues, a paper at the prestigious Journal "Physical Review Letters" on "soft Lego".

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Simulation snapshot of a diamond crystal built of soft patchy diblock star polymers

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NASA Ozone Study May Benefit Air Standards, Climate

A new NASA-led study finds that when it comes to combating global warming caused by emissions of ozone-forming chemicals, location matters.

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Light from the Darkness

On the left of this new image there is a dark column resembling a cloud of smoke. To the right shines a small group of brilliant stars. At first glance these two features could not be more different, but they are in fact closely linked. The cloud contains huge amounts of cool cosmic dust and is a nursery where new stars are being born. It is likely that the Sun formed in a similar star formation region more than four billion years ago.

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A hidden treasure in the Large Magellanic Cloud

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Nearly 200 000 light-years from Earth, the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way, floats in space, in a long and slow dance around our galaxy. Vast clouds of gas within it slowly collapse to form new stars. In turn, these light up the gas clouds in a riot of colours, visible in this image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope.

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Heliatek consolidates its technology leadership by establishing a new world record for organic solar technology with a cell efficiency of 12%

Heliatek GmbH, the leader in organic solar films, today announced a record breaking 12.0% cell efficiency for its organic solar cells. This world record, established in cooperation with the University of Ulm and TU Dresden, was measured by the accredited testing facility SGS. The measurement campaign at SGS also validated the superior low light and high temperature performances of organic photovoltaics (OPV) compared to traditional solar technologies.

The 12.0% record cell on a standard size of 1.1 cm² combines two patented absorber materials, which convert light of different wavelengths. Using two different absorber materials creates a stronger absorption of photons and improves energetic utilization through a higher photovoltage.Thanks to OPV's unique behavior at high temperatures and low light conditions, this 12% efficiency is comparable to about 14% to 15% efficiency for traditional solar technologies like crystalline silicon and thin film PV. Whereas those technologies significantly lose cell efficiency with rising temperatures and decreasing solar irradiation, organic cells increase their efficiency in these conditions leading to a much higher energy harvesting in real life environments.