Science

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Big Step for Next-Generation Fuel Cells and Electrolyzers

Researchers at Berkeley and Argonne National Labs Discover Highly Promising New Class of Nanocatalyst

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These schematic illustrations and corresponding transmission electron microscope images show the evolution of platinum/nickel from polyhedra to dodecahedron nanoframes with platinum-enriched skin.

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Big Step for Next-Generation Fuel Cells and Electrolyzers: Researchers at Berkeley and Argonne National Labs Discover Highly Promising New Class of Nanocatalyst

A big step in the development of next-generation fuel cells and water-alkali electrolyzers has been achieved with the discovery of a new class of bimetallic nanocatalysts that are an order of magnitude higher in activity than the target set by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for 2017. The new catalysts, hollow polyhedral nanoframes of platinum and nickel, feature a three-dimensional catalytic surface activity that makes them significantly more efficient and far less expensive than the best platinum catalysts used in today's fuel cells and alkaline electrolyzers. This research was a collaborative effort between DOE's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and Argonne National Laboratory (ANL).

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These schematic illustrations and corresponding transmission electron microscope images show the evolution of platinum/nickel from polyhedra to dodecahedron nanoframes with platinum-enriched skin.

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Thin Film Thickness Measurements of Sub-Micron Sampling Areas from CRAIC Technologies

CRAIC FilmPro™ software is used with CRAIC Technologies microspectrometers to measure the thickness of thin films of microspot areas in both reflectance and transmission.

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NASA Scientists Find Evidence of Water in Meteorite, Reviving Debate Over Life on Mars

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This scanning electron microscope image of a polished thin section of a meteorite from Mars shows tunnels and curved microtunnels.

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Observe Jupiter ‘up close’ during National Astronomy Week

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An image of Jupiter made by amateur astronomer and NAW Steering Group member David Arditti. He captured this picture on 16 February 2014, using a 36 cm telescope set up in his back garden in north London.

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Neosat boosting Europe’s telecommunications by satellite

European Space Agency (ESA) is forging ahead with the Neosat next-generation satcom platform, planning the first flights within five years. The goal is for European satellite builders to capture at least half of the world’s satcom market in 2018–30 through innovation and efficiency, generating €25 billion in sales.

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The Shocking Behavior of a Speedy Star

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The red arc in this infrared image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope is a giant shock wave, created by a speeding star known as Kappa Cassiopeiae.

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A New Laser for a Faster Internet

A new laser developed by a research group at Caltech holds the potential to increase by orders of magnitude the rate of data transmission in the optical-fiber network—the backbone of the Internet.

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WB Supports Road Improvements and Maintenance in Ethiopia

The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors approved funds to help Ethiopia upgrade the country’s road system, strengthen road maintenance and reduce travel time along inter-regional corridors.

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The Gifts of Prometheus (Part II)

Fusion & Physical Chemistry

The next material that was introduced was iron. Now, iron is much more plentiful than copper. Iron ore looks like copper ore—it's not a green rock, but it looks like a rock. You wouldn't expect anything metallic to come out of it. But if you do the same process we did with the malachite, you'll wind up with what we see in Figure 6. This is called an "iron bloom." It's not pure iron, it's not melted, it still has impurities in it. After you heat it, you basically bang it—this guy is using a sledge hammer—you have to beat the impurities out of it. It takes a lot of work, and all that work produces wrought iron, which is very pure iron.