Applied Physics

Future Tech: Robotic Jellyfish Patroling The Oceans

An autonomous robotic jellyfish the size and weight of a grown man has been developed.  Nicknamed Cyro, this prototype is a larger model of the robotic jellyfish (named RoboJelly) the same team unveiled in 2012. RoboJelly is roughly the size of a man' ...

Article - News Staff - Mar 28 2013 - 3:13pm

Tunable Transparency And Wettability: New Adaptive Material Inspired By Tears

Researchers have designed a new kind of adaptive material with tunable transparency and wettability features- imagine a tent that blocks light on a dry and sunny day, and becomes transparent and water-repellent on a dim, rainy day. Or highly precise, self ...

Article - News Staff - Apr 8 2013 - 11:14am

Peel-And-Stick Solar Power

When many of us were kids, water-transfer printing meant a fake tattoo. For our children, it will mean peel-and-stick versions of solar cells that charge cell phones, change the tint on windows, or power their toys.  Peel-and-stick, or water-assisted tran ...

Article - News Staff - Apr 16 2013 - 3:00pm

Resistive Memory Cells: Battery And Memory All In One

Computer memory works on the basis of electrons that are moved around and stored. Electrons are small and, when it comes to insuring that information will not be lost over time, can be difficult to control using relatively thick insulator walls, so that i ...

Article - News Staff - Apr 24 2013 - 10:20am

AC, DC: What's The Difference?

AC, DC: What's The Difference? The difference between alternating current (AC) and direct current (DC) is readily explained, yet most widely published "explanations" seem to muddle the facts and cause confusion.  I hope that this short arti ...

Article - Patrick Lockerby - Apr 25 2013 - 7:26pm

DC Versus AC

Direct current (DC) In a DC (direct current) circuit where the electricity flows in one direction, we can think of a battery as a storage tank like the water tower in your neighborhood. If nobody turned on their faucet, the water in the tower would just s ...

Article - Steve Schuler - May 20 2013 - 5:47pm

Magnetism Makes Archaeological Sourcing 'High Definition'

Sourcing of ancient artifacts has gotten a new advance. While at the University of Sheffield in the years 1965–1972, Professor Lord Colin Renfrew developed a technique that matched stone tools made of obsidian, naturally occurring glass, to their volcanic ...

Article - News Staff - May 22 2013 - 9:19am

Colon Simulation Is A Crappy Job

Dr. Ian Marcus, recent Ph.D. from the U.C. Riverside Bourns College of Engineering, wanted to better understand how bacteria impact the environment. So he spent nearly a year building a system that replicates a human colon, septic tank and groundwater and ...

Article - News Staff - May 28 2013 - 9:21am

Discovery: Skyrmions Lead To Artificial Magnetic Monopoles

When a magnet is divided, a new magnet with north and south poles is always created. A monopole, i.e. a north pole without a south pole or a south pole without a north pole has not yet been discovered but in Science researchers describe the discovery of ne ...

Article - News Staff - Jun 1 2013 - 11:18am

Wendelstein 7-X Fusion Device Will Be Operational In 2014

The last open seam on the steel outer cover of the Wendelstein 7-X fusion device was closed last week, which means the core of fusion device and the installation stage has been completed and it can go into operation at the Greifswald branch institute of Ma ...

Article - News Staff - Jun 4 2013 - 1:00pm