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Sunday, July 31, 2011

ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

ScienceDaily: Latest Science News


Sun-free photovoltaics: Materials engineered to give off precisely tuned wavelengths of light when heated

Posted: 30 Jul 2011 03:02 PM PDT

A new photovoltaic energy-conversion system can be powered solely by heat, generating electricity with no sunlight at all. While the principle involved is not new, a novel way of engineering the surface of a material to convert heat into precisely tuned wavelengths of light -- selected to match the wavelengths that photovoltaic cells can best convert to electricity -- makes the new system much more efficient than previous versions.

Soybean genetic treasure trove found in Swedish village

Posted: 29 Jul 2011 02:54 PM PDT

The first screening of the American ancestors of soybeans for tolerance to ozone and other stresses had an eye-opening result: The world superstars of stress resistance hailed from a little village in far northern Sweden, called Fiskeby.

Averting bridge disasters: New technology could save hundreds of lives

Posted: 29 Jul 2011 02:53 PM PDT

Millions of US drivers cross faulty or obsolete bridges every day, highway statistics show, but it's too costly to fix these spans or adequately monitor their safety, says a researcher who's developed a new, affordable early warning system. This wireless technology could avert the kind of fatal disaster along Minneapolis' I-35W on Aug. 1, 2007, he says -- and do so at one-one-hundredth the cost of current wired systems.

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