Thermodynamics News

February 27, 2025

Top Headlines

Cooling Materials -- Out of the 3D Printer

Feb. 20, 2025 — Rapid, localized heat management is essential for electronic devices and could have applications ranging from wearable materials to burn treatment. While so-called thermoelectric materials convert temperature differences to electrical voltage and ...

New Environmentally-Friendly Mortar Reduces Heat Loss

Feb. 19, 2025 — A mortar made from recycled plastic and silica aerogel which improves insulation and reduces plastic waste has been ...

Harnessing Failure as an Asset: How Researchers Are Innovating Smarter Wearable Tech

Feb. 18, 2025 — In the world of soft robotics and wearable technology, sheet-based fluidic devices are revolutionizing how lightweight, flexible and multifunctional systems are designed. But with innovation comes ...

Jacket Uses AI to Keep You Comfortable

Feb. 13, 2025 — Electronic textiles, such as heating pads and electric blankets, can keep the wearer warm and help ease aches and pains. However, prolonged use of these devices could possibly cause heat-related illnesses, including hyperthermia or burns. Recently, ...

Latest Headlines

updated 9:35am EST

Turning Car and Helicopter Exhaust Into Thermoelectric Energy

Feb. 11, 2025 — Combustion engines, the engines in gas-powered cars, only use a quarter of the fuel's potential energy while the rest is lost as heat through exhaust. Now, a study demonstrates how to convert exhaust ...

Researchers Discover Simple Solution to Break Down Forever Chemicals

Feb. 5, 2025 — A researcher has discovered a new method to remove so-called 'forever chemicals' from our drinking water by heating the PFAS with granular activated carbon. The discovery represents a significant ...

Why Do Plants Transport Energy So Efficiently and Quickly?

Feb. 4, 2025 — Photosynthesis -- mainly carried out by plants -- is based on a remarkably efficient energy conversion process. To generate chemical energy, sunlight must first be captured and transported further. ...

Fans Not Enough for Elderly in Heat Waves

Jan. 31, 2025 — A study assessed the impact of electric fans on the body core temperature and heart rate of 18 participants aged 65-85 years, who were exposed to a simulated extreme indoor environment of 36 degrees ...

Role of Barrier Films in Maintaining the Stability of Perovskite Solar Cells

Jan. 30, 2025 — Flexible perovskite solar cells are promising for lightweight and versatile applications but their sensitivity to humidity and temperature poses a ...

Lightsails Could Reach Distant Star Systems

Jan. 31, 2025 — A team of scientists has made the first experimental measurements of laser-induced motions of miniature lightsails in the ...

Your Fridge Uses Tech from the 50's, but Scientists Have an Update

Jan. 30, 2025 — Researchers report that a more efficient and environmentally friendly form of refrigeration might be on the horizon. The new technology is based on thermogalvanic cells that produce a cooling effect ...

Even Quantum Physics Obeys the Law of Entropy

Jan. 29, 2025 — The universe is getting more disordered, entropy is growing -- this is the second law of thermodynamics. But according to quantum theory, entropy should actually stay the same. Scientists took a ...

New Atom-Based Thermometer Measures Temperature More Accurately

Jan. 29, 2025 — Scientists have developed a new method for measuring temperature extremely accurately by using giant 'Rydberg' atoms. This atomic thermometer provides accurate measurements 'out of the box,' without ...

Clean Hydrogen in Minutes: Microwaves Deliver Clean Energy Faster

Jan. 21, 2025 — An interdisciplinary team has developed a groundbreaking technology that addresses key limitations in clean hydrogen production using microwaves. They have also successfully elucidated the underlying ...

This Multiferroic Can Take the Heat -- Up to 160?

Jan. 31, 2025 — Researchers are breaking limits by increasing the temperature multiferroics can operate at, from room temperature up to a blistering 160 degrees ...

Using Infrared Heat Transfer to Modify Chemical Reactions

Jan. 23, 2025 — Researchers have shown for the first time that heat transfer in the form of infrared radiation can influence chemical reactions more strongly than traditional convection and conduction ...

We Can Make Fertilizer More Efficiently Under the Surface of the Earth

Jan. 21, 2025 — Instead of relying on energy-hungry reactors to generate high temperatures and pressure, researchers are looking underground at Earth's natural heat and forces to cook up ammonia for fertilizer. ...

Engineers Develop Breakthrough Method for Aluminum Surfaces, Enabling Advancements in Cooling, Self-Cleaning and Anti-Icing Technologies

Jan. 15, 2025 — An international team of engineers has developed an innovative, scalable method for creating topography-patterned aluminum surfaces, enhancing liquid transport properties critical for applications in ...

New Insights Into Acoustic Bubbles Give Boost to Future Applications

Jan. 10, 2025 — A research team found a key indicator for the chemical activity of acoustic microbubbles and a correlation between the temperature of a liquid and that of the microbubbles ...

Harnessing Microwave Flow Reaction to Convert Biomass Into Useful Sugars

Jan. 10, 2025 — Researchers have developed a new process that uses microwave flow reaction and recyclable solid catalysts to efficiently hydrolyze polysaccharides into simple sugars. The developed device utilizes a ...

Revolutionizing Heat Management With High-Performance Cerium Oxide Thermal Switches

Jan. 1, 2025 — Groundbreaking cerium oxide-based thermal switches achieve remarkable performance, transforming heat flow control with sustainable and efficient ...

Geothermal Aquifers Offer Green Potential but Quality Checks Required

Dec. 20, 2024 — A research team has revealed that to use the aquifer thermal energy storage (ATES) system safely over the long term it is crucial to investigate the groundwater quality before operating the system ...

This Prototype Sunscreen Protects Your Skin and Cools You Off, Too

Dec. 19, 2024 — Wearing sunscreen is important to protect your skin from the harmful effects of UV radiation but doesn't cool people off. However, a new formula protects against both UV light and heat from the ...

Plasma Heating Efficiency in Fusion Devices Boosted by Metal Screens

Dec. 19, 2024 — Scientists have performed computer simulations confirming a technique that prevents the production of unhelpful electromagnetic waves, boosting the heat put into fusion ...

It's Worth Mixing It Up: What Combination of Policies Will Lead to a Clean Energy Future?

Dec. 16, 2024 — How can we ensure that as many households as possible adopt not only solar panels, but also their own battery to store solar energy, a heat pump, and an electric car? Researchers have looked into ...

Breakthrough Brings Body-Heat Powered Wearable Devices Closer to Reality

Dec. 12, 2024 — A research team has developed an ultra-thin, flexible film that could power next-generation wearable devices using body heat, eliminating the need for ...

Unlocking Next-Gen Chip Efficiency: Confirming Thermal Insights for Tiny Circuits

Dec. 12, 2024 — A team of researchers unlock heat flow principles in ultra-thin metals, paving the way for faster, smaller, more efficient computer ...

Battery-Like Computer Memory Keeps Working Above 1000°F

Dec. 9, 2024 — Computer memory could one day withstand the blazing temperatures in fusion reactors, jet engines, geothermal wells and sweltering planets using a new solid-state memory device developed by a team of ...

'Layer Down' -- Thin Coating of Mxene Material Could Replace Thick Layers of Insulation

Dec. 5, 2024 — Researchers have discovered that MXenes, a type of material known for its excellent electrical conductivity, actually have very low thermal conductivity. This finding challenges the usual link ...

New 3D Printing Approach Means Better Biomedical, Energy, Robotics Devices

Dec. 2, 2024 — A researcher has helped create a new 3D printing approach for shape-changing materials that are likened to muscles, opening the door for improved applications in robotics as well as biomedical and ...

Bendable Electronic Parts Heat Up by Themselves Like 'Heat Pack' and Lower the Manufacturing Temperature Barrier

Dec. 2, 2024 — A research team has developed liquid-processed thin-film transistors that can maintain high performance at low temperatures -- They are expected to be used in the next generation of high-performance ...

Making a Difference: Efficient Water Harvesting from Air Possible

Nov. 27, 2024 — A research team has found a way to make more efficient the desorption of water-adsorption polymers used in atmospheric water harvesting and desiccant air ...

Using Sunlight to Recycle Black Plastics

Nov. 25, 2024 — Not all plastics are equal -- some types and colors are easier to recycle than others. For instance, black foam and black coffee lids, which are often made of polystyrene, usually end up in landfills ...

Quantum-Inspired Design Boosts Efficiency of Heat-to-Electricity Conversion

Nov. 21, 2024 — Researchers have found a new way to improve a key element of thermophotovoltaic systems, which convert heat into electricity via light. Engineers designed a thermal emitter that can deliver high ...