American Institute of Physics (AIP)

Sweating the small stuff

When people sweat, they unknowingly release a wide range of chemicals that can noninvasively inform clinicians on anything from stress hormone levels to glucose. But it's hard for researchers to glean this information -- unless you sweat a lot. Emerging wearable devices using stimulant gels have provided a way to induce sweat locally on the body. However, sweat can dilute these gels, which degrades their long-term viability.

A paperlike LCD- thin, flexible, tough and cheap

Optoelectronic have manufactured a special type of liquid crystal display that is paper-thin, flexible, light and tough. With this, a daily newspaper could be uploaded onto a flexible paperlike display that could be updated as fast as the news cycles, as reported in Printed Electronics World.

Biotemplates breakthrough paves way for cheaper nanobots

A feature of science fiction stories for decades, nanorobot potential ranges from cancer diagnosis and drug delivery to tissue repair and more. A major hurdle to these endeavors, however, is finding a way to cheaply make a propulsion system for these devices.

Piezoelectrics stretch their potential

Thin-film piezoelectrics, with dimensions on the scale of micrometers or smaller, offer potential for new applications where smaller dimensions or a lower voltage operation are required.

Vertical axis wind turbines can offer cheaper electricity

A vertical axis wind turbine is a wind turbine design where the generator is vertically oriented in the tower, rather than sitting horizontally on top.

Robotics-based study provides insight into predator-prey interactions

Researchers have recently gained advanced understanding of a variety of processes through the information-theoretic concept of transfer entropy.

Reducing conducting thin film surface roughness for electronics

Surface roughness reduction is a really big deal when it comes to fundamental surface physics and while fabricating electronic and optical devices.

Material turns sunlight, heat, movement into electricity all at once

Many forms of energy surround you: sunlight, the heat in your room and even your own movements. All that energy -- normally wasted -- can potentially help power your portable and wearable gadgets, from biometric sensors to smart watches.

Small scale energy harvesters show large scale impact

The production of nano-scale devices has drastically increased with the rise in technological applications, yet a major drawback to the functionality of nano-sized systems is the need for an equally small energy resource.

Creating new physical properties in materials

This work shows that new physical properties can be created artificially, reporting the piezoelectric effect in the artificially designed new phase of SrTiO3, a material that is not piezoelectric under normal conditions.

New ultrasound-powered actuator to develop micro robot

The quest to develop a wireless micro-robot for biomedical applications requires a small-scale "motor" that can be wirelessly powered through biological media.

Research shows remarkable interaction of light

The amount of light, passing through an opaque layer, can be enhanced using smart techniques. At the same time, the amount of reflected light diminishes, researchers now show.

Cicada wings inspire antireflective surfaces

A team of Shanghai Jiao Tong University researchers has used the shape of cicada wings as a template to create antireflective structures fabricated with one of the most intriguing semiconductor materials, titanium dioxide.

Fish biowaste converted to piezoelectric energy harvesters

Large quantities of fish are consumed in India on a daily basis, which generates a huge amount of fish "biowaste" materials. In an attempt to do something positive with this biowaste, a team of researchers explored recycling the fish byproducts into an energy harvester for self-powered electronics.

Ultra thin solar panels could power wearable technology revolution

Scientists have made ultra-thin photovoltaics flexible enough to wrap around the average pencil. The bendy solar cells could power wearable electronics like fitness trackers and smart glasses.

New method can deposit nanomaterials onto flexible surfaces

Researchers have developed a new method that uses plasma to print nanomaterials onto a 3-D object or flexible surface, such as paper or cloth.

Bumpy liquid films could simplify fabrication of microlenses

Have you ever noticed that when heated a film of oil in a pan doesn't remain completely flat? Instead, it forms a wavy pattern that resembles the exterior of an orange. These sorts of deformations inspired a group of researchers to explore whether they could be used to improve and streamline microfabrication processes.

Scientists print low cost radio frequency antenna with graphene ink

Scientists have moved graphene a significant step along the path from lab bench novelty to commercially viable material for new electronic applications.

Windows that act like an LCD screens

A novel liquid crystal technology allows displays to flip between transparent and opaque states.

New electronic paper could make inexpensive electronic displays

Researchers have revamped an old e-paper concept to make an inexpensive handwriting-enabled e-paper well suited to large displays like whiteboards.