Power/Performance Bits: Jan. 19


Electronic skin for health tracking Researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder developed a stretchy electronic 'skin' that can perform the tasks of wearable fitness devices such as tracking body temperature, heart rate, and movement patterns. "Smart watches are functionally nice, but they're always a big chunk of metal on a band," said Wei Zhang, a professor in the Department of Chem... » read more

Power/Performance Bits: June 23


Capturing waste heat Researchers at Wuhan University and University of California Los Angeles developed a hydrogel that can both cool down electronics and convert the waste heat into electricity. The thermogalvanic hydrogel consists of a polyacrylamide framework infused with water and specific ions. When they heated the hydrogel, two of the ions (ferricyanide and ferrocyanide) transferred e... » read more

Power/Performance Bits: July 23


Thinnest light absorber Expected to potentially reduce the cost and improve the efficiency of solar cells, Stanford University scientists report they have created the thinnest, most efficient absorber of visible light on record. The nanoscale structure is thousands of times thinner than an ordinary sheet of paper. The researchers said achieving complete absorption of visible light with a mi... » read more