Chemistry

Thu 22 Dec 2011 Chemicals and biofuel from wood biomass. A new method makes it possible to use microbes to produce butanol suitable for biofuel and other industrial chemicals from wood biomass. Butanol or butyl alcohol can refer to any of the four isomeric alcohols of formula C4H9OH. Butanol is particularly suited as a transport fuel because it is not water soluble and has higher energy content than ethanol. more

  Physics

Wed 21 Dec 2011 Researchers One Step Closer to Realizing Future Nanoscale MRI Instrument. The new advancements aims at developing a nanoscale magnetic imager consisting of individual electrons enclosed in a diamond crystal. The major challenge in realizing such a tool is the difficulty in accurately measuring a magnetic field utilizing the resonance of the individual electrons inside the diamond crystal. Magnetic imaging allows researchers to determine a limited scope of fields from molecules close to the resonant frequency of the sensor, which in turn complicates the imaging process. Dutt stated that to achieve this, highly advanced image processing and other methods are required. The research team employed quantum computing processes to eliminate the limitations of the hardware to see the whole magnetic field. By expanding the field, the team has increased the ratio between the optimum measurable field strength and field accuracy by a factor of 10 when compared to the earlier standard methods, paving the way for realizing a future nanoscale MRI tool that is capable of identifying locations of atoms without damaging them and analyzing properties of cells, materials and molecules in a noninvasive manner.more

  Energy

Tue 6 Dec 2011 Thinner thermal insulation. Vacuum insulation panels, VIPs for short, insulate ten times better than conventional insulation of the same thickness. At present these high-end products are built into energy-saving refrigerators. Innovative components and production techniques are now set to sink the costs – so that private home-builders can also benefit from the new technology.more

  Chemistry

Mon 5 Dec 2011 New revolutionary material can be worked like glass. A common feature of sailboards, aircraft and electronic circuits is that they all contain resins used for their lightness, strength and resistance. However, once cured, these resins can no longer be reshaped. Only certain inorganic compounds, including glass, offered this possibility until now. Combining such properties in a single material seemed impossible until now with the developement of a new class of compounds capable of this remarkable feat. Repairable and recyclable, this novel material can be shaped at will and in a reversible manner at high temperature. And, quite surprisingly, it also retains certain properties specific to organic resins and rubbers: it is light, insoluble and difficult to break. Inexpensive and easy to produce, this material could be used in numerous industrial applications, particularly in the automobile, aeronautics, building, electronics and leisure sectors. more