To Infinity and Beyond: Powering Space Exploration with Nanowire Solar Cells
To Infinity and Beyond Powering Space Exploration with Nanowire Solar Cells With hopes of exploring deeper and deeper into space, creating a “constellation of satellites” for navigation to Internet service, and even distributing solar power collected from space directly to Earth (space-based solar power), we will need new solar cell designs to more efficiently power […]
Does size matter if you can’t see it?
Does Size Matter If You Can’t See It Imagine you have the world’s best magnifying glass and you could zoom into objects indefinitely, what do you think you would see? The wonders of the cosmos have captured the imagination of many great thinkers, from Socrates to Galileo and Isaac Newton. Yet, while they […]
Identifying the traps in next generation solar cells
Identifying the Traps in Next Generation Solar Cells Since the Copernican model of the solar system we have known that the earth revolves around the sun. Efficiently harvesting sunlight will also be at the centre of our solution to the current global climate emergency. The Sun potentially represents a huge clean energy source, with approximately […]
Nature’s own polymers: the solution to plastic pollution?
Nature’s Own Polymers the Solution to Plastic Pollution Plastics are essential to modern living, they preserve our food, encase our electronics and are even in our toothpaste! However, most modern plastics are non-biodegradable, harmful to other animals and contribute to landfill. If we are to halt plastic pollution, we need sustainable alternatives, and quick! But […]
Hacking Photosynthesis
Hacking Photosynthesis (or, a love letter to cyanobacteria) Cyanobacteria are little green critters that have been happily thriving in almost every habitat on this planet for the last 2.7 billion years. They were around long before creatures like us could even survive. In fact, cyanobacteria might very well be the reason you’re around to read […]
Magnetic nanostructures for the improved detection and treatment of kidney cancer
Magnetic Nanostructures for the Improved Detection and Treatment of Kidney Cancer Picture this: a lump is found in your kidney during a routine ultrasound scan. The doctors are unable to tell you if the lump is cancerous or not. Your options are to wait and see, potentially delaying treatment which could save your life, or […]
Improving communication security, one photon at a time
Improving Communication Security, One Photon at a Time It seems like a weekly occurrence to hear of the latest huge data hack, exposing vast deposits of customer credit card details, patient records or other sensitive confidential information. This risk of cyber-attack only increases as our world become ever more connected and online, so governments and […]
The XVI Arcanum from a Physicist’s Tarot
The XVI Arcanum from a Physicist’s Tarot Scattered fragments from an interview with a quantum mechanic The Tower is built on spit and spite1 Q: What is your project and why did you choose it? A: When, between a session on the bongos and a lectio magistralis, Richard Feynman was asked about quantum […]
Sodium, so watt? How sea salt could power your next car (or home)!
Sodium, so watt? How sea salt could power your next car (or home)! Okay, not quite sea salt. But sodium, the 6th most common element on Earth, and regular feature at the dinner table (as sodium chloride table salt, don’t eat sodium metal!), could soon make batteries cheaper, and more sustainable.1–3 In modern batteries, a […]
RNA-DNA Hybrids: Diagnosis and Transcriptomics
RNA-DNA Hybrids Diagnosis and Transcriptomics Imagine you find a very nice cooking recipe online and you want to replicate it. You print it out and head to the kitchen. But when you get there, you realize that some of the steps have been printed several times. You begin to prepare the dish, but the repeated […]