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IMAGE: Despite the recent advances in the power conversion efficiency of organic solar cells, insights into the processing-driven thermo-mechanical stability of bulk heterojunction active layers are helping to advance the field.. view more
Credit: Department of Mechanical Engineering and Mechanics/Lehigh University
Today, solar energy provides 2% of U.S. power. However, by 2050, renewables are predicted to be the most used energy source (surpassing petroleum and other liquids, natural gas, and coal) and solar will overtake wind as the leading source of renewable power. To reach that point, and to make solar power more affordable, solar technologies still require a number of breakthroughs. One is the ability to more efficiently transform photons of light from the Sun into useable energy.
A new research paper builds on previous research of COVID-19 testing in municipal sewer systems and subsequent tracing the virus back to the source by more accurately modelling a system s treelike network of one-way pipes and manholes, and by speeding up the detection/tracing process through automatic sensors installed in specific manholes, chosen according to an easier-to-use algorithm.
Supported by two Office of Naval Research grants totaling $900,000, Wenxin Liu, of Lehigh University, will continue research into the advanced control of power systems through algorithmic design and hardware experimentation. He will examine real-time optimal power flow control in power electronic power distribution systems and investigate the coordination of heterogeneous generators within a naval ship s power system. Both projects could lead to improvements in civilian microgrid technology.
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IMAGE: (Top panel, from left to right) July 12, 2012 coronal mass ejection seen in STEREO B Cor2, SOHO C2, and STEREO A Cor2 coronagraphs, respectively. (Bottom panel) The same images. view more
Credit: Talwinder Singh, Mehmet S. Yalim, Nikolai V. Pogorelov, and Nat Gopalswamy
The surface of the sun churns with energy and frequently ejects masses of highly-magnetized plasma towards Earth. Sometimes these ejections are strong enough to crash through the magnetosphere the natural magnetic shield that protects the Earth damaging satellites or electrical grids. Such space weather events can be catastrophic.
Astronomers have studied the sun s activity for centuries with greater and greater understanding. Today, computers are central to the quest to understand the sun s behavior and its role in space weather events.
Credit: Ben Wigler/CSHL, 2021
You would not be surprised to see an elephant in the savanna or a plate in your kitchen. Based on your prior experiences and knowledge, you know that is where elephants and plates are often to be found. If you saw a mysterious object in your kitchen, how would you figure out what it was? You would rely on your expectations or prior knowledge. Should a computer approach the problem in the same way? The answer may surprise you. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Professor Partha Mitra described how he views problems like these in a Perspective in