Blog

Possible Lightning Strike - Tree Leaf Post-Analysis

shabaz

The UK has been having really nice (hot) weather recently, although there was a brief rainstorm, and possibly lightning during periods over the last few days.We have small pear and plum trees, about 15-20 feet high perhaps. Anyway, the leaves looked ...
- 31 Jul 2018
Part 5: Murata to Realize Energy Harvesting for IoT - UMA series / Application example: Main Power Supply

murata

Murata's small energy devices (UMA series) can be charged very quickly because they can be charged-discharged at a high rate of 10C or more. If using UMA series as main power supply, you can use the equipment soon by quick charge even when p...
- 31 Jul 2018
Harvard organic flow battery is longer lasting and inexpensive

Catwell

Researchers at Harvard have created a new organic molecule for flow batteries that promises to be a longer lasting and inexpensive alternative to lithium-ion batteries. This flow battery uses a new organic molecule that’s longer lasting and performs ...
- 31 Jul 2018
Rectenna - Device Converts Heat Waste into Electricity

Catwell

Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories have created a device made out of common materials that can convert heat into electrical power. The rectenna, short for rectifying antenna, catches and converts heat waste into electrical power. (Photo via ...
- 23 Jul 2018
Cornell’s new battery is 3D, self-assembling and charges in seconds

Catwell

The 3D battery is a proof of concept but has the potential to change how batteries work. A mockup of the 3D battery architecture with interpenetrating anode, separator, and cathode each about 20 nanometers in size. (Photo via Cornell University)&nbsp...
- 16 Jul 2018
Trolysis reveals a fuel made of aluminum with their new flagship system

Catwell

Trolysis introduces their long-awaited flagship system to consumers, which promises to be a cheaper and more efficient alternative to traditional fuel. Though it looks like a trash compactor, this system actually turns aluminum into fuel (Photo via T...
- 14 Jun 2018
Could a new latticed material increase battery life by more than a hundred fold?

Catwell

The left shows MU’s honeycomb structure for the material, while right shows diode-type behavior of current flowing in one direction (Photo via University of Missouri) There’s no question that smart devices, like phones and laptops, have made our...
- 12 Jun 2018
Haliade-X: World’s Largest Turbine Reducing The Cost Of Electricity

Catwell

General Electric’s department of renewable energy is working on a new wind turbine that will contribute to reducing the cost of electricity. Comparison chart of the Haliade-X to other important buildings. (Image via GE) The US firm General Elect...
- 3 May 2018
Switch Mode Power Control: Investigating the LED BoosterPack

Jan Cumps

The TI LED BoosterPack has some interesting power devices. There's a Buck converter, a low drop linear regulator, a few Boost converters with power MOSFETs.The board also has 8 RGB power LEDs and current sensing circuits. Enough interesting elect...
- 1 May 2018
Modelling of Time Constants for Carbon Based Supercapacitors

Former Member

Shameless plug to my recently published paper! It's open source so you should be able to view it. Key findings:Supercapacitors do not behave like other capacitors (obvious if you've used one). Mainly in that their charge profile is n...
- 12 Apr 2018
Part 4: Murata to Realize Energy Harvesting for IoT - UMA series / Application example: Backup

murata

Murata's small energy devices (UMA series), with high capacitance in a small package, can provide high-power backup for system or data for a long time in case of power failure. They can also contribute to a maintenance-free system because of their lo...
- 3 Apr 2018
Nissan Reuses Old EV Batteries for a Greater Good

Catwell

The Japanese car company Nissan is reusing some of the batteries from its electric cars in a new program to power cities’ streetlights. A lamp prototype of the light reborn program promo video (Image via Nissan) As the debate on climate change a...
- 2 Apr 2018
Part 3: Murata to Realize Energy Harvesting for IoT - UMA series / Application example: Energy harvesting

murata

Murata’s small energy devices (UMA series) are optimum storage devices for energy harvesting. They can be used over a wide input and output range, and can store precious harvested energy for long time with low loss because they have low leakage curre...
- 14 Mar 2018
Part 2: Murata to Realize Energy Harvesting for IoT - UMA series / Features & Benefits

murata

Murata’s small energy devices are secondary batteries offering high-rate charge-discharge characteristics of up to 10C in addition to a long cycle life. The award-winning UMA series is well suited as a power supply for small power portable equipment ...
- 2 Mar 2018
Part 1: Murata to realize Energy Harvesting for IoT - UMA series / Overview

murata

Learn all about Murata’s award-winning small energy devices (UMA series).The UMA energy saving devices can be used as a power supply or secondary battery for backup in various applications such wearable devices and healthcare.UMA series - Overviewwww...
- 27 Feb 2018
Clean Coal Will Rely on Carbon Capture and Storage Technologies to Reduce Pollution

Catwell

(Image credit: Pexels) Coal ranks number one on the dirty scale when it comes to burning fossil fuels for power generation. When coal burns, it releases carbon dioxide and methane, known emissions that contribute significantly to global warming...
- 22 Feb 2018
California on Track to Meet Green Energy Goals a Decade Early

Catwell

Renewable energy development in the California desert. (Image credit: Bureau of Land Management via Flickr) California is on track to reach 50% of their renewable energy goal ten years ahead of schedule, according to the California Public Utili...
- 13 Feb 2018
Estimating Xilinx power requirements

ctammann

Xilinx FPGAs provide a tremendous amount of design flexibility. Because they are so versatile, defining your power requirements isn’t as straightforward as simply reading an input voltage and load current requirement. You have core rails, auxiliary r...
- 11 Jan 2018
Power Modules Becoming More Compelling

ctammann

Controller vs converter vs moduleIntegration is the driving force behind many of the technologies we see from semiconductor manufacturers. Power devices are no different, whether it be integration of compensation, switching components, multiple outpu...
- 14 Dec 2017
MIT Researchers Design Device to Make Power Conversion More Efficient

Catwell

Gallium nitride device can handle high voltages and make power conversion more efficient. (Image credit: MIT) Most people know that electrical efficiency affects nearly everything that uses power- smartphones/mobile devices, electric vehicles a...
- 12 Dec 2017
Building a Three Phase Mains Power System Simulator

shabaz

IntroductionSometimes in order to learn something, it is good to build and experiment and measure. That’s not always possible due to practicality concerns. This was the case recently, for a review of a piece of equipment that can work with a three ph...
- 8 Dec 2017
Researchers 3D Print First Objects that Connect to Wi-Fi without Electronics

Catwell

3D printed gears and spring toggle a switch made of conductive plastic, which changes the state of a 3D printed antenna to convey data to a Wi-Fi receiver. (Image credit: University of Washington) Researchers from the University of Washington h...
- 7 Dec 2017
Samsung improves lithium-ion batteries with graphene coating

Catwell

New research from Samsung show that lithium-ion batteries can be both fast charging and have high capacities when coated with graphene. No, this isn’t your carpet under a microscope. It’s what graphene looks like. (Photo from Samsung) Even thoug...
- 5 Dec 2017
Puerto Rico Could Benefit Greatly by Switching to Microgrids for Power

Catwell

Hurricane Maria aftermath. The storm damaged the island’s already deteriorated electrical infrastructure. (Image credit Puerto Rico National Guard via Flickr) Electricity is something most of us take for granted until it suddenly is shut off, a...
- 26 Oct 2017
Learn to Build A Battery Backup Supply for Small Electronics

janeeni

I want to share a project about building a battery backup supply for small electronics. With this backup supply, you can never run out of power.There are a lot of electronics that need to be reliably on all the time. Alarm clocks are a good example o...
- 14 Oct 2017