Researchers at MIT’s Department of Mechanical Engineering have developed a simple, graphite and carbon-based sponge that soaks up water and heats it using the sun’s rays. The sponge converts the water into steam that can then be used for water purification or as a power source. With low-cost materials and an 85 percent efficiency rate, the invention has the potential
ON Semiconductor Corp. has added three new current-mode, fixed-frequency integrated switching regulators (ISRs) to its power management product portfolio. Targeted at use in compact, high-reliability offline ac-dc switched-mode power supplies, the NCP1129, NCP1126, and NCP1124 incorporate an avalanche-rated 650V MOSFET and frequency foldback along with skip mode that improve the light load and standby efficiency, meeting the ENERGY STAR® EPS
Australian team Sunswift destroyed a 26-year old record for the world’s fastest long-range electric vehicle this week, traveling over 310 miles at an average of 62 mph. The previous record clocked in at 45 mph, which the Sunswift team handily beat using their Sunswift eVe vehicle. The car, which is the fifth car from the record-breaking team, can travel over
Rohm has taken discrete semiconductor and passive component miniaturisation to a new level. The company has produced chip resistors in 03015 (0.3 × 0.15mm) size as well as Schottky barrier diodes in 0402 (0.4 × 0.2mm) size. The devices make use of a proprietary process called Rohm advanced smart micro device technology. Rohm says this is possible because its packaging
Nagoya: Toyota Motor Corp. subsidiary Primearth EV Energy Co. Tuesday said it will increase its production capacity for nickel metal hydride batteries used in hybrid cars. To meet increasing demand for fuel-efficient cars, the Shizuoka-based subsidiary will expand its production capacity at its plant in Miyagi Prefecture in northeastern Japan, to 500,000 cars worth of rechargeable batteries from the current
The Department of Commerce has again found for the petitioner, SolarWorld, in its Chinese solar module trade case. This afternoon’s preliminary decision imposes significant tariffs on Chinese solar modules in the anti-dumping portion of this case. Today’s decision also closes what SolarWorld called a “loophole” that allowed Chinese module manufacturers to use Taiwanese cells in their modules and circumvent U.S.
No need to hammer home the Popeye parallel, so let’s get right down to it: there’s a new reason to love spinach. And this new reason is related to the old reason – why your mother insisted you eat it. Like all leafy greens, spinach is very good for you. Beyond that, the vegetable’s intense green is evidence that it
Construction has commenced on what will be the largest single rooftop solar photovoltaic PV project in Australia, with the installation of a 990kWp system at the IKEA Tempe store in New South Wales. The system, which is being installed by Kingspan Energy, will be the largest of IKEA’s Australian PV projects – comprising nearly 4,000 Yingli polycrystalline modules and 43
US renewable energy and solar specialist Recurrent Energy says up to 2,500MW of utility-scale solar could be built in Australia by 2020 if the renewable energy target is kept as is. Recurrent Energy says utility scale solar PV will be cost competitive with wind energy within a few years – as others such as Bloomberg New Energy Finance have pointed
Avago Technologies has introduced a gate drive optocoupler device that integrates a flyback controller for DC-DC converters and fail-safe IGBT diagnostics. The device’s 2.5A rail-to-rail output makes it suitable for driving IGBTs and power MOSFETs in industrial power inverters and motor drives. “By integrating the flyback controller, the ACPL-302J allows fewer discrete components and small high-efficiency transformer to be placed