news tagged with: temperature difference en-us internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. Climate change does not cause extreme winters, new study shows Cold snaps like the ones that hit the eastern United States in the past winters are not a consequence of climate change. Scientists at ETH Zurich and the California Institute of Technology have shown that global warming actually tends to reduce temperature variability. Earth Fri, 27 Mar 2015 14:02:33 EDT news346683731 Weighing gas with sound and microwaves NIST scientists have developed a novel method to rapidly and accurately calibrate gas flow meters, such as those used to measure natural gas flowing in pipelines, by applying a fundamental physical principle: When a sound wave travels through a gas containing temperature gradients, the sound wave's average speed is determined by the average temperature of the gas. Technology Mon, 26 Jan 2015 10:00:03 EDT news341486605 What makes one Earth-like planet more habitable than another? When it comes to finding the right kind of planet to target in the search for life elsewhere in the universe, the size of the planet matters. Astronomy & Space Tue, 06 Jan 2015 09:40:04 EDT news339756191 The science behind the ice in Disney's Frozen How much power does Elsa really have? According to Aaron Goldberg, quite a lot. Physics Fri, 01 Aug 2014 06:51:13 EDT news326094644 Researchers discover a way for temperature gradients in fluids to move objects Researchers at MIT have discovered a new way of harnessing temperature gradients in fluids to propel objects. In the natural world, the mechanism may influence the motion of icebergs floating on the sea and rocks moving through subterranean magma chambers. Physics Wed, 21 May 2014 08:00:01 EDT news319876320 New insight into thermoelectric materials may boost green technologies Thermoelectric materials can turn a temperature difference into an electric voltage. Among their uses in a variety of specialized applications: generating power on space probes and cooling seats in fancy cars. Physics Wed, 14 May 2014 15:13:20 EDT news319299186 Solving a mystery of thermoelectrics Materials that can be used for thermoelectric devices—those that turn a temperature difference into an electric voltage—have been known for decades. But until now there has been no good explanation for why just a few materials work well for these applications, while most others do not. Now researchers at MIT and elsewhere say they have finally found a theoretical explanation for the differences, which could lead to the discovery of new, improved thermoelectric materials. Chemistry Tue, 29 Apr 2014 13:07:04 EDT news317995612 Nanoscale pillars could radically improve conversion of heat to electricity University of Colorado Boulder scientists have found a creative way to radically improve thermoelectric materials, a finding that could one day lead to the development of improved solar panels, more energy-efficient cooling equipment, and even the creation of new devices that could turn the vast amounts of heat wasted at power plants into more electricity. Nanotechnology Thu, 20 Feb 2014 15:35:59 EDT news312132940 Using heat to make magnets EPFL scientists have provided the first evidence ever that it is possible to generate a magnetic field by using heat instead of electricity. The phenomenon is referred to as the Magnetic Seebeck effect or 'thermomagnetism'. Physics Thu, 17 Oct 2013 07:00:02 EDT news301210558 Researchers develop nanodiamond thermometer to take temperature of individual cells ( —Researchers working at a lab at Harvard University have developed a technique that allows for taking the temperature of individual living cells. In their paper published in the journal Nature, the team describes their technique and just how precise temperature measurements taken with it can be. Nanotechnology Thu, 01 Aug 2013 07:38:47 EDT news294561512 Student's flashlight works by body heat, not batteries ( —Ann Makosinski from Victoria, British Columbia, has an LED flashlight powered by body heat. This inventor has a flashlight that glows when she holds it. The story gets more interesting, though. She is 15 years old and her flashlight has got her into the finalist ranks for the Google Science Fair. Her work is a result of a general interest in alternative energy. She said that she is "really interested in harvesting surplus energy, energy that surrounds but we never really use." Enter the Hollow Flashlight, which works according to the thermoelectric effect—creating electric voltage out of temperature difference. As a Grade 10 student at St. Michaels University School in Victoria, she was deciding on a topic for a science project when she discovered the Peltier tile, producing electricity when one side of the tile is heated while the other side is cooled. Technology Mon, 01 Jul 2013 08:19:29 EDT news291885555 Mars water-ice clouds are key to odd thermal rhythm ( —Researchers using NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter have found that temperatures in the Martian atmosphere regularly rise and fall not just once each day, but twice. Astronomy & Space Wed, 12 Jun 2013 16:51:06 EDT news290274650 Naturally occurring mineral for thermoelectric power generation Researchers with the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology have confirmed that a naturally occurring mineral, tetrahedrite, which mainly consists of non-toxic and earth-abundant elements, copper (Cu) and sulfur (S), exhibits high thermoelectric performance at approximately 400 ℃. They also clarified that the high performance is attributed to its extremely low lattice thermal conductivity caused by the complex crystal structure of tetrahedrite and the vibration of Cu atoms with anomalously large amplitude. These efforts will significantly contribute to realizing environmentally friendly thermoelectric power generation using materials composed of non-toxic and earth abundant elements. Chemistry Wed, 15 May 2013 09:11:03 EDT news287827855 The Earth's center is 1,000 degrees hotter than previously thought Scientists have determined the temperature near the Earth's centre to be 6000 degrees Celsius, 1000 degrees hotter than in a previous experiment run 20 years ago. These measurements confirm geophysical models that the temperature difference between the solid core and the mantle above, must be at least 1500 degrees to explain why the Earth has a magnetic field. The scientists were even able to establish why the earlier experiment had produced a lower temperature figure. The results are published on 26 April 2013 in Science. Earth Thu, 25 Apr 2013 14:00:25 EDT news286115346 Aircraft sensors without batteries or cables An idea from EADS and Vienna University of Technology is taking off: in a joint project, Energy Harvester Modules suitable for aircrafts have been tested, which should supply sensor nodes with electrical power in the future. Technology Wed, 10 Apr 2013 10:05:22 EDT news284807113 Rising temperature difference between hemispheres could dramatically shift rainfall patterns in tropics ( —One often ignored consequence of global climate change is that the Northern Hemisphere is becoming warmer than the Southern Hemisphere, which could significantly alter tropical precipitation patterns, according to a new study by climatologists from the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of Washington, Seattle. Earth Tue, 02 Apr 2013 17:08:15 EDT news284141287 Fujifilm breaks record with thermoelectric material (—Photographic film maker Fujifilm has been busy this year at the Nanotech 2013 conference being held in Tokyo. First came news of bendable/roll up speakers. Now the company is showing off a new thermoelectric material it's developed that is so sensitive it can covert a difference in temperature of just 1°C to several kilowatts of electricity. Technology Thu, 07 Feb 2013 08:40:01 EDT news279445186 Cleaning 'produced water' from natural gas wells, potential for improved desalination plants for developing countries Increased natural gas production is seen as a crucial step away from the greenhouse gas emissions of coal plants and toward U.S. energy independence. But natural gas wells have problems: Large volumes of deep water, often heavily laden with salts and minerals, flow out along with the gas. That so-called "produced water" must be disposed of, or cleaned. Earth Tue, 05 Feb 2013 06:06:14 EDT news279266755 Imaging unveils temperature distribution inside living cells A research team in Japan exploring the functions of messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) – a molecule that encodes the chemical blueprint for protein synthesis – has discovered a way to take a close look at the temperature distribution inside living cells. This discovery may lead to a better understanding of diseases, such as cancer, which generate extraordinary intracellular heat. Biology Fri, 01 Feb 2013 16:44:43 EDT news278959476 How cool are cool roofs? PPPL serves as the laboratory to find the answer When Keith Rule and a team of interns walked onto the black and white roof of the main building of the U.S. Department of Energy's Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory one sweltering day last summer, they could feel the temperature difference between the two different colored areas in the soles of their feet. Technology Tue, 11 Dec 2012 08:12:56 EDT news274435954 Pyroelectric nanogenerator charges Li-ion battery with harvested energy (—The idea of harvesting ambient energy from the environment that would otherwise not be purposefully used is, in theory, a great way to produce green, renewable energy. But the biggest problem in this fairly new area of research is that scientists have yet to find a method that can harvest very large amounts of energy. However, the technology is steadily improving, as demonstrated by the development of a nanogenerator that can partially charge a Li-ion battery by harvesting energy from temperature fluctuations in the environment. Nanotechnology Tue, 20 Nov 2012 16:00:44 EDT news272649620 More efficient energy use could result from a direct experimental observation of atomic behavior inside nanoscale cages Thermoelectric generators can make better use of the excess heat generated by machines by converting temperature differences directly back into electricity. Now, Masaki Takata from the RIKEN SPring-8 Center, Harima, working in collaboration with colleagues at institutions across Japan, have shown how the thermoelectric properties of a class of materials known as clathrates are enhanced by their unusual atomic structure, thus demonstrating a potential route to more efficient energy usage. Physics Fri, 12 Oct 2012 08:06:33 EDT news269247985 Tropical cyclones in the Arabian Sea have intensified due to earlier monsoon onset The tropical cyclones in the Arabian Sea during the pre-monsoon season (May – June) have intensified since 1997 compared to 1979 - 1997. This has been attributed to decreased vertical wind shear due to the dimming effects of increased anthropogenic black carbon and sulfate emissions in the region. The decrease in vertical wind shear, however, is not the result of these emissions, but due to a 15-day on average earlier occurrence of tropical cyclones, according to a study spearheaded by Bin Wang at the International Pacific Research Center, University of Hawaii at Manoa and published in "Brief Communications Arising" in the September 20, 2012, issue of Nature. Earth Mon, 24 Sep 2012 09:09:17 EDT news267696548 Physicists make discovery about temperature in convection An international team of physicists is working to ascertain more about the fundamental physical laws that are at work in a process known as convection, which occurs in a boiling pot of water as well as in the turbulent movement of the liquid outer core of the Earth. The team's new finding specifies the way that the temperature of a gas or liquid varies with the distance from a heat source during convection. The research is expected to eventually help engineers with applications such as the design of cooling systems, for instance, in nuclear power plants. Physics Mon, 17 Sep 2012 16:50:25 EDT news267119399 Hong Kong study raises alert for further increase in city's temperature The temperature in the inner urban areas of Hong Kong is predicted to rise by two to three Celsius degree in 30 years' time, according to the latest scientific study by researchers at the Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics (LSGI) of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU). Earth Wed, 01 Aug 2012 09:40:53 EDT news263032848 'Power Felt' uses body heat to generate electricity ( -- Among the many applications of flexible thermoelectric materials is a wristwatch powered by the temperature difference between the human body and the surrounding environment. But if you wanted this watch made of low-cost carbon nanotube (CNT)/polymer materials, you would currently need a piece of fabric with an area of about 500 cm2, which is about 50 times greater than the area of a typical wristwatch. Nanotechnology Tue, 28 Feb 2012 08:30:01 EDT news249583296 Temperature differences give rise to electricity More than half of today's energy consumption is squandered in useless waste heat, such as the heat from refrigerators and all sorts of gadgets and the heat from factories and power plants. The energy losses are even greater in cars. Automobile motors only manage to utilise 30 per cent of the energy they generate. The rest of it is lost. Part of the heat loss ends up as warm brakes and a hot exhaust pipe. Technology Wed, 09 Nov 2011 17:35:14 EDT news240082269 Moon's shadow, like a ship, creates waves During a solar eclipse, the Moon's passage overhead blocks out the majority of the Sun's light and casts a wide swath of the Earth into darkness. The land under the Moon's shadow receives less incoming energy than the surrounding regions, causing it to cool. Earth Wed, 05 Oct 2011 08:55:55 EDT news237023696 Ultrathin coating generates current more efficiently from nanowire Electrical energy can be generated from a temperature difference in a circuit with suitable materials. In simulations, ETH Zurich scientists show which materials are most likely to succeed in a thermoelectric process. Nanotechnology Mon, 28 Feb 2011 11:44:14 EDT news218115833 MEMS device generates power from body heat ( -- In an attempt to develop a power source that is compact, environmentally friendly, and has an unlimited lifetime, a team of researchers from Singapore has fabricated an energy harvesting device that generates electricity from body heat or any environment where there is a temperature gradient. Their device, called a thermoelectric power generator, attaches to the body and generates a power output of a few microwatts, which could be useful for powering implanted medical devices and wireless sensors. Technology Thu, 29 Apr 2010 09:21:32 EDT news191751470