Converting heat into electricity is a property thought to be reserved only for stiff materials like crystals. However, researchers—inspired by the infrared (IR) vision of snakes—developed a ...

Using a high-power, pulsed laser to deposit materials from a plasma plume (shown here), researchers synthesized materials to study their unique pyroelectric properties at the nanoscale. "Controlling ...

The metasurface is an ultra-thin resonant element with special physical properties. A good example of such an innovation is seen in the thermally based photon-detector project at Duke University, ...

Heat sssssensorsss A large-eyed green pit viper. The pit organs are small depressions between the snake's nostrils and eyes. (Courtesy: iStock_TommyIX) Vipers, pythons and boa constrictors all use ...

Many peptides and proteins have an innate ability to assemble into long, slender fibers called fibrils and other shapes. Now, researchers have found a way to harness this property to create tubular ...

Practical demonstration on setup and configuration of infrared detectors. In theory, the functioning of a pyroelectric detector is absolutely comprehensible. As the centrepiece in gas analysers, flame ...

Vintage computer hardware can fail in a variety of fascinating ways, with [Bits und Bolts] dealing with an interesting failure mode, in the form of degraded MLCC capacitors on Voodoo 2 graphics cards.

IRISYS (Infrared Integrated Systems Ltd), Northampton, UK, is promoting thermal technology for intelligent building. Using its own thermal imaging cameras, the company has developed a range of ...

What if atomic crystals could send pulse power to light up a room? Back in 314 B.C., a student of Socrates described bits of sawdust that gravitated to a stone thrown into a camp fire. What was an ...