Power and Electrical Engineering

Rising oil prices have revved momentum to develop more efficient combustion systems. But instrumental to this goal is a need to achieve greater understanding of the complex chemical reactions involved in combustion processes.

In one of the largest simulations ever brought to bear on this problem, researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory performed quantum chemical calculations to accurately predict the heat of formation of octane, a key component of gasoline.

Engineers at Purdue University have developed a new way of producing hydrogen for fuel cells to automatically recharge batteries in portable electronics, such as notebook computers, and eliminate the need to use a wall outlet.

The findings will be presented Sunday (Aug. 28) during the annual meeting of the American Chemical Society in Washington, D.C., and also will be detailed in a peer-reviewed paper to appear in an upcoming issue of the journal Combustion and Flame. The pa

Heat has always been a problem for fuel cells. There’s usually either too much (ceramic fuel cells) for certain portable uses, such as automobiles or electronics, or too little (polymer fuel cells) to be efficient.

While polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cells are widely considered the most promising fuel cells for portable use, their low operating temperature and consequent low efficiency have blocked their jump from promising technology to practical technology.

EUREKA project E! 2929 ICOLS offers complete automatic control of lighting levels in both work and home environments. This € 300,000 project has developed an intelligent system extending the control offered by dimmer switches to all lighting sources, including fluorescent lamps. The system saves up to 30% of energy costs while providing safer illumination for work locations.

Artificial lighting is an everyday necessity, often taken for granted when readily available. It influe

Imagine this: A tiny, fast switch that uses water droplets to create adhesive bonds almost as strong as aluminum by borrowing a mechanism found in palm beetles.

The new beetle-inspired switch, designed by Cornell University engineers, can work by itself on the scale of a micron — a millionth of a meter. The switches can be combined in arrays for larger applications like powerful adhesive bonding. Like the transistor, whose varied uses became apparent only following its inventio

Street lighting in the UK could better cut crime, promote feelings of well-being and enhance sight for pedestrians, according to a report published today. By using the wrong type of lighting councils are missing an opportunity to reduce both the fear of crime and pedestrian accidents, and are spending more than they need to on powering street lamps.

The paper, published in Lighting, Research and Technology argues that while UK councils traditionally use orange sodium lamps for their s