In the News: John Roach: ‘Nanoflowers’ to store energy in tiny pink bouquets

by John Roach , NBC News

North Carolina State University

The GeS "nanoflowers" have petals only 20-30 nanometers thick, and provide a large surface area in a small amount of space.

 

Who says innovation can't be pretty? These tiny pink nanostructures could revolutionize batteries, by storing energy with unprecedented surface area.

The "nanoflowers" are made out of germanium sulfide — a semiconductor material. The shape means more surface area in a smaller space, which makes it ideal for energy storage applications such as the batteries in your smartphone.
The breakthrough comes from Linyou Cao and colleagues at North Carolina State University.
To create the flower structures, the team first heats up a powdered form of the semiconductor material in a furnace until it begins to vaporize and then blows it to a cooler region of the furnace where it settles out into layered sheets.

The sheets are only 20- to 30-nanometers thick and up to 100-micrometers long. As additional layers are added, the sheets branch out from one another, forming a floral pattern similar to a marigold or carnation, the university explains in a news release.

The flower-like structure could increase the capacity of lithium-ion batteries because the thinner structure and larger surface area can hold more lithium ions, the team notes. By the same token, the structure could also be used to increase the capacity of superconductors.

The technique to create the nanoflowers is detailed in the journal ACS Nano.

A voltaic pile, the first chemical battery.

In the News: John Roach: Iron Man suit could help paraplegics walk

Robert Markowitz / NASA

NASA project engineer Shelley Rea demonstrates the X1 Robotic Exoskeleton for resistive exercise, rehabilitation and mobility augmentation.

A robotic exoskeleton similar to Iron Man’s powered armor suit could help paraplegics walk, according to NASA researchers who designed the device to keep astronauts in shape on flights to Mars.

The 57-pound X1 suit is worn over a person’s body and can be used to either assist or inhibit movement of the leg joints. 

Inhibit mode provides the resistance astronauts need for a workout while idle for months-on-end in a spaceship bound for Mars or doing time on the International Space Station. 

In reverse mode, the exoskeleton works with the wearer, providing stability and movement assistance. This could be used to help paraplegics walk on Earth. 

Other potential applications for the X1 include rehabilitation, gait modification, and offloading weight from the wearer to the exoskeleton.

This isn’t the first exoskeleton built. In fact, this August a British woman paralyzed from the chest down in a horse riding accident took home a robotic exoskeleton that enables her to walk. 

And Raytheon has been working on its Exoskeleton for the military for several years which will help soldiers in the field gain super-human strength. 

The X1, however, is more comfortable, easier to adjust, and easier to put on than other exoskeleton devices, according to preliminary studies on the technology at the Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition. 

The exoskeleton is currently in the research and development stage. Future improvements may include additional joints in the ankle and hip areas for greater movement.

The suit is a spinoff technology from NASA’s Robonaut 2 project, a humanoid robot currently getting its first workout on the International Space Station.

To see the X1 in action, check out the video below.

– via Network World 

John Roach is a contributing writer for NBC News Digital. To learn more about him, check out his website.