Science reality has caught up with science fiction. Lockheed Martin is showing that laser weapon systems can turn up the heat and stop land, air or sea targets in their path. And, they can be compact enough and power efficient enough for tactical platforms on the move, providing nearly unlimited “bullets” with speed-of-light response. Lockheed Martin is moving at light speed to position these capable systems for success on the battlefield. They have developed innovative fiber lasers, sophisti...

Lawrence Livermore scientists have collaborated with an interdisciplinary team of researchers, including colleagues from Sandia National Laboratories(link is external), to develop an efficient hydrogen storage system that could be a boon for hydrogen-powered vehicles. Hydrogen is an excellent energy carrier, but the development of lightweight solid-state materials for compact, low-pressure storage is a huge challenge. Complex metal hydrides are a promising class of hydrogen storage materia...

Imagine a light bulb made from something thinner than paper, but stronger than any other material known to man. Seems impossible — except it isn't. A group of scientists from Columbia University, Seoul National University and the Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science announced that they successfully developed a light bulb made out of graphene — material that's only as thick as an atom, but strong as a diamond. Indeed, graphene is considered the world's strongest material. While th...

A perovskite solar cell is a type of solar cell which includes a perovskite structured compound, most commonly a hybrid organic-inorganic lead or tin halide-based material, as the light-harvesting active layer. Perovskite materials such as methylammonium lead halides are cheap to produce and simple to manufacture. Perovskite solar cells have shown potential both in the rapid efficiency improvement (from 2.2% in 2006 to the latest record 20.1% in 2014) and in cheap material and manufacturing c...

Transparent window coatings that keep buildings and cars cool on sunny days. Devices that could more than triple solar cell efficiency. Thin, lightweight shields that block thermal detection. These are potential applications for a thin, flexible, light-absorbing material developed by engineers at the University of California San Diego. The material, called a near-perfect broadband absorber, absorbs more than 87 percent of near-infrared light (1,200 to 2,200 nanometer wavelengths), with 98 per...

Researchers have discovered a 'smart' material that can be applied to any surface to repel ice and outperforms all others currently in use. Icy conditions can be deadly, whether you are flying into bad weather or too close to power transmission lines during a storm, researchers said. Researchers have discovered a 'smart' material that can be applied to any surface to repel ice and outperforms all others currently in use. Icy conditions can be deadly, whether you are flying into bad ...

Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have engineered a strain of bacteria that enables a “one-pot” method for producing advanced biofuels from a slurry of pre-treated plant material. The Escherichia coli (E. coli) is able to tolerate the liquid salt used to break apart plant biomass into sugary polymers. Because the salt solvent, known as ionic liquids, interferes with later stages in biofuels production, it needs to be removed be...