MIT debuts pressure-sensitive fibres

MIT labs just unveiled a new kind of material that combines optical fibre technology and piezoelectrics, meaning it can actually sense pressure changes against it, writes Inhabitat.

The fibres have a myriad of applications - from intelligent garments that can monitor the body to structural sensors that can detect even the smallest stresses on a building, to self-powered medical devices small enough to fit in the smallest crevices.

It's not the first time the MIT team has developed heat and light-sensitive fibres. The new part is that they've now added piezoelectric functionality to these materials allowing them to convert mechanical energy into electrical signals and then back again.

A project to create a super-efficient solar cell has proved successful, according to Natcore Solar, reports TechEye.

The firm said a research programme at Rice University has successfully encapsulated silicon quantum dots with a uniform coating of silicon dioxide. The programme is a major milestone in the development of an all-silicon, highly efficient tandem solar cell, the company claimed.

Encapsulising individual silicon nanocrystals - quantum dots - in silicon dioxide is a breakthrough technology, says Natcore. It estimates the stacked arrays will increase the efficiency at a lower cost per extra watt, with efficiency of over 30% for tandem solar cells being likely.

Major device manufacturers throughout the industry are expected to develop new applications that feature Microsoft's Azure platform, states DriversHQ.com.

Microsoft recently revealed that Dell, Fujitsu, eBay and HP all plan to work with the platform to leverage its cloud-based data centre applications.

While eBay is planning to use the platform for operational applications on its own data centres, HP is expected to integrate it into new products and Dell announced it would have an appliance on the Azure platform by January 2011.