https://techxplore.com/ en-us Tech Xplore internet news portal provides the latest news on electronics, technology, and engineering. When air is blown across the neck of a bottle, it doesn't just produce a pleasant tone: it also demonstrates a phenomenon called Helmholtz resonance. This occurs when airflow passing across an opening causes air trapped inside a cavity (like a glass bottle) to oscillate back and forth. At certain frequencies, these oscillations become much stronger, producing the familiar humming sound. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-08-helmholtz-resonance-powers-miniature-boats.html Engineering Sat, 15 Aug 2026 07:40:04 EDT news705910461 Recovering valuable metals from electronic waste, mining streams and industrial waste typically requires large quantities of chemical reagents. Researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have developed a new molecule that could replace much of that chemistry with electricity—a fundamental advance that could potentially make metal recovery cleaner, simpler and more energy-efficient. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-08-built-chemical-reagents-gold-recovery.html Electronics & Semiconductors Fri, 14 Aug 2026 14:20:05 EDT news705933841 Prosthetics are a fact of life today. It's estimated that more than 50 million people globally—some 2 million of them in the United States—have lost a limb, and most could benefit or already do benefit from artificial limbs to restore mobility and lifestyle. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-08-emitting-textile-sensors-optimize-prosthetic.html Consumer & Gadgets Fri, 14 Aug 2026 14:00:01 EDT news705929552 Among the many predictions about the future of artificial intelligence is that models will one day be able to conduct scientific research on their own, leaving humans out of the equation. Already, they can write code, run experiments and search scientific literature, but carrying out open-ended research would require a significant leap in ability. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-08-ai-agents-struggle-scientific.html Computer Sciences Fri, 14 Aug 2026 13:00:03 EDT news705929078 Photovoltaic panels generate electricity, solar thermal collectors provide heat, while cooling is usually supplied by air conditioning systems that themselves consume electricity. As a result, buildings require different technologies competing for the limited space available on roofs and facades. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-08-hybrid-energy-roof-electricity-cooling.html Energy & Green Tech Fri, 14 Aug 2026 11:20:03 EDT news705924121 Organizations can describe artificial intelligence using familiar words like "thinking," "writing" and "learning." But according to Carnegie Mellon University historian Christopher Phillips, those terms may tell us as much about how humans talk about technology as they do about the technology itself. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-08-ai-language.html Machine learning & AI Thu, 13 Aug 2026 15:00:04 EDT news705850887 Passkeys are touted as safer than traditional passwords. But for people targeted by intimate partner abuse, they can often be more dangerous. Someone with access to their partner's computer and password could set up their own passkey—a cryptographic form of login used by services such as Google and LinkedIn—and invade their personal online space, potentially with dangerous consequences, new Cornell research has found. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-08-reveals-gaps-passkey-tools-abuse.html Security Thu, 13 Aug 2026 12:40:04 EDT news705841610 The moment a nuclear reactor begins operation, a complex chain of events is initiated within the fuel: Heavy atoms split into fission products, knocking other atoms out of place and creating defects that can change how the fuel swells, transfers heat and reacts chemically over time. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-08-hidden-pore-networks-nuclear-fuel.html Engineering Thu, 13 Aug 2026 12:20:09 EDT news705841267 Physical access to an aircraft has not typically been considered a cybersecurity risk—but it should be, according to a team of computer scientists at the University of California San Diego. In a paper presented Aug. 13 at the USENIX Security Symposium in Baltimore, Maryland, former UC San Diego Ph.D. student Sam Crow showed that physical access to an aircraft, even for a brief period, would allow an attacker equipped with a custom-made hardware device to take over communications between two key onboard computers. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-08-physical-access-boeing-flight.html Security Thu, 13 Aug 2026 12:06:25 EDT news705841556 Optical fiber has already transformed the modern world. New research now suggests it could do even more. A new flat-fiber fabrication technique produces a high-fidelity sensor for a wide range of applications, from batteries to bridges, according to a recently published study. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-08-ribbon-fiber-pressure-sensitivity-higher.html Engineering Thu, 13 Aug 2026 12:00:03 EDT news705840781 Researchers at the A*STAR Quantum Innovation Center (A*STAR Q.InC), part of the Research, Innovation and Enterprise (RIE) Flagship in Semiconductors, have developed a levitated, millimeter-scale rotor that continued spinning for more than 10 hours after its drive was switched off, achieving the lowest energy loss reported for a mechanical rotor of its size. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-08-levitated-device-gps-unavailable.html Engineering Thu, 13 Aug 2026 10:20:05 EDT news705834601 The world's rapid shift to solar power is creating a massive new waste problem, with up to 402 million tonnes (443 million tons) of discarded solar panels projected to accumulate globally by 2060, according to new research involving Adelaide University. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-08-photovoltaic-billion-industry.html Energy & Green Tech Thu, 13 Aug 2026 07:00:01 EDT news705821307 The human hand is a dexterous and versatile machine. Scientists have conventionally tried to replicate these traits in robots by copying the biological mechanics of the hand, resulting in complex and difficult-to-control structures. An alternative solution to these challenges was proposed in a new study published in Advanced Science: the BioflexBot, a novel robot that mimics and even exceeds core motions of the hand with a simple design. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-08-simple-robot-exceeds-human-core.html Robotics Thu, 13 Aug 2026 03:10:01 EDT news705748981 Artificial intelligence is proving to be transformative in its ability to work with language and images. Now, with a growing push to apply AI to scientific discovery, Caltech's Anima Anandkumar says there is a crucial ingredient missing from most AI models: the ability to understand the physical world. Take, for example, weather models, says Anandkumar, Caltech's Bren Professor of Computing and Mathematical Sciences. If you want an AI model to predict weather, it must understand chaotic physical systems, like how the atmosphere changes around the planet and over time. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-08-ai-architectures-scientific-problems.html Computer Sciences Wed, 12 Aug 2026 16:00:01 EDT news705768961 Anyone who has struggled through a poor phone call knows the frustration of missing half a conversation. Now researchers at Queen Mary University of London, led by Paul Anthony Haigh, have developed an artificial intelligence system designed to solve an equivalent problem in high-speed optical communications. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-08-ai-tomorrow-wireless-networks-clearer.html Telecom Wed, 12 Aug 2026 14:00:03 EDT news705759541 Researchers at the Surrey Space Centre (SCC) found that extreme space weather events can significantly increase radiation exposure at typical flight altitudes of 8–14 km (5–9 miles) and trigger faults in aircraft electronics—posing a challenge for flight safety. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-08-extreme-space-weather-disrupt-flights.html Automotive Wed, 12 Aug 2026 13:40:02 EDT news705755642 Gas turbine engines, like those powering passenger planes, operate under extreme conditions during everyday use. These engines regularly reach temperatures well over 800°C (1,470°F), which creates challenges for long-term durability and efficiency. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-08-coating-gas-turbines-reliable-longer.html Engineering Wed, 12 Aug 2026 13:20:06 EDT news705754682 Magnesium supplements are gaining popularity to treat conditions such as insomnia, migraines and constipation. Most magnesium salts are extracted from rocks by crushing and heating them, which requires a lot of energy. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Energy Letters have developed bismuth electrodes that selectively pull magnesium ions from seawater, another abundant source of the element. They say their electrochemical approach could be more sustainable and less expensive than current methods. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-08-electrochemical-method-seawater-source-magnesium.html Engineering Wed, 12 Aug 2026 13:00:03 EDT news705753901 A new physics-based analytical model can accurately predict ferroelectric behavior under real-world, complex voltages, according to a study led by University of Michigan Engineering. The model bridges the longstanding gap between fundamental switching physics and practical device engineering. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-08-bridges-ferroelectric-physics-circuit.html Engineering Wed, 12 Aug 2026 12:40:09 EDT news705753481 AI data centers get a bad rap, not least because of concerns that they drive climate change by consuming massive amounts of electricity. But one potentially larger impact of AI on global carbon emissions may be that it's helping the fossil fuel industry become more productive. That's the main finding of a paper published in the journal npj Climate Action that looked at how boosting productivity across both clean and dirty energy sources affects net CO2 emissions. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-08-ai-boost-carbon-emissions.html Energy & Green Tech Wed, 12 Aug 2026 12:40:06 EDT news705755250 A new semiconductor integration platform developed at the Institute of Science Tokyo combines advanced chip packaging with high-density interconnects and improved thermal management. This combination of three complementary technologies helps overcome the key challenges in building high-performance artificial intelligence (AI) hardware. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-08-chip-wafer-platform-generation-ai.html Hardware Wed, 12 Aug 2026 12:20:04 EDT news705751921 For the first time, researchers have developed a technology that could enable 6G antennas to be mass-produced on wafers in much the same way as semiconductor devices. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-08-platform-6g-antennas.html Telecom Wed, 12 Aug 2026 12:00:06 EDT news705751802 For the first time, researchers have demonstrated that the "ability to forget" can serve as a new computational function for artificial intelligence. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-08-ai-semiconductor-resets.html Hardware Wed, 12 Aug 2026 11:40:05 EDT news705751681 Researchers at the University of Stuttgart and the Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research have developed tiny rolls that can be unrolled and rolled up in a controlled manner using a magnet. The model for this was the proboscis of butterflies. These smart materials enable the development of more efficient drive technologies for micro- and soft robotics, a field of research of great economic importance. The results have been published in the journal Advanced Materials. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-08-butterfly-ceramic-microscrolls-unroll-magnets.html Robotics Wed, 12 Aug 2026 11:20:07 EDT news705751501 Smartwatches, phones and even some drones rely on lightweight, rechargeable energy storage systems. Once those devices wear out, many end up as electronic waste. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Energy Letters have developed a compact supercapacitor that can be quickly disassembled into reusable components. They used the devices to power a glider's propeller and then took apart one supercapacitor and sequentially reused parts in two new ones that performed as well as the original device. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-08-energy-storage-device-recycled.html Electronics & Semiconductors Wed, 12 Aug 2026 09:40:06 EDT news705745561 Researchers have developed a full-color near-eye display that uses three stacked holographic gratings, each engineered to direct red, green or blue light. The new design could help advance compact, energy-efficient augmented reality (AR) glasses for use in a variety of professional and consumer applications. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-08-holographic-layers-red-green-blue.html Engineering Tue, 11 Aug 2026 16:00:06 EDT news705682502 Chinese scientists have developed a method that could facilitate the large-scale production of high-efficiency perovskite solar cells. The method employs a multidentate anchoring molecule-assisted co-deposition strategy to improve the fabrication of self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) through blade coating—a technique that applies a thin film to a substrate with a blade and is suitable for large-scale manufacturing. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-08-blade-coating-strategy-advances-scalable.html Engineering Tue, 11 Aug 2026 15:40:02 EDT news705680821 Sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) are increasingly popular alternatives to lithium-ion batteries. Sodium (Na) is much more abundant in Earth's crust than lithium, creating an opportunity for lower costs. In addition, SIBs offer enhanced safety and low-temperature performance. Indeed, SIBs are already being commercialized for applications ranging from portable electronics to electric vehicles. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-08-scandium-durability-sodium-ion-battery.html Energy & Green Tech Tue, 11 Aug 2026 15:00:09 EDT news705678661 Researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) College of Design and Engineering (CDE), led by Professor Heng Chye Kiang (NUS Department of Architecture), have developed a computational framework for reconstructing the genealogy of vernacular architecture. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-08-ai-method-reconstructs-architectural-lineages.html Engineering Tue, 11 Aug 2026 13:20:09 EDT news705672361 The trail of likes, shares and downloads we leave across the internet could help predict successful innovations years in advance, Cornell researchers showed by curating two datasets that allowed them to compare early engagement with future impact. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-08-today-downloads-tomorrow-scientific-impact.html Computer Sciences Tue, 11 Aug 2026 12:00:02 EDT news705668341