Electronics & Semiconductors

Harvesting vibrational energy from 'colored noise'

The energy demands of today's ubiquitous small electronic devices—including sensors, data transmitters, medical implants and 'wearable' consumer products such as Fitbits—can no longer be met by chemical batteries alone. ...

Energy & Green Tech

Battery-free 'smart' toys move closer to commercial reality

Rubber duckies could soon be at the forefront of an electronic revolution. In ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, scientists report they have used specialized nanogenerators that gather energy from mechanical vibrations ...

Engineering

3-D printed active metamaterials for sound and vibration control

Researchers have been pushing the capabilities of materials by carefully designing precise structures that exhibit abnormal properties that can control acoustic or optical waves. However, these metamaterials are constructed ...

Engineering

Mystery solved: The case of the slipping finger

Haptics researchers have long known that applying ultrasonic vibrations to a flat, featureless glass plate makes it feel slippery. But they have also long debated why this occurs.