David Chandler, MIT News Office

latest from David Chandler, MIT News Office

Remarkable color changes occur when different thin films of oxides (low dielectric-index SiO2 and high dielectric-index TiO2) are deposited onto the noble metals silver (Ag) and gold (Au). The color change is due to light absorption via surface plasmons,

Researchers developing method to harness more energy from photons

Figure 3: Single bubbles growing on hot surfaces normally lead to the formation of cold dry spots. At high heat fluxes, however, these dry spots can become significantly hot, eventually leading to the boiling crisis phenomenon at a critical heat flux. Dhi

Research on textured surfaces and boiling water could benefit plant safety

Figure 1: Researchers have shown that a DC voltage applied to layers of graphene and boron nitride can be used to control light emission from a nearby atom. Here, graphene is represented by a maroon-colored top layer; boron nitride is represented by yello

Energy Efficiency

Light detection, thermal-management systems, imaging devices could improve with MIT light control research

This rendering shows the metallic dielectric photonic crystal that stores solar energy as heat. Courtesy: Jeffrey Chou, MIT

Energy Efficiency

How to make a perfect solar absorber

Images show textures (top) and fluorescent light (bottom) produced by the new synthetic elastomer material that can mimic some of the camouflage abilities of octopuses and other cephalopods. Image courtesy of the researchers.

Energy Efficiency

Researchers duplicate octopuses and squids camouflage tricks

Figure 1: Photo shows a water droplet sitting on a ferrofluid-impregnated surface, which has cloaked the droplet with a very thin layer. Courtesy: Kripa Varanasi, Karim Khalil, Numan Abu-Dheir, Seyed Mahmoudi, MIT

Mechatronics and Motion Control

Active surfaces control what’s on them

The experimental chamber setup is seen from the front, with high speed camera looking into the chamber from the left. Courtesy: Nenad Miljkovic and Daniel J. Preston

Energy Efficiency

Getting a charge out of water droplets

This diagram illustrates a new process for making grapheme directly on a non-metal substrate. First, a nickel layer is applied to the material, in this case silicon dioxide (SiO2). Then, using chemical vapor deposition, carbon is deposited on the surface,

Energy Efficiency

A new way to make sheets of graphene

This diagram shows the stages of operation of a battery designed for heat harvesting. 1) Battery is heated so that its voltage becomes lower. 2) Battery is charged at high temperature, using low voltage. 3) Battery is cooled down, causing its voltage to b

Energy Efficiency

A new way to harness waste heat

This illustration shows a battery electrode made of lithium iron phosphate (left side of image) coated with carbon, and in contact with an electrolyte material. As the battery is discharged, lithium ions (shown in purple) jump across the coating and inser

Energy Efficiency

How electrodes charge and discharge: new findings from MIT

Image courtesy: Andrej Lenert, associate professor of mechanical engineering Evelyn Wang, physics professor Marin Solja?i?, principal research scientist Ivan Celanovi?, MIT graduate students David Bierman, Walker Chan and former postdoc Youngsuk Nam, Mass

Energy Efficiency

Solar-power device would use heat to enhance efficiency

In the lab, a sample of the cellular composite material is prepared for testing of its strength properties. Photo courtesy of Kenneth Cheung and MIT according to terms listed here http://web.mit.edu/press/media.html?id=15203.

A new approach assembles big structures from small interlocking pieces