Tech Xplore news

Tech Xplore / Exploring how negative electricity prices influence consumer behavior

In some cases, and for limited periods, energy suppliers can generate more energy than is needed, which can lead to so-called negative prices. This is typically observed in wind and solar energy, for instance, during particularly ...

Dec 12, 2025 in Business
Tech Xplore / First monolithic 3D chip built in U.S. foundry delivers major AI speed gains

A collaborative team has achieved the first monolithic 3D chip built in a U.S. foundry, delivering the densest 3D chip wiring and order-of-magnitude speed gains.

Dec 12, 2025 in Hardware
Tech Xplore / 'Periodic table' for AI methods aims to drive innovation

Artificial intelligence is increasingly used to integrate and analyze multiple types of data formats, such as text, images, audio and video. One challenge slowing advances in multimodal AI, however, is the process of choosing ...

Dec 12, 2025 in Computer Sciences
Tech Xplore / Molecular fine-tuning boosts tandem solar cell efficiency to 31.4%

Perovskite-silicon tandem solar cells are considered a key technology for photovoltaics. Because of their design, they use sunlight more efficiently than conventional silicon cells. While the upper perovskite layer absorbs ...

Dec 12, 2025 in Energy & Green Tech
Tech Xplore / More brines could be mined for lithium with counterintuitive method

Lithium could be selectively extracted from "low quality" brines using a surprising mechanism discovered at the University of Michigan. The technology could help make brine lakes rich in magnesium a more sustainable source ...

Dec 12, 2025 in Engineering
Tech Xplore / Organic solar cells achieve 20.02% efficiency with new giant acceptors

A research team has developed novel giant acceptors with an oxygenated linker, enabling the creation of highly efficient nonhalogenated-processed organic solar cells (OSCs), with a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of up ...

Dec 12, 2025 in Engineering
Tech Xplore / GPT‑5.2: OpenAI beefs up GPT models in AI race with Google

OpenAI released its latest artificial intelligence models on Thursday, shrugging off worries about how it will cash in on massive spending in its technology race with Google.

Dec 12, 2025 in Machine learning & AI
Tech Xplore / New window insulation blocks heat, but not your view

Physicists at the University of Colorado Boulder have designed a new material for insulating windows that could improve the energy efficiency of buildings worldwide—and it works a bit like a high-tech version of Bubble ...

Dec 11, 2025 in Engineering
Tech Xplore / Transistor 'design limitation' actually improves performance, scientists find

What many engineers once saw as a flaw in organic electronics could actually make these devices more stable and reliable, according to new research from the University of Surrey and Joanneum Research Materials.

Dec 11, 2025 in Engineering
Tech Xplore / Carbon capture made easier: Simple additive could slash costs for industrial plants

Capturing carbon dioxide from industrial plants is an important strategy in the efforts to reduce the impact of global climate change. It's used in many industries, including the production of petrochemicals, cement, and ...

Dec 11, 2025 in Engineering
Tech Xplore / Simple teflon coating boosts hydrogen production efficiency by 40%

A common non-stick coating used in cookware has been shown to enhance hydrogen production efficiency in water electrolyzers by approximately 40%. The key innovation involves applying a specialized coating to critical components ...

Dec 11, 2025 in Energy & Green Tech
Tech Xplore / How much for a bot army? Index tracks prices across hundreds of online platforms, from TikTok to Amazon

A new site that tracks the daily fluctuating costs behind building a bot army on over 500 social media and commercial platforms—from TikTok to Amazon and Spotify—in every nation on the planet is launched today by the ...

Dec 11, 2025 in Internet