Night vision coming to everyday devices

A team at the University of Florida has developed a new thin film technology that can convert infrared light into visible light, reports Gizmag.

In layman terms, night vision capabilities might soon be applied cheaply to eye glasses, car windshields, and even cellphones, and could be here in a little as 18 months.

Current night vision devices use huge amounts of electricity and heavy glass lenses that create a vacuum in order to work. Adapted from flat screen television technology, the new film works with no vacuum and uses energy-efficient, organic LEDs.

A breakthrough technique discovered by IBM has yielded an interesting application: the ability to 'paint' and 'sculpt' images thousands of times smaller than a grain of salt, says Tehran Times.

IBM researchers used an extremely small silicon tip, about 100 000 times smaller than a sharpened pencil tip, to create patterns and structures as small as 15 nanometres across, to create a 3D map of the globe.

The new patterning technique has implications beyond miniscule art displays, the researchers say. It represents a breakthrough for nano-scale pattern imaging, significantly reducing the cost and complexity of the process and possibly opening the door for cheaper and more easily manufactured nano-sized objects for future electronics.

While solar cells have long been a favourite of people trying to reduce or eliminate their energy bills, the relatively expensive up-front costs of obtaining photovoltaic cells has deterred many from investing in the technology, writes Off-Grid.

Now, scientists from the California Institute of Technology have developed a new solar cell that will cost a tiny fraction of current prices. The researchers hope their breakthrough will change the economics of solar forever.

The new cells consist of tiny silicon wires that measure 1 micron in diameter. These wires are embedded into plastic plates where they convert light into electricity at a high rate of efficiency. Any light that is leftover bounces around inside the wire matrix until it finds another wire that can absorb it. In this way, nearly all the light is captured and converted into electricity.