New light-powered catalysts could aid in manufacturing
Chemical reactions that are driven by light offer a powerful tool for chemists who are designing new ways to manufacture pharmaceuticals and other useful compounds. Harnessing this light energy requires photoredox catalysts, which can absorb light and transfer the energy to a chemical reaction. MIT chemists have now designed a new type of photoredox catalyst […]
Designers find better solutions with computer assistance, but sacrifice creative touch
From building software to designing cars, engineers grapple with complex design situations every day. ‘Optimizing a technical system, whether it’s making it more usable or energy-efficient, is a very hard problem!’ says Antti Oulasvirta, professor of electrical engineering at Aalto University and the Finnish Center for Artificial Intelligence. Designers often rely on a mix of […]
Researchers use supercomputers for largest-ever turbulence simulations of its kind
From designing new airplane wings to better understanding how fuel sprays ignite in a combustion engine, researchers have long been interested in better understanding how chaotic, turbulent motions impact fluid flows under a variety of conditions. Despite decades of focused research on the topic, physicists still consider a fundamental understanding of turbulence statistics to be […]