Camels’ noses inspire a new humidity sensor

Device could reliably detect variations in humidity in settings that included industrial exhaust and the air surrounding human skin

21-Jan-2022 - Camels have a renowned ability to survive on little water. They are also adept at finding something to drink in the vast desert, using noses that are exquisite moisture detectors. In a new study in ACS Nano, researchers describe a humidity sensor inspired by the structure and properties of ...

New cellulose-based material gives three sensors in one

A multiparameter Pressure-Temperature-Humidity Sensor based on Mixed Ionic-Electronic Cellulose Aerogels

28-Mar-2019 - Cellulose soaked in a carefully designed polymer mixture acts as a sensor to measure pressure, temperature and humidity - at the same time! The measurements are completely independent of each other. The sensor may be highly significant in fields such as robotics, healthcare and security. The ...

Smart tomographic sensors control industrial processes of tomorrow

HZDR coordinates European Doctoral Training Network TOMOCON

01-Sep-2017 - Modern parallel computer architectures are capable of processing huge amounts of data at high speed. This allows for the increasing use of imaging techniques as sensors to control machines and process plants. In the new European collaborative project TOMOCON twelve research institutions and 15 ...

Thermal modification of wood and a complex study of its properties by magnetic resonance

27-May-2016 - Heat treatment has proved to be an effective method of improving some of the useful properties of wood. Recent developments of the technology have allowed to achieve, among other things, increased hydrophobic properties, better elasticity, and improved dimensional stability. The corresponding ...

Scientists develop new soil moisture sensor

Innovative measuring device enables the water content of biological soil crusts to be measured for the first time

15-Sep-2015 - Biological soil crusts comprising lichens, algae and mosses play an important role in the earth’s ecosystems. They fix carbon dioxide and nitrogen while giving off significant amounts of the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide. Information on soil moisture is of vital importance to investigate their ...

A look behind Dalí’s paintings

17-Sep-2013 - A collaboration of scientists, conservators and curators has developed a technique for assessing the condition of works of art without the need to remove samples from them, and used it to analyse a valuable collection of paintings by the enigmatic artist Salvador Dalí. Paintings undergo little ...

Sniffing out shoe bombs: A new and simple sensor for explosive chemicals

22-Oct-2010 - University of Illinois chemists have developed a simple sensor to detect an explosive used in shoe bombs. It could lead to inexpensive, easy-to-use devices for luggage and passenger screening at airports and elsewhere. Triacetone triperoxide (TATP) is a high-powered explosive that in recent ...

Radio chip and sensor in one

15-Oct-2010 - RFID technology is on the advance. But, up to now radio chips primarily supply data for the identification of products. Researchers have now developed a transponder which measures temperature, pressure and humidity. The chip with sensor function could revolutionize the applications ...

Sculptured materials allow multiple channel plasmonic sensors

12-Nov-2009 - Sensors, communications devices and imaging equipment that use a prism and a special form of light -- a surface plasmon-polariton -- may incorporate multiple channels or redundant applications if manufacturers use sculptured thin films. "Everyone uses surface plasmon resonance sensors. They are ...

Radioactivity: Discover the lowest amounts with new methods

18-Sep-2008 - Detecting ever lower amounts of ionising radiation with ever better methods – scientists have had this goal since the start of the nuclear age. In addition to natural radiation, mankind is exposed to a multitude of other sources of radiation which result from the military and technical use of ...