If every home in the United States sealed its leaky HVAC ducts, the nation would save $5 billion annually in energy costs. Typical ductwork systems, both residential and commercial, lose 25-40 percent of heating and cooling energy; even newly installed systems experience 10-30 percent leakage. Solving this energy-wasting problem, once a costly, labor-intensive process, can … [Read more...] about Sealing in Energy Savings
Berkeley Lab’s Sound Restoration System Gets in the Groove with Optics
Thomas Edison invented the phonograph in 1877, recording sound for the first time when he spoke the words “Mary had a little lamb” onto a vertically embossed tinfoil cylinder. In the following years, sound was recorded on diverse media – tin foil, wax and plastic cylinders, shellac and vinyl discs, acetate sheets, and plastic dictation belts. The problem with restoring audio … [Read more...] about Berkeley Lab’s Sound Restoration System Gets in the Groove with Optics
Materials Discovery
Until Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory scientist Peter Schultz thought of a better way, materials discovery was a costly, slow, and laborious process. In the early 1990s Dr. Schultz and colleagues invented a super efficient materials research process that combined minaturizing with parallel processing. In 1994 the start-up company Symyx Technologies, Inc. licensed the … [Read more...] about Materials Discovery
Berkeley Lab’s Direct Cholesterol Assessment Test Identifies Unseen Risks
Eighty percent of individuals suffering from coronary artery disease (CAD) have normal cholesterol levels. Half of the 1.5 million heart attacks in the U.S. each year strike people without symptoms who also have normal levels. Berkeley Lab scientists have now developed a more complete cholesterol assessment test that will help identify individuals like these who may have no … [Read more...] about Berkeley Lab’s Direct Cholesterol Assessment Test Identifies Unseen Risks
Berkeley Lab’s Solid Electrolyte May Usher in a New Generation of Rechargeable Lithium Batteries For Vehicles
With sky rocketing gasoline prices and exploding laptops, there could not have been a better time for a new rechargeable battery breakthrough. Enter Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s (LBNL) nanostructured polymer electrolyte (NPE). NPE is a solid electrolyte designed for use in rechargeable lithium batteries. The unique material was developed by LBNL researchers Nitash … [Read more...] about Berkeley Lab’s Solid Electrolyte May Usher in a New Generation of Rechargeable Lithium Batteries For Vehicles