Researchers have developed advanced self-charging smart windows that change colour and store energy, offering a major upgrade over conventional smart windows, which only control light transmission. A team from CeNS, Bengaluru, integrated zinc-ion battery technology with tungsten oxide to create these windows, eliminating the need for external power. Their innovative spray-coating method improved film quality, enhancing both colour-changing ability and energy efficiency. The prototype demonstrated rapid self-charging in 10 minutes, durability over 3,000 cycles, and reversible optical modulation, offering a promising solution for energy-efficient buildings and smart electronics.

Sturdy ceramic teeth

Ceramic is a good material for use in medical implants, especially teeth, as it is near natural in colour and function. However, since ceramic is inherently brittle, a new manufacturing technique helps remove the brittleness. 

A team of researchers at the Department of Materials Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, led by Prosenjit Das, has developed a method for making orthodontic brackets. Called micro-ceramic injection moulding, the technique uses fine alumina granules and a binder to shape brackets, which are then heated and baked at 1,600 degrees C for strength and density. The resulting polycrystalline alumina brackets are stronger, more durable, biocompatible, and stain-resistant compared to commercial versions, making them ideal for long-term orthodontic use.

Solar dryers cut farm losses

To reduce post-harvest loss and increase farm income, IIT-Kanpur’s Ranjit Singh Rozi Shiksha Kendra has introduced farmers to solar dehydration. It offers an eco-friendly, sustainable solution to market price fluctuations, allowing farmers to sell their produce at profitable rates when demand is higher, says a press release from IIT-Kanpur.

Recently, the institute offered hands-on training in the solar dehydration technique to members of two local farmer producer organisations, including a live demonstration of pre-treatment and solar drying of tomatoes. 

“With support from NABARD, we aim to extend this technology to more villages,” says Rita Singh, Project Executive Officer.

Cheaper, precise microlens

To go beyond merely correcting vision, and slowing or preventing the progression of nearsightedness, microlenses are already in use in special eyeglasses for children. A superimposed focal point on the periphery slows down the elongation of the eyeball that triggers the progression of myopia. 

Researchers at Fraunhofer have devised a new method of producing microlenses individually and at lower cost by beaming infrared laser on plastics used for eyeglasses. “The laser, which functions as a local heat source, excites water molecules present inside the polymer. This causes the molecules to start to move, creating internal pressure that can only discharge upward. The process forms a little bump on the surface that remains after the laser treatment: a microlens,” says a Fraunhofer press release. 

This can produce significantly smaller microlenses than is possible with older methods.





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