Innovations in feed spacer technology can enhance the performance of reverse osmosis (RO) technologies, write Dr Carsten Schellenberg and Alan D Sharpe of Conwed Plastics and LAXNESS.
Closer Union
Although the 1957 Treaty of Rome stated its intention “to lay the foundations of an ever closer union among the peoples of Europe”, it seems that in 2016 a lot of Europeans think that the union has got as close as it should do or has already got too close. The Pew Research Centre Spring …
Toshiba opto-couplers have integrated ADC
Toshiba has brought out two digital output isolation amplifiers for current and voltage sensing in power converters. The TLP7830 and TLP7930 achieve high accuracy through the inclusion of a delta sigma ADC. Accurately monitoring the phase current of motors and BUS voltage fluctuations is essential when providing feedback to the microcontrollers used in factory automation …
Miniature oxygen sensors have four-second response time
The Zirconia Miniature series of oxygen sensors from SST Sensing are five-pin devices with a response time of four seconds covering an oxygen range from 0.1% to 100%. According to the company they can operate in oxygen pressures from 2mbar to 3bar with good accuracy and linearity. Target application areas for the devices are combustion control in …
Toshiba opto-couplers have integrated ADC
Toshiba has announced two new digital output isolation amplifiers for current and voltage sensing in power converters. The TLP7830 and TLP7930 achieve high accuracy through the inclusion of a delta sigma analogue-to-digital converter (ADC). Accurately monitoring the phase current of motors and BUS voltage fluctuations is essential when providing feedback to the microcontrollers used in …
LAVA adds bugs to make better programmes
Stumped for a way to evaluate programmes that purport to find bugs in other software, US researchers have created a programme that adds thousands of bugs to other software. LAVA (Large-scale Automated Vulnerability Addition) is the result, a technique of intentionally adding vulnerabilities to a program’s source code, which has revealed that “many popular bug …
3D printed heatsink is worse, then better
A simple thermal annealing process could make 3D printed heatsinks better than conventional heatsinks, claims the US Oak Ridge National Laboratory. 3D printing, a type of additive manufacturing, makes it possible to produce one-piece exchangers with complex internal structures optimised to efficiently dissipate heat, but the printed material does not conduct heat as well as …
Glasgow adds geo-location to LoRa IoT network trial
A consortium has installed a 12km2 LoRa IoT network in Glasgow, covering its commercial centre, Merchant City and West End. “The network will enable the development and use of devices such as building and indoor environmental monitors, pollution sensors, tags for tracking valuable assets and social care devices designed to support independent living,” said the …
Educational embedded computer works with Arduino software
Circuit Playground is an Arduino-like education development board from Adafruit, designed around an Atmel ATmega32u4 MPU – as used in the firm’s earlier Flora board. The round 51mm diameter board has 14 croc-clip pads for easy access to power and I/O, with the eight non-power pads doubling-up as capacitive touch sensors. Programming based on the …
2D perovskite offered for solar cell research
US researchers are working on 2D perovskite crystals as a potential material for solar cells. Perovskite-structured materials are causing a stir in the world of solar power conversion, going from just-working to exceeding the efficiency of some conventional materials in only a few years. However, they have some serious drawbacks which are keeping them from …