HOUSTON, Texas (PNN) - November 27, 2012 - Researchers have tested a small prototype of a nuclear-reactor engine design that could one day power deep-space exploration probes.

The proposed design is based on a Stirling engine - an engine first invented in the 19th century that uses hot pressurized gas to push a piston. It would use a 50-pound nuclear uranium battery to generate heat that is then carried to eight Stirling engines to produce about 500 watts of power.

ARLINGTON, Texas (PNN) - November 13, 2012 - We’ve seen nanomaterials that can be used to convert light into electricity and others that can convert heat into electricity. Now researchers from the University of Texas at Arlington and Louisiana Tech University have created a hybrid nanomaterial that can do both. By pairing the material with microchips, the researchers say it could be used in self-powered sensors, low-power electronic devices, and biomedical implants.

CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts (PNN) - November 12, 2012 - Scientists have theorized that paper-thin composite nanomaterials could stop bullets just as effectively as heavyweight body armor, but progress has been hampered by their inability to reliably test such materials against projectile impacts.

CHICAGO, Illinois (PNN) - October 24, 2012 - With a new megapressure environment, scientists will be able to replicate pressures one and a half times stronger than those found at the center of the Earth. The specialized anvil cell can create double the amount of pressure than anyone had previously demonstrated, an environment where new materials can be formed and where minerals behave very strangely.