Self-learning heat­ing control system saves energy

Can buildings learn to save all by themselves? Empa researchers think so. In their experiments, they fed a new self-learning heat­ing control system with temperature data from the previous year and the current weather forecast. The “smart”...
30-Jan-2020 10:15 AM EST Add to Favorites

How to induce magnetism in graphene

Graphene, a two-dimensional structure made of carbon, is a material with excellent mechani-cal, electronic and optical properties. However, it did not seem suitable for magnetic applica-tions. Together with international partners, Empa researchers...
10-Dec-2019 4:05 AM EST Add to Favorites

First field measurements of laughing gas isotopes

Thanks to a newly developed laser spectrometer, Empa researchers can for the first time show which processes in grassland lead to nitrous oxide emissions. The aim is to reduce emissions of this potent greenhouse gas by gaining a better understanding...
5-Dec-2019 5:05 AM EST Add to Favorites

With artificial intelligence to a better wood product

Empa scientist Mark Schubert and his team are using the many opportunities offered by machine learning for wood technology applications. Together with Swiss Wood Solutions, Schubert develops a digital wood-selection- and processing strategy that...
19-Nov-2019 11:05 AM EST Add to Favorites

Rubber in the environment

The tread on the tyre is worn out, new tyres are needed. Everyday life for many drivers. But where do these lost centimetres of tyre tread "disappear" to? As micro-rubbers, they mainly end up in soil and water and, to a small extent, in the air. And...
14-Nov-2019 3:05 AM EST Add to Favorites

The Screw That Dissolves

Where bones fracture, surgeons often have to join the fragments with implants. Magnesium orthopaedic screws, which over time dissolve in the body, spare patients another operation after healing is completed and reduce the risk of infection. What...
5-Nov-2019 9:50 AM EST Add to Favorites

Super Light Dampers for Low Tones

A team of Empa acoustic researchers has built macroscopic crystal structures that use internal rotation to attenuate the propagation of waves. The method makes it possible to build very light and stiff materials that can also "swallow" low...
14-Oct-2019 4:05 AM EDT Add to Favorites

Babies burdened by environmental estrogens in mothers' wombs

Early childhood life in the womb is particularly sensitive to the effects of environmental pollutants. A team from Empa and the University of Vienna has now for the first time been able to show how a pollutant from contaminated food - the...
10-Oct-2019 1:20 PM EDT Add to Favorites

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