A colored sapphire material and methods for coloring sapphire material using lasers are disclosed. The method for coloring the sapphire material may include positioning the sapphire material over an opaque substrate material, exposing the opaque substrate material to a laser beam passing through the sapphire material to impact the substrate material, and inducing a chemical change in a portion of the sapphire material exposed to the laser beam. The method may also include creating a visible color in the portion of the sapphire material as a result of the chemical change. The colored sapphire material may include a first transparent portion, and a second, colored portion substantially surrounded by the first portion. The second, colored portion may have a chemical composition different than that of the first portion.

Methods for converting carbon dioxide (CO.sub.2) into graphene are described. The methods include contacting a metal with gaseous carbon dioxide, and irradiating a surface of the metal with at least one laser beam to convert the gaseous carbon dioxide into graphene on the surface of the metal. Systems for converting carbon dioxide into graphene are also described.

The present invention provides a new photoreactive compound which can be used in technologies for photoreactions of nucleic acid, and also provides a photoreactive crosslinking agent comprising the above photoreactive compound. A photoreactive compound represented by the following formula I can be used. ##STR00001##

The invention relates to a method for the infrared-light-induced yield optimization of chemical reactions, wherein an energy input into at least one starting material that is subjected to a chemical reaction takes place by means of infrared light pulses having a mean wavelength in the range of 2000 to 100000 nm. The chemical reaction here is a reaction in which a product, the molecular formula of which does not correspond to the molecular formula of the starting material, is formed and wherein the yield optimization for the most part is not based on a thermal heating of the starting material. The invention is characterized in that the infrared light pulses have a fixed wavelength and in that the energy input into the starting material takes place by means of vibration excitation by a one-photon process.

An apparatus is for forming powder, and includes an energy source for emitting at least one energy beam onto a workpiece, the energy beam being configured to melt the workpiece, at least in part, to form at least one pool of molten material on the workpiece. The apparatus is configured to exert a force on the workpiece causing at least a bead of molten material to be ejected from the pool and solidify to form a particle of powder.

Methods, apparatus, and systems for mitigating pinhole defects in optical devices such as electrochromic windows. One method mitigates a pinhole defect in an electrochromic device by identifying the site of the pinhole defect and obscuring the pinhole to make it less visually discernible. In some cases, the pinhole defect may be the result of mitigating a short-related defect

The present invention relates to a reactor and a process for photochemical degradation of ethylene that can be used with rooms for storing climacteric fruits and/or cut flowers.

A method for treating a raw-material powder includes forming a layer of the raw-material powder and removing oxide film formed on a surface of the raw-material powder from which the layer has been formed.

A hydrogen generating fuel cell includes an anode and a cathode separated by a channel configured to hold liquid water or water vapor. At least one of the anode and the cathode are porous. The hydrogen generating fuel cell includes a power source electrically connected to the anode and the cathode and an ultraviolet radiation source positioned to emit ultraviolet radiation from the anode to the cathode, the cathode to the anode, or both directions. A hydrogen generating system and a method of generating hydrogen are also disclosed.

A solid state combinatorial synthesis of particulate diamond ranging in size from the macroscopic down to the nanoscale, which entails: a) forming a solution having a source of reactant atoms, a tetrahedranoidal compound reactant, and a solvent vehicle; b) forming liquid droplets of the solution; c) evaporating the solvent vehicle from the liquid droplets of the solution to form particles containing a homogenous solid mixture of the reactants; and d) exposing the particles of the homogeneous solid mixture to a high energy discharge thereby forming diamond particles.