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11. Upward lightning strikes initiate on the ground and head skyward. These discharges, which usually begin at the top of tall and slender structures, pose a real risk for wind turbines.

10. EPFL researchers have come up with a method to determine the exact location of short circuits in a power grid. This is an important step towards operating complex power grid topologies that enable the massive integration of renewable energy resources. When a high-voltage power line is damaged by wind, ice or a tree, electricity utilities must quickly find the fault location and repair it to meet the power quality requirements or avoid cascade blackout.

Researchers at the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) created a synthetic material out of 1 billion tiny magnets. Astonishingly, it now appears that the magnetic properties of this so-called metamaterial change with the temperature, so that it can take on different states; just like water has a gaseous, liquid and a solid state.

Multitasking circuits capable of reconfiguring themselves in real time and switching functions as the need arises - this is the promising application stemming from a discovery made at EPFL and published. Other potential uses: miniaturising our electronic devices and developing resilient circuits. Will it be possible one day to reconfigure electronic microchips however we want, even when they are in use? A recent discovery by a team at EPFL suggests as much.

Data on a hard drive is stored by flipping small magnetic domains. Researchers have now changed the magnetic arrangement in a material much faster than is possible with today's hard drives. The researchers used a new technique where an electric field triggers these changes, in contrast to the magnetic fields commonly used in consumer devices.

Precise measurement of the molecular weight, size and density of a nanoparticle in a single procedure is now possible, thanks to an ultracentrifugation method. Although nanoparticles are used in a variety of domains - such as medicine, solar energy and photonics - there is still much about them to be discovered.

Environmentally friendly fuels are not just of interest for use in cars. The University of Birmingham has been operating a canal boat with a fuel cell drive for three years now.

An electromagnetic three-phase motor will enable the watchmaking industry to build watches that are three times more efficient and that can include more applications.

The international ITER project is setting out to store the energy of stars in a reactor. To meet this challenge, scientists must be able to measure the properties of matter in fusion. Researchers have just successfully tested some sensors that are necessary for the ITER prototype. The scientists' ambition is to keep matter with a temperature of several million degrees contained here on Earth.

Scientists have further boosted the energy conversion efficiency of flexible solar cells made of copper indium gallium (di)selenide (also known as CIGS) to a new world record of 18.7% - a significant improvement overt he previous record of 17.6% achieved by the same team in June 2010.

Smaller and more energy-efficient electronic chips could be made using molybdenite. A recent study shows that this material has distinct advantages over traditional silicon or graphene for use in electronics applications.

Researchers have shown that a magnetically polarised current can be manipulated by electric fields. This important discovery opens up the prospect of simultaneously processing and storing data on electrons held in the molecular structure of computer chips - combining computer memory and processing power on the same chip.

The construction of the biggest Solar Park in Switzerland is taking shape as the first photovoltaic panels come on stream.

Today's trend in winter sports draws more and more people away from the designated slopes. Free riding and ski tours experience a massive boost in popularity.

Oerlikon Space is currently testing an autonomous robotic vehicle for Mars; in the year 2015, as part of its ExoMars scientific mission, the European Space Agency (ESA) plans to land an autonomous robot of this type on the Red Planet to search for signs of life there.