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Category: energy – Page 156

Iran‘s Combat Drones in Ukraine War, a New Market

Iran’s priority in entering the Ukrainian war arena was to test NATO’s defenses against its drones, to assess the strength of these defenses in the face of Iranian offensive capabilities. It can be said that in the initial stages, the Shahed-136 drone actually managed to achieve exceptional success against NATO air defense employed by the Ukrainian army. This marks a victory for Tehran.

However, the ultimate evaluation of the Shahed-136 drone’s capability against NATO defenses will have to wait until NATO supplies Ukraine with more air defenses in the days ahead. The implications of these advances for the balance of power between Russian and Ukrainian forces, as well as the reputation of the types of weapons supplied to the Ukrainian military, were certainly realized by NATO’s leadership in the wake of these drone attacks. NATO swiftly rushed to implement additional air defense systems designed to deal with such small, drones that are capable of flying at low altitudes.

As with all armed conflicts, the war in Ukraine is being profited from by a variety of peripheral parties, especially those involved in the sale and manufacture of weapons. Attaining these goals comes with a cost in the form of material losses and casualties brought on by reckless military testing. Russia’s use of Iranian drones during the Ukraine War, which resulted in the destruction of 30% of Ukraine’s power plants without obviously advancing any military objectives is an adequate example.

Magnetism or no magnetism? The influence of substrates on electronic interactions

A new study at Monash University illustrates how substrates affect strong electronic interactions in two-dimensional metal-organic frameworks.

Materials with strong electronic interactions can have applications in energy-efficient electronics. When these materials are placed on a , their are changed by charge transfer, strain, and hybridization.

The study also shows that electric fields and applied strain could be used to “switch” interacting phases such as on and off, allowing potential applications in future energy-efficient electronics.

DragonFire | Next Generation Laser | Dstl

The UK @Ministry of Defence #Defence Science and #Technology Laboratory (Dstl) has hosted the UK’s first high-powered, long-range #Laser Directed Energy Weapon (LDEW) trial on its ranges at Porton Down.

The trials involve firing the UK #DragonFire demonstrator at a number of targets over a number of ranges, demanding pinpoint accuracy from the beam director.

The trial improves the UK’s understanding of how high-energy lasers and their associated technologies can operate over distance and defeat representative targets. The ability to deliver high levels of laser power with sufficient accuracy are two of the major areas that need to be demonstrated in order to provide confidence in the performance and viability of LDEW systems.

The programme has developed a UK Sovereign ‘Centre of Excellence’ staffed with experts from multiple fields. LDEW have the potential to provide lower cost lethality, reduced logistical burden and increased effectiveness when compared to other weapon systems – the technology could have a huge effect on the future of Defence operations.

The programme’s specialist industry partners are:

• @MBDA with overall responsibility for the system and have developed the advanced command and control (C2) and image processing capabilities;

Continue reading “DragonFire | Next Generation Laser | Dstl” | >

Scientists May Have Finally Figured Out Why ATP Powers All Life on Earth

In a new study published in the journal PLOS Biology, a team of researchers at University College London posit that it became the “universal currency of life” by way of a little thing known as phosphorylation.

Basically, phosphorylation is the process by which ATP is created. A phosphate molecule is added to another chemical called ADP, and voíla: ATP is born. That same phosphate, as ScienceAlert explains, is then used for another process called hydrolysis, or the reaction of an organic chemical with water that breaks down ATP for use — and that connection with water may be where the secret to ATP’s metabolic dominance lies.

Well, partly. As the scientists discovered in their research, ATP couldn’t rise to the top alone. It needed both water and another phosphorylating molecule, called AcP, to do it. And in fact, it’s likely that ATP actually knocked out AcP as top energy-giving dog.

UK startup’s nuclear fusion gun will fire a 1-billion-G projectile at a fusion fuel pellet

The new method for harnessing the power of the Sun is “cheaper than traditional fusion approaches.”

U.K.-based startup First Light Fusion is developing its prototype Big Friendly Gun (BFG) in a bid to achieve nuclear fusion without relying on lasers and powerful magnets.

A pistol shrimp-inspired nuclear fusion method.

First Light Fusion.

The company recently performed a test-fire of its BFG prototype at its facility in Oxford, a Newsweek report explains. The company’s test campaign could finally unlock the potential of nuclear fusion by using an alternative method to mimic the Sun’s energy production method.

Continue reading “UK startup’s nuclear fusion gun will fire a 1-billion-G projectile at a fusion fuel pellet” | >

Team creates crystals that generate electricity from heat

To convert heat into electricity, easily accessible materials from harmless raw materials open up new perspectives in the development of safe and inexpensive so-called “thermoelectric materials.” A synthetic copper mineral acquires a complex structure and microstructure through simple changes in its composition, thereby laying the foundation for the desired properties, according to a study published in the journal Angewandte Chemie.

The novel synthetic material is composed of copper, manganese, germanium, and sulfur, and it is produced in a rather simple process, explains materials scientist Emmanuel Guilmeau, CNRS researcher at CRISMAT laboratory, Caen, France, who is the corresponding author of the study. “The powders are simply mechanically alloyed by ball-milling to form a precrystallized phase, which is then densified by 600 degrees Celsius. This process can be easily scaled up,” he says.

Thermoelectric materials convert heat to electricity. This is especially useful in where is reused as valuable electric power. The converse approach is the cooling of electronic parts, for example, in smartphones or cars. Materials used in this kind of applications have to be not only efficient, but also inexpensive and, above all, safe for health.

Eggs found to remove salt and microplastics from seawater

Other proteins work as well meaning the process can be scaled without interfering with food supplies.

Researchers at Princeton Engineering have found that egg whites can be used to cheaply remove salt and microplastics from seawater, according to a press release by the institution published on Thursday.

The scientists used the food substance to create an aerogel, a lightweight and porous material that can be used in many types of applications, including water filtration, energy storage, and sound and thermal insulation.

Princeton scientists discovered that egg whites can create a filtration process that requires only gravity to operate and wastes no water. They are now looking for other uses for the substance.