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Category: energy – Page 5

In a major leap forward for energy storage technology, a team of researchers from South Korea has developed a groundbreaking method that could revolutionize the manufacturing of sodium-ion batteries. This innovation not only promises to enhance battery efficiency but could also reshape how we think about energy storage and its future applications in various industries.

At the Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute (KERI), a team led by Dr. Kim and Dr. Park has achieved a breakthrough in the production of hard carbon anodes for sodium-ion batteries. By using a method that involves microwave induction heating, they are now able to prepare these anodes in just 30 seconds —a dramatic improvement over conventional methods. This quick processing technique could significantly reduce manufacturing times and costs, potentially making sodium-ion batteries a more viable option for widespread use.

The research team’s approach has already gained considerable attention in the scientific community, as it marks a significant step toward the commercialization of sodium-ion batteries, which are seen as a safer, more sustainable alternative to lithium-ion batteries.

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Life on Earth has always existed in the flux of ionizing radiation. However, fungi seem to interact with the ionizing radiation differently from other Earth’s inhabitants. Recent data show that melanized fungal species like those from Chernobyl’s reactor respond to ionizing radiation with enhanced growth. Fungi colonize space stations and adapt morphologically to extreme conditions. Radiation exposure causes upregulation of many key genes, and an inducible microhomology-mediated recombination pathway could be a potential mechanism of adaptive evolution in eukaryotes. The discovery of melanized organisms in high radiation environments, the space stations, Antarctic mountains, and in the reactor cooling water combined with phenomenon of ‘radiotropism’ raises the tantalizing possibility that melanins have functions analogous to other energy harvesting pigments such as chlorophylls.

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Finding the right lubricant for the right purpose is a task that is often extremely important in industry. Not only to reduce friction, overheating and wear, but also to save energy. At TU Wien, the research groups of Prof Carsten Gachot (Tribology, Mechanical Engineering) and Prof Dominik Eder (Chemistry) are therefore working together to develop innovative, improved lubricants.

The team has now presented a new type of material with special properties: The lubricant COK-47 is not liquid like lubricating oil, but a powdery solid substance. On a nanoscale, it consists of stacks of atomically thin sheets, like a tiny stack of cards.

When the material comes into contact with , these platelets can slide past each other very easily—a so-called tribofilm is created, which ensures extremely low . This makes COK-47 a highly interesting in .

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A collaborative study published in Nature reveals an innovative strategy to enhance energy storage in antiferroelectric materials.

The study, conducted by researchers from the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tsinghua University, Songshan Lake Materials Laboratory, and the University of Wollongong, introduces the antipolar frustration strategy, which significantly improves the performance of dielectric capacitors that are crucial for high-power devices requiring fast charge and discharge rates.

Antiferroelectrics, which feature an antiparallel configuration, are emerging as promising materials for due to their phase transition from antiferroelectric to ferroelectric under an . This transition provides high polarization strength and near-zero remanent polarization, ideal for energy storage.

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Ugly.

Job losses are always terrible. This will be a dark and painful day at a space agency that brings so much light and joy to the world. Many of the probationary employees are just starting out their careers and were likely thrilled to land a job at NASA to explore the universe. And then all of that youthful energy and hope was extinguished this week.

It’s possible to view these losses through a couple of lenses.

Yes, NASA is clearly losing some capability with these latest cuts. Many of these hires were likely being counted on to bring new energy into the space agency and become its future discoverers and leaders. And their jobs are being sacrificed for no clear purpose. Is it to increase funding for the military? Is it to pay for tax cuts for the rich? There is a lot of anger that the relatively thin budget line of NASA—less than one-half of 1 percent of the federal budget—is being sliced for such purposes.

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A strange molecular pattern, first mistaken for an error, led researchers to an unexpected discovery: molecules forming non-repeating structures similar to the einstein tiling problem.

This phenomenon, driven by chirality and energy balance, could pave the way for novel insights into molecular physics.

At the crossroads of mathematics and tiling lies the einstein problem—a puzzle that, despite its name, has nothing to do with Albert Einstein. The question is simple yet profound: Can a single shape tile an infinite surface without ever creating a repeating pattern? In 2022, English amateur mathematician David Smith discovered such a shape, known as a “proto-tile.”

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In this video, we break down the Cahill Cycle, also known as the Glucose-Alanine Cycle, a crucial metabolic pathway that helps transport nitrogen from muscles to the liver while maintaining glucose balance! 🧬🔥

You’ll learn:
✅ How alanine plays a key role in nitrogen transport 🏋️‍♂️
✅ The step-by-step process of the cycle 🔄
✅ Why this process is energy-intensive for the liver ⚡

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As more satellites, telescopes, and other spacecraft are built to be repairable, it will take reliable trajectories for service spacecraft to reach them safely. Researchers in the Department of Aerospace Engineering in The Grainger College of Engineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign are developing a methodology that will allow multiple CubeSats to act as servicing agents to assemble or repair a space telescope.

Published in The Journal of the Astronautical Sciences, their method minimizes , guarantees that servicing agents never come closer to each other than 5 meters, and can be used to solve pathway guidance problems that aren’t space related.

“We developed a scheme that allows the CubeSats to operate efficiently without colliding,” said aerospace Ph.D. student Ruthvik Bommena. “These small spacecraft have limited onboard computation capabilities, so these trajectories are precomputed by mission design engineers.”

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In a paper published earlier this month in Physical Review Letters, a team of physicists led by Jonathan Richardson of the University of California, Riverside, showcases how new optical technology can extend the detection range of gravitational-wave observatories such as the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory, or LIGO, and pave the way for future observatories.

Since 2015, observatories like LIGO have opened a new window on the universe. Plans for future upgrades to the 4-kilometer LIGO detectors and the construction of a next-generation 40-kilometer observatory, Cosmic Explorer, aim to push the gravitational-wave detection horizon to the earliest times in the history of the universe, before the first stars formed. However, realizing these plans hinges on achieving laser power levels exceeding 1 megawatt, far beyond LIGO’s capabilities today.

The research paper reports a breakthrough that will enable gravitational-wave detectors to reach extreme laser powers. It presents a new low-noise, high-resolution approach that can correct the limiting distortions of LIGO’s main 40-kilogram mirrors which arise with increasing laser power due to heating.

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