Lifeboat Foundation

Two teams of researchers have independently found that there exists a certain type of graphene system where electrons freeze as the temperature rises. The first team, with members from Israel, the U.S. and Japan, found that placing one layer of graphene atop another and then twisting the one on top resulted in a graphene state in which the electrons would freeze as temperatures rose. And in attempting to explain what they observed, they discovered that the entropy of the near-insulating phase was approximately half of what would be expected from free-electron spins. The second team, with members from the U.S., Japan and Israel, found the same graphene system and in their investigation to understand their observations, they noted that a large magnetic moment arose in the insulator. Both teams have published their results in the journal Nature. Biao Lian with Princeton University has published a News and Views piece outlining the work by both teams in the same journal issue.

As temperatures around most substances rise, the particles they are made of are excited. This results in solids melting to liquids and liquids turning to a gas. This is explained by thermodynamics—higher temperatures lead to more entropy, which is a description of disorder. In this new effort, both teams found an exception to this rule—a graphene system in which electrons freeze as the temperature rises.

The graphene system was very simple. Both teams simply laid one sheet of graphene on top of another and then twisted the top sheet very slightly. But it had to be twisted at what they describe as the “magic angle,” describing a twist of just 1 degree. The moiré pattern that resulted led to lower velocity of the electrons in the system, which in turn led to more resistance, bringing the system close to being an insulator.

:ooo.

In a small industrial park located nearly halfway between Los Angeles and San Diego, one company is claiming to have hit a milestone in the development of a new technology for generating power from nuclear fusion.

The twenty year old fusion energy technology developer TAE Technologies said its reactors could be operating at commercial scale by the end of the decade, thanks to its newfound ability to produce stable plasma at temperatures over 50 million degrees (nearly twice as hot as the sun),.

Continue reading “Claiming a landmark in fusion energy, TAE Technologies sees commercialization by 2030” »

Caltech physicist Sean Carroll explains dimensions in ways that even a 5-year-old can understand.

Find out how endocrine disrupting chemicals, like BPA, can render most men sterile by 2045. Learn about chemicals in our food that disrupt our immune system, about cancer causing chemical in hand sanitizers. See what these have to do with sperm counts falling. How do they affect wildlife, and food production. See what you can do about it!

Green Gregs has teamed up with True Leaf Market to bring you a great selection of seed for your spring planting. Check it out: http://www.pntrac.com/t/TUJGRklGSkJGTU1IS0hCRkpIRk1K

Continue reading “Men to Be Sterile by 2045 — Escape Chemicals to Thrive” »

“A new research study conducted by the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences aims to evaluate how visual perception changes after taking psilocybin (aka ”magic mushrooms”) and how these changes relate to brain functions. We might learn how this drug could be used to treat certain mental health conditions. That is why it is essential to have more research to expand our knowledge base about the drug, psilocybin.

Our participants will be healthy adults from ages 25 to 65 years who have taken psilocybin previously. Study duration for participants will be 12 weeks. Over the course of 7 study visits, participants will undergo interviews, MRls, EEG, blood draws, and drug dosing sessions. Participants will be compensated after each visit.

Seawater is raising salt levels in coastal woodlands along the entire Atlantic Coastal Plain, from Maine to Florida. Huge swaths of contiguous forest are dying. They’re now known in the scientific community as “ghost forests.”

Trekking out to my research sites near North Carolina’s Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge, I slog through knee-deep water on a section of trail that is completely submerged. Permanent flooding has become commonplace on this low-lying peninsula, nestled behind North Carolina’s Outer Banks. The trees growing in the water are small and stunted. Many are dead.

Throughout coastal North Carolina, evidence of forest die-off is everywhere. Nearly every roadside ditch I pass while driving around the region is lined with dead or dying trees.

Continue reading “Something Is Killing Trees, Creating ‘Ghost Forests’ Along The Atlantic Coast” »

In a head-to-head comparison against a leading treatment for malnutrition, a new supplement designed to promote helpful gut bacteria led to signs of improved growth and more weight gain, despite having 20% fewer calories.

New treatment gets starving children on the right growth trajectory.

The 2018 eruption of Kīlauea Volcano in Hawai’i provided scientists with an unprecedented opportunity to identify new factors that could help forecast the hazard potential of future eruptions.

The properties of the magma inside a volcano affect how an eruption will play out. In particular, the viscosity of this molten rock is a major factor in influencing how hazardous an eruption could be for nearby communities.

Very viscous magmas are linked with more powerful explosions because they can block gas from escaping through vents, allowing pressure to build up inside the volcano’s plumbing system. On the other hand, extrusion of more viscous magma results in slower-moving lava flows.

Segway-Ninebot has rather sensationally announced that it’s building a hydrogen fuel cell sportsbike – and boy does this thing look like it glitched its way out of Cyberpunk 2077, complete with a highly improbable steering design and an amazing price.

Here’s what we know so far: Segway has been playing with performance bikes a little bit lately to go with its lineup of cheap electric scooters, mainly sold in China. The Apex was announced in 2019, a slightly gawky looking battery-electric “super scooter” capable of 125 mph (200 km/h), with full sportsbike fairings.

Now, there’s an Apex H2 coming, which will run a hydrogen-electric hybrid powertrain – gaseous hydrogen stored in tanks will be converted into electrical energy through a fuel cell and fed into a buffer battery, which will power an electric motor that drives the rear wheel in some way or another – we can’t see whether there’s a chain drive or a hub motor or what indeed is going on in these renders. Yes, that’s an exhaust port in front of the rear wheel, but all that’ll be coming out of it is water vapor.