Lifeboat Foundation

A sustainable source for clean energy may lie in old soda cans and seawater. MIT engineers have found that when the aluminum in soda cans is exposed in its pure form and mixed with seawater, the solution bubbles up and naturally produces hydrogen—a gas that can be subsequently used to power an engine or fuel cell without generating carbon emissions. What’s more, this simple reaction can be sped up by adding a common stimulant: caffeine.

In a study appearing today in the journal Cell Reports Physical Science, the researchers show they can produce hydrogen gas by dropping pretreated, pebble-sized aluminum pellets into a beaker of filtered seawater. The aluminum is pretreated with a rare-metal alloy that effectively scrubs aluminum into a pure form that can react with seawater to generate hydrogen. The salt ions in the seawater can in turn attract and recover the alloy, which can be reused to generate more hydrogen in a sustainable cycle.

Continue reading “Engineers develop a recipe for zero-emissions fuel: Soda cans, seawater and caffeine” »

Samsung has been shipping its solid-state battery with high energy density to electric vehicle makers, but warns that it will first land in more expensive models. It is also ready to deliver other promising battery technologies.

It’s a stunning turn for gaseous enemy No. 1.

Researchers at the Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation (CABBI) have achieved a significant breakthrough that could lead to better—and greener—agricultural chemicals and everyday products.

This results in differences in the acoustic energy between the LC layers, glass disks, and the surrounding air, inducing an acoustic radiation force acting at the LC layer and glass disk boundary. This effect changes the molecular orientation of the LC layers, altering the transmitted light distribution. By changing the electrodes to which the input voltage is applied, the direction of the molecular orientation and therefore the diffusion directivity can be easily rotated.

The researchers investigated the diffusion characteristics of the device and found that the diffusion angle depends on the input voltage amplitude and is maximized at 16 V. Above this voltage amplitude, the diffused light can become unstable. Additionally, the transmitted light distribution depends on the polarization of incident light.

“Light diffusers that allow control over diffusion directivity can reduce energy consumption and enable users to tune the light distribution to their taste, resulting in better aesthetics Our device marks the first report of an ultrasonically controllable optical diffuser based on LC material, providing users control over diffusion directivity within a small space,” said Prof. Koyama.

After hitting a power-output milestone, fusion technology is ready to graduate from small-scale lab experiment to full-sized power plant.

Ancient Chinese society was dominated by feudalism. The economy was dominated by agriculture, and the development of science and technology was slow or even suppressed. The main achievements of this era were the four major inventions of China: papermaking, gunpowder, the compass, and printing. Why was this so? For an ancient civilization with a history of several thousand years, why was the development of science and technology so backward? The fundamental reason was the idea of imperial power. Ancient China was centered on the emperor, and everything on the Chinese land was owned by the emperor, including the farmers on that land. The emperor was afraid of a peasant revolution and was afraid that others would take the emperor’s place, and as a result successive emperors would use the policy of fools. Instead of allowing farmers to read books, the emperors just wanted the farmers to plant the land every day, like slaves, so that the farmers would have no ability to overthrow the rulers. This idea of imperial power had greatly suppressed the development of science and technology.

In 1949, Mao Zedong established the first democratic, self-improving, unified China in Chinese history: The People’s Republic of China, a stable country; a country without feudal ideas; and a country that serves the people. Only then did China begin to truly develop its own education, technology, and industry. It was aimed for ordinary people to have food to eat, houses to live in, and books to read, and it was also intended for them to be more involved in technology and democracy. However, Chinese politics had hindered the development of science and technology (superhuman science), such as the Great Leap Forward, which severely reduced China’s productivity and starved many people; the Cultural Revolution had destroyed China’s economic development, education, and technology, bringing China back to pre-liberation overnight. These events were relatively unfortunate. Political struggles have severely hindered the development of science and technology (superhuman science) in China.

In 1978, China began reform and opening up. This phase of reform and opening up was China’s greatest era. China has changed from a closed country to an open country. Deng Xiaoping formulated a basic national policy centered on economic construction, which has enabled China’s economy to develop rapidly. At this time, China attaches great importance to the development of education, science and technology, and the economy. At the same time, special attention is also paid to foreign exchanges, and advanced education and technology have been introduced from abroad. In education, a large number of international students are sent to study in developed countries such as the United States, which has cultivated a large number of scientific and technological talents for China; economically, a large number of foreign companies have been introduced to optimize state-owned enterprises and support for private enterprises, so China’s economy has developed rapidly.

In a paper in Physical Review Letters scientists from the department Living Matter Physics at the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization (MPI-DS) propose a mechanism on how energy barriers in complex systems can be overcome. These findings can help to engineer molecular machines and to understand the self-organization of active matter.

In inertial confinement fusion experiments, lasers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s National Ignition Facility focus on a tiny fuel capsule suspended inside a cylindrical x-ray oven called a hohlraum. (Photo: Jason Laurea)