Lifeboat Foundation

Astronomers have made a remarkable discovery: a neutron star spinning at a staggering rate of 716 times per second, making it the fastest-spinning neutron star in the known universe, tied only with PSR J1748–2446. This stellar body, located in the binary system 4U 1820–30 within the NGC 6,624 globular cluster near the Milky Way’s center, is around 26 light-years from Earth in the constellation Sagittarius.

The discovery was made using NASA’s Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER), an X-ray telescope mounted on the International Space Station. Gaurava K. Jaisawal from DTU Space shared that during observations of thermonuclear bursts, the team detected oscillations corresponding to a spin rate of 716 Hz, confirming the extreme speed.

Neutron stars, remnants of massive stars that have exhausted their nuclear fuel, are known for their rapid rotation and intense density. This newfound star is no exception, showcasing powerful thermonuclear blasts that briefly make it up to 100,000 times brighter than the Sun. These explosions occur as material from its companion star—a white dwarf in this case—accretes onto the neutron star’s surface, igniting under extreme pressure.

A new type of passenger plane will adopt a design that blends wings into the aircraft’s body, which its creators say will cut fuel consumption by 50% and reduce noise.

The National Weather Service issued a red flag warning (warm temperatures, strong winds and low humidity) for Southern California that spans from Tuesday to Wednesday in the Santa Barbara, Los Angeles and Ventura counties, and from Tuesday to Thursday in the San Bernadino, Orange, Riverside and San Diego counties.

Sporadic power outages have materialized in the San Fernando Valley, a highly populated area north of the Hollywood Hills, with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power reporting a few thousand customers without power as of 5 p.m. PST.

Case Western Reserve University researcher advances zinc-sulfur battery technology. Rechargeable lithium-ion batteries power everything from electric vehicles to wearable devices. But new research from Case Western Reserve University suggests that a more sustainable and cost-effective alternative may lie in zinc-based batteries.

In a study published recently in Angewandte Chemie, researchers announced a significant step toward creating high-performance, low-cost zinc-sulfur batteries.

“This research marks a major step forward in the development of safer and more sustainable energy storage solutions,” said Chase Cao, a principal investigator and assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at Case School of Engineering. “Aqueous zinc-sulfur batteries offer the potential to power a wide range of applications — from renewable energy systems to portable electronics — with reduced environmental impact and reliance on scarce materials.”

Migrating bats cleverly harness the warm winds of storm fronts to reduce energy use during their long seasonal journeys, as revealed by innovative tracking technology.

Scientists found these tiny nocturnal travelers exhibit unexpected flexibility and adaptability in their migration patterns. Yet, they face mounting challenges from anthropogenic threats and environmental changes, underscoring the urgency for conservation efforts.

Continue reading “Storm Surfers of the Sky: How Bats Harness Winds to Power Migration” »

LLNL is working on a laser that is 10x more efficient than CO₂ EUV lasers.

Shooting a laser pulse at a porous silver target generates more intense x rays than previous targets, which will help studies of matter in extreme conditions.

Physicists rely on intense bursts of high-energy x rays to observe the progress of fusion experiments and to probe the dynamics of matter under conditions of extreme temperature and pressure. Current techniques for generating such bursts involve firing a laser pulse at a material target but typically turn only a small fraction of the laser energy into usable x rays, thereby limiting the burst energy and intensity. Now researchers have demonstrated a doubling of the efficiency by using a target made of a low-density metallic foam [1]. They expect that the new targets will lead to much brighter x-ray bursts capable of illuminating extreme physical processes under conditions that were previously inaccessible to x-ray observations.

When a powerful laser pulse strikes a foil of material such as silver, the laser strips away the electrons, leaving exposed the highly charged nuclei. Surrounding electrons then fall back into the lowest energy levels, creating high-energy x rays. However, most of the laser energy can be lost in the process, and the overall efficiency is very sensitive to the nature of the material target. Researchers have found, for example, that solid targets generally yield low efficiencies, as x rays emerge from only a small volume near the surface, while laser energy is otherwise consumed by stirring up plasma waves in the material. This low efficiency limits the x-ray intensity.

A team of researchers from Stanford University has found a unique way to mine bitcoin that could have a massive impact on the perceptions of the cryptocurrency.

According to its website, Pi Network was designed in part to make the process of mining bitcoin significantly less energy-intensive.

Continue reading “Researchers at Stanford have discovered a revolutionary new way to mine bitcoin: ‘It is essential to empower real people’” »

The production of ammonia is considered to be energy-intensive and harmful to the environment. However, the molecule is essential for global food production and a potential energy source for hydrogen-based systems.