Is super asymmetry a thing? And do big physicists really travel economy class?
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Circa 2013
Physicists have long thought that the singularities associated with gravity (like the inside of a black hole) should vanish in a quantum theory of gravity. It now appears that this may indeed be the case. Researchers in Uruguay and Louisiana have just published a description of a quantum black hole using loop quantum gravity in which the predictions of physics-ending singularities vanish, and are replaced by bridges to another universe.
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Drone Could Help Firefighters
Posted in drones, entertainment
Latvian company Aerones created the machine, which — according to the company — can fly up to 984 feet, compared to 100-foot-height that firefighter ladders can reach. The drone is fitted with a water hose from a fire truck, and is controlled by a pilot on the ground remotely. However, the drone does suffer from low battery life, providing only 30 minutes flight time from a 90-minute charge. It’s still in development, but Aerones hopes to use the machine for real-life operations soon.
See more from Aerones: https://www.aerones.com/eng/
Engineers at the University of Tokyo continually pioneer new ways to improve battery technology. Professor Atsuo Yamada and his team recently developed a material that can significantly extend the life of batteries and afford them higher capacities, as well.
From smartphones to pacemakers and cars, batteries power much of our world and their importance only continues to grow. There are two particular aspects of batteries that many believe need to improve to meet our future needs. These are the longevity of the battery and also its capacity—how much charge it can store.
The chances are your devices use a type of battery called a lithium-ion battery. But another kind based on sodium rather than lithium may become commonplace soon. Both kinds of battery can store and deliver a large amount of charge, thanks to the way constituent materials pass electrons around. But in both lithium and in sodium batteries, repeated cycles of charging and usage can significantly reduce the storage capacity over time.
Raul Polit Casillas at NASA’s JPL created a 3D-printed “space fabric” that’s flexible, easy to create, and a thermal regulator.
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