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Category: energy

What can a moon’s tidal friction teach us about its formation and evolution? This is what a recent study published in Science Advances hopes to address as a team of researchers at the University of California Santa Cruz investigated a connection between the spin rate and tidal energy on Saturn’s moon, Titan, to determine more about Titan’s interior. This study has the potential to help researchers better understand the internal processes of Titan, leading to better constraints on the existence of a subsurface ocean.

For the study, the researchers used a combination of data obtained by NASA’s now-retired Cassini spacecraft and a series of mathematical calculations to determine Titan’s tidal dissipation, which is the amount of tidal energy lost in an object from friction and other processes, and for which the only moons in the solar system this has been successfully been accomplished being the Earth’s Moon and Jupiter’s volcanic moon, Io. Better understanding a moon’s tidal dissipation helps researchers better understand its formation and evolution, which the researchers successfully estimated for Titan.

“Tidal dissipation in satellites affects their orbital and rotational evolution and their ability to maintain subsurface oceans,” said Dr. Brynna Downey, who is a postdoctoral researcher at the Southwest Research Institute in Colorado and lead author of the study. “Now that we have an estimate for the strength of tides on Titan, what does it tell us about how quickly the orbit is changing? What we discovered is that it’s changing very quickly on a geologic timescale.”

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An electrospray engine applies an electric field to a conductive liquid, generating a high-speed jet of tiny droplets that can propel a spacecraft. These miniature engines are ideal for small satellites called CubeSats that are often used in academic research.

Since engines utilize more efficiently than the powerful, chemical rockets used on the launchpad, they are better suited for precise, in-orbit maneuvers. The thrust generated by an electrospray emitter is tiny, so electrospray engines typically use an array of emitters that are uniformly operated in parallel.

However, these multiplexed electrospray thrusters are typically made via expensive and time-consuming semiconductor cleanroom fabrication, which limits who can manufacture them and how the devices can be applied.

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A professor at South Korea’s Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) has developed BeeVi, an eco-friendly toilet that uses human waste to generate electricity to power a building.

The BeeVi toilet, developed by Professor Cho Jae-weon, is equipped with a vacuum pump that sends human waste into an underground tank.

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A team of researchers has unveiled an innovative additive that significantly enhances the lifespan and efficiency of lithium-air batteries. This advancement, announced on Feb. 10, potentially more than doubles the driving range of vehicles compared to those using traditional lithium-ion batteries. The research was spearheaded by Prof. Kwak Won-jin from the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), in collaboration with Prof. Seo Seong-eun from Ajou University and Prof. Chen Shuming from Oberlin College in the United States.

Lithium-air batteries, known for their high energy density, use lithium as the anode and oxygen from the air as the cathode, offering up to five times the capacity of conventional lithium-ion batteries. However, these batteries face challenges due to the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) during operation, which can degrade battery components and reduce efficiency. The newly developed additive, a ‘redox mediator’ named BAC, addresses these challenges by maintaining a consistent charging voltage level of 3.5V, even after exposure to singlet oxygen, a particularly reactive form of oxygen.

The redox mediator, although comprising only 5% of the battery electrolyte’s weight, plays a crucial role in determining the energy efficiency and lifespan of lithium-air batteries. By reducing the voltage required for charging, the BAC mediator enhances energy efficiency and minimizes battery overload, thereby extending its lifespan. Researcher Lee Hyun-wook, the first author of the study, explained, “We were able to develop such a redox mediator through a design method that analyzes the molecular stereostructure.”

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Researchers at the University of Houston’s Texas Center for Superconductivity have achieved another first in their quest toward ambient-pressure high-temperature superconductivity, bringing us one step closer to finding superconductors that work in everyday conditions—and potentially unlocking a new era of energy-efficient technologies.

In their study titled “Creation, stabilization, and investigation at of pressure-induced superconductivity in Bi0.5 Sb1.5 Te3,” published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, professors Liangzi Deng and Paul Ching-Wu Chu of the UH Department of Physics set out to see if they could push Bi0.5 Sb1.5 Te3 (BST) into a under pressure—without altering its chemistry or structure.

“In 2001, scientists suspected that applying high pressure to BST changed its Fermi surface topology, leading to improved thermoelectric performance,” Deng said. “That connection between pressure, topology and superconductivity piqued our interest.”

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The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) constitute the leading global framework for achieving human progress, economic prosperity, and planetary health. This framework emphasizes issues such as public health, education for all, gender equality, zero hunger, adoption of clean and renewable energy, and biodiversity conservation. Yet, despite this comprehensive agenda, questions remain about how different nations navigate their own paths toward these goals.

A recent study, published in Nature Communications provides insights into the trajectories of 166 countries as they have worked toward the SDGs over the past two decades.

By applying and the Product Space methodology, commonly used in the field of complexity economics, the researchers constructed the “SDG Space of Nations.” The elaborate model shows that countries do not simply march in lockstep toward sustainable development; instead, they cluster into distinctive groups, each with its own strengths and specializations, sometimes quite unexpected.

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Researchers have made a significant step in the study of a new class of high-temperature superconductors: creating superconductors that work at room pressure. That advance lays the groundwork for deeper exploration of these materials, bringing us closer to real-world applications such as lossless power grids and advanced quantum technologies.

Superconductivity, the ability of certain materials to conduct electricity with zero resistance, typically occurs at extremely low temperatures, or in some cases, under high pressures. For decades, researchers have focused on a class of materials called cuprates, known for their ability to achieve superconductivity at relatively high temperatures.

About five years ago, a team of researchers at the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University discovered superconductivity in nickelates, materials chemically similar to cuprates—and last summer, another group of researchers reported superconductivity in a new class of nickel oxides at temperatures comparable to cuprates.

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Harnessing Static Electricity for Power

Static electricity might be an everyday nuisance, especially in winter, but for some scientists, it holds untapped potential as an energy source. Using a device called a triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG), mechanical movement can be converted into electrical energy through the triboelectric effect.

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