Lifeboat Foundation

Researchers at the University of Ottawa have debunked the decade-old myth of metals being useless in photonics—the science and technology of light—with their findings, recently published in Nature Communications, expected to lead to many applications in the field of nanophotonics.

“We broke the record for the resonance quality factor (Q-factor) of a periodic array of metal nanoparticles by one order of magnitude compared to previous reports,” said senior author Dr. Ksenia Dolgaleva, Canada Research Chair in Integrated Photonics (Tier 2) and Associate Professor in the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) at the University of Ottawa.

“It is a well-known fact that metals are very lossy when they interact with light, which means they cause the dissipation of electrical energy. The high losses compromise their use in optics and photonics. We demonstrated ultra-high-Q resonances in a metasurface (an artificially structured surface) comprised of an array of metal nanoparticles embedded inside a flat glass substrate. These resonances can be used for efficient light manipulating and enhanced light-matter interaction, showing metals are useful in photonics.”

Microgrids can connect and disconnect from the grid. By operating on normal “blue-sky” operating days as well as during emergencies, microgrids provide uninterrupted power when the grid goes down — and reduce grid constraints and energy costs when grid-connected. Previously the sole domain of military bases and universities, microgrids are growing 15% annually, reaching an $18 billion market in the U.S. by 2022.

For grid resiliency and reliable power supply, there is no better solution than community-scale microgrids that connect critical infrastructure facilities with nearby residential and commercial loads. Funding feasibility studies and audit-grade designs — so that communities have zero-cost but high-quality pathways to constructable projects, as New York State did with the NY Prize initiative — is a proven way to involve communities in their energy planning and engage the private sector in building low-carbon resilient energy systems.

Unpredictability and complexity are quickening, and technology has its place, but not simply as an individual safeguard or false security blanket. Instead, technology should be used to better calculate risk, increase system resilience, improve infrastructure durability and strengthen the bonds between people in a community both during and in between emergencies.

An atmospheric argon discharge plasma was induced by a high-power microwave beam using a 28 GHz gyrotron and investigated at pressures of 40 kPa–100 kPa and Gaussian peak intensities of 0.115 GW/m2…

The bitcoin market now exceeds $1 trillion with its price rising tenfold in a year, but focus is shifting towards the massive power requirements needed to sustain the online currency.

Here are some questions and answers about bitcoin:

‘Skybrators’ generate clean energy without environmental impact of large windfarms, say green pioneers.

In physics, entropy is the process of a system losing energy and dissolving into chaos. This applies to social systems in everyday life, too. Limiting energy loss can make social systems run better.

Geothermal energy may be the key to bringing reliable, clean energy to the world.

I didn’t get my 2nd Moderna Vaccine because how sick others became after theirs — nausea, fatigue, headaches for days, lymph nodes the size of a rock that fits in your hand, increased heart rate… Recently a Utah woman died 4 days after her 2nd vaccine-her heart, liver and kidneys failed. Less then a yr ago I read several studies on hospitalized COVID patients — how their kidneys and liver were failing. I read a recent study on how post COVID individuals are now having heart issues. Another study shows how COVID attacks the heart and why such individuals are now having heart issues. In December 2020, 13 individuals died after getting vaccinated (probably more since then). There is a real connection between COVID and organ failure!!!! I wish I kept links of all the information I read. Be happy to find them again. We don’t even know the long term affects of the vaccine — are the vaccinated going to experience long term health issues as well? Take your chances with a vaccine, or not.

A Utah woman in her 30s died four days after receiving the coronavirus vaccine.

Kassidi Kurill, 39, was healthy and happy and “had more energy” than others, according to a KUTV report. Then, four days after she received her second dose of the coronavirus vaccine, she suddenly died.

Continue reading “Utah mother in her 30s dies four days after receiving second coronavirus vaccine dose” »

A multi-institutional team of researchers has found that it is possible to use a type of fungus to soften wood to the point that it could be used to generate electricity. In their paper published in the journal Science Advances, the group describes their process and how they tested it.

As the world works its way toward cleaner energy-producing systems, scientists seek novel approaches to producing electricity. One possibility is the use of piezoelectric devices that generate electricity by harnessing movement such as footsteps. In this new effort, the researchers have noted that much energy is wasted when people walk around. And while some have attempted to harness some of that energy with devices designed for shoes or legs, the researchers with this new effort wondered if it might be possible to add piezoelectrics to the floor to make use of that energy.

In studying the kinds of wood that are used to make floors, particularly in homes, the researchers noted that they do not have much give—a necessary component of an energy-harvesting system. To solve that problem, they found that applying a type of white rot fungus to pieces of balsa wood for a few weeks sped up the decaying process in a useful way. It made the wood spongier, which translated to give. When stepping on the wood, the researchers could feel it depress. They also found that after the wood returned to its former shape when pressure was removed.