Lifeboat Foundation: Safeguarding Humanity
Toggle light / dark theme

Blog

Category: energy – Page 26

Novel hollow-core optical fiber transmits data 45% faster with record low loss

Despite the modern world relying heavily on digital optical communication, there has not been a significant improvement in the minimum attenuation—a measure of the loss of optical power per kilometer traveled—of optical fibers in around 40 years. Decreasing this loss would mean that the signal could travel further without being amplified, leading to more data being transmitted over longer distances, faster internet and more efficient networks.

Current fibers transmit light through silica cores, which have limited room for loss improvement. Another option is the hollow-core fiber (HCF), which theoretically allows for faster speeds due to the ability of light to travel faster through air than through silica. Still, scientists struggled to design HCFs that actually performed better than silica-based cables. In most cases, the attenuation was worse or the design was impractical.

But now, researchers from the University of Southampton and Microsoft claim to have made a breakthrough in HCF design in a recently published study in Nature Photonics. The new fiber achieves a record low loss of 0.091 dB/km at 1,550 nm, compared to a 0.14 dB/km minimum loss for silica-based fibers. The new design maintains low losses of around 0.2 dB/km over a 66 THz bandwidth and boasts 45% faster transmission speeds.

Snap-through effect helps engineers solve soft material motion trade-off

Everyday occurrences like snapping hair clips or clicking retractable pens feature a mechanical phenomenon known as “snap-through.” Small insects and plants like the Venus flytrap cleverly use this snap-through effect to amplify their limited physical force, rapidly releasing stored elastic energy for swift, powerful movements.

Inspired by this , researchers from Hanyang University have developed a polymer-based jumper capable of both vertical and directional leaps, triggered simply by uniform ultraviolet (UV) light irradiation.

Published in Science Advances, this study tackles a classic engineering dilemma: how to make produce strong, rapid motions.

Styrofoam-based hydrogen storage: New process offers safe, reusable solution

A research team affiliated with UNIST has unveiled a novel technology that enables hydrogen to be stored within polystyrene-derived materials, particularly those originating from Styrofoam. The research is published in the journal ACS Catalysis.

This advancement not only offers a solution to the low recycling rate of —less than 1%—but also makes hydrogen storage and transportation more practical and accessible, addressing the challenges associated with handling gaseous hydrogen.

Led by Professor Kwangjin An from the School of Energy and Chemical Engineering at UNIST, in collaboration with Dr. Hyuntae Sohn from KIST and Professor Jeehoon Han from POSTECH, the team successfully designed a comprehensive, closed-loop system to convert waste polystyrene into a liquid organic hydrogen carrier (LOHC). This innovative process enables efficient hydrogen storage, retrieval, and reuse.

Scientists Discover a New Crystal That Breathes Oxygen

A potential game-changer for fuel cells, smart windows, and next-generation electronics

A team of scientists from Korea and Japan has discovered a new type of crystal that can “breathe”—releasing and absorbing oxygen repeatedly at relatively low temperatures. This unique ability could transform the way we develop clean energy technologies, including fuel cells, energy-saving windows, and smart thermal devices.

Advanced battery electrode processing technologies show promise for cutting energy use in half

Numerous market analyses have shown that over the next five years, demand for lithium-ion batteries for everything from personal electric devices to grid-scale energy storage is expected to grow dramatically.

To meet this demand, battery manufacturing needs to be faster, cheaper, more dependable, less energy-intensive and less wasteful. A key part of lithium-ion battery manufacturing with significant room for improvement is the processing and fabrication of electrodes.

To facilitate advances in this area, researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory have conducted a comprehensive review of the scientific literature on advanced electrode processing technologies. The findings are published in the journal Nature Reviews Clean Technology.

Chemists create new high-energy compound to fuel space flight

University at Albany chemists have created a new high-energy compound that could revolutionize rocket fuel and make space flights more efficient. Upon ignition, the compound releases more energy relative to its weight and volume compared to current fuels. In a rocket, this would mean less fuel required to power the same flight duration or payload and more room for mission-critical supplies. Their study is published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.

“In rocket ships, space is at a premium,” said Assistant Professor of Chemistry Michael Yeung, whose lab led the work. “Every inch must be packed efficiently, and everything onboard needs to be as light as possible. Creating more efficient fuel using our new compound would mean less space is needed for fuel storage, freeing up room for equipment, including instruments used for research. On the return voyage, this could mean more space is available to bring samples home.”

The newly synthesized compound, diboride (MnB2), is over 20% more energetic by weight and about 150% more energetic by volume compared to the aluminum currently used in solid rocket boosters. Despite being highly energetic, it is also very safe and will only combust when it meets an ignition agent like kerosene.

/* */