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Category: energy – Page 7

Energy-efficient ultracompact laser reduces light loss in all directions

An international team of scientists led by Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) has developed a new type of ultracompact laser that is more energy efficient and consumes less power.

Smaller than a grain of sand, the micrometer-sized laser incorporates a special design that reduces light leakage. Minimizing light loss means less energy is required to operate the laser compared to other highly compact lasers.

The laser emits light in the terahertz region (30 μm—3 mm), a 6G communications frequency, and could pave the way for high-speed wireless communication of the future.

Researchers observe evidence of hyperbolic exciton polaritons

The ability to move electron-hole pairs—called excitons—in desired directions is important for generating electricity and creating fuels. This happens naturally in photosynthesis, making it a source of inspiration to researchers innovating optoelectronic devices.

Strong coupling between light and excitons generates bosonic quasiparticles called polaritons that express unique properties that positively affect device performance.

Researchers observed steady-state hyperbolic polaritons (HEPs)—exotic kinds of exciton polaritons with attractive properties—in the van der Waals magnet, chromium sulfide bromide (CrSBr).

Inspired by Death Valley, researchers mimic a mystery of nature to make ice move on its own

In Associate Professor Jonathan Boreyko’s Nature-Inspired Fluids and Interfaces Lab, Ph.D. student Jack Tapocik watched a disk-shaped chunk of ice resting on an engineered metal surface. As the ice melted, the water formed a puddle beneath.

Even after many seconds of melting, the ice disk remained adhered to the engineered surface. At first, Tapocik was tempted to conclude that nothing would happen, but he waited. His patience paid off. After a minute, the ice slingshot across the metal plate he designed, gliding along as if it was propelled supernaturally.

The results are important because they have a host of potential applications. The methods team members developed lay the foundation for rapid defrosting and novel methods of energy harvesting. Their work has been published in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces.

Tinfoil Hat: Secrets, Conspiracies, Myths and Legends

The stuff THEY don’t want you to know. Who is they? The government? The illuminati? Are they the same? Who pulls the strings of power in the world? It may not be the people we think it is. And those running our world are not the people we elected. For centuries the powerful have kept secrets from the prying public. But with the advancement of technology, it has never been easier for the masses to seek out the truth — and expose the lies. They will stop at nothing to protect their agenda. Is this channel safe? Are YOU safe?

Grab your tinfoil hat and let’s dig into secrets, unsolved mysteries, coverups and conspiracies!

Boom-free supersonic jet aims for New York–Paris in less than 4 hours

Boston-based aerospace manufacturer Spike Aerospace says it has reached a new stage in developing its flagship supersonic business jet, the Spike S-512 Diplomat, which the company claims will offer fast, quiet, and fuel-efficient travel over land and water.

The Massachusetts-based aerospace firm announced Wednesday that it is completing an advanced design study to refine the S-512’s aerodynamics, cabin configuration, and low-boom capabilities.

Study reveals mechanisms of rapidly driven plasma magnetic reconnection

A research team from the Yunnan Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has shed new light on the magnetic reconnection process driven by rapidly expanding plasma, using magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) numerical simulations. Their findings, published recently in Science China Physics, Mechanics & Astronomy, reveal previously unobserved fine structures and physical mechanisms underlying this fundamental phenomenon.

Magnetic reconnection—a process where break and rejoin, releasing massive energy—is critical to understanding explosive events in plasmas, from laboratory experiments to and space weather.

The team focused on how this process unfolds under rapid driving conditions, examining three distinct reconnection modes: flux pile-up, Sonnerup, and hybrid. These modes, they found, arise from variations in gas pressure and within the inflow region, where plasma is drawn into the reconnection site.

Maximizing direct methanol fuel cell performance: Reinforcement learning enables real-time voltage control

Fuel cells are energy solutions that can convert the chemical energy in fuels into electricity via specific chemical reactions, instead of relying on combustion. Promising types of fuel cells are direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs), devices specifically designed to convert the energy in methyl alcohol (i.e., methanol) into electrical energy.

Despite their potential for powering large electronics, vehicles and other systems requiring portable power, these methanol-based fuel cells still have significant limitations. Most notably, studies found that their performance tends to significantly degrade over time, because the materials used to catalyze reactions in the cells (i.e., electrocatalytic surfaces) gradually become less effective.

One approach to cleaning these surfaces and preventing the accumulation of poisoning products produced during chemical reactions entails the modulation of the voltage applied to the fuel cells. However, manually adjusting the voltage applied to the surfaces in effective ways, while also accounting for physical and chemical processes in the fuel cells, is impractical for .

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