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All-solid-state batteries are now one step closer to becoming the powerhouse of next-generation electronics, as researchers from Tokyo Tech, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), and Yamagata University introduce a strategy to restore their low electrical resistance. They also explore the underlying reduction mechanism, paving the way for a more fundamental understanding of the workings of all-solid-state lithium batteries.

All-solid-state lithium batteries have become the new craze in materials science and engineering as conventional lithium-ion batteries can no longer meet the standards for advanced technologies, such as electric vehicles, which demand high energy densities, fast charging, and long cycle lives. All-solid-state batteries, which use a solid electrolyte instead of a liquid electrolyte found in traditional batteries, not only meet these standards but are comparatively safer and more convenient as they have the possibility to charge in a short time.

However, the solid electrolyte comes with its own challenge. It turns out that the interface between the positive electrode and solid electrolyte shows a large electrical resistance whose origin is not well understood. Furthermore, the resistance increases when the electrode surface is exposed to air, degrading the battery capacity and performance. While several attempts have been made to lower the resistance, none have managed to bring it down to 10 Ω cm² (ohm centimeter-squared), the reported interface resistance value when not exposed to air.

As the country bids to become the world leader in nuclear power, it plans surpassing the U.S. in 15 years.

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Researchers in the Technion Department of Materials Science and Engineering have succeeded in changing a material’s electrical properties by vacating an oxygen atom from the original structure. Possible applications include electronic-device miniaturization and radiation detection.

What do ultrasound imaging of a fetus, cellular mobile communication, micro motors, and low-energy-consumption computer memories have in common? All of these technologies are based on ferroelectric materials, which are characterized by a strong correlation between their atomic structure and the electrical and mechanical properties.

Technion–Israel Institute of Technology researchers have succeeded in changing the properties of ferroelectric materials by vacating a single oxygen atom from the original structure. The breakthrough could pave the way for the development of new technologies. The research was headed by Assistant Professor Yachin Ivry of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, accompanied by postdoctoral researcher Dr. Hemaprabha Elangovan and Ph.D. student Maya Barzilay, and was published in ACS Nano. It is noted that engineering an individual oxygen vacancy poses a considerable challenge due to the light weight of oxygen atoms.

Automating repetitive tasks with loops and functions.

Many R users get into R programming from a statistics background rather than a programming/software engineering background, having previously used software such as SPSS, Excel etc. As such they may not have an understanding of some of the programming techniques that can be leveraged to improve code. This can include making the code more modular which in turn makes it easier to find and resolve bugs, but also can be used to automate repetitive tasks, such as producing tables and plots etc.

This short post in c ludes some of the basic programming techniques that can be used to improve the quality and maintainability of R scripts. This will also save you a whole lot of time if you are carrying out repetitive tasks that are only marginally different. We assume that you have a basic understanding of writing simple scripts in R.

Continue reading “Harnessing programming techniques to improve R scripts” »

Every part of the James Webb Space Telescope’s (JWST’s) deployment is nerve-wracking, but some of the most nail-biting moments will happen on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.

We’re on Day 5 of the Webb Telescope’s 30 Days of Terror, and so far, the observatory’s engineering team has successfully checked off all the boxes on its to-do list (get your own check-off list here.)

Continue reading “Still Nervous about JWST? Friday and Saturday’s Sunshield Deployments will be Nail-biters” »

Unfortunately, some of the data is lost forever. 🧐

#engineering

A routine backup procedure meant to safeguard data of researchers at Kyoto University in Japan went awry and deleted 77 terabytes of data, Gizmodo reported. The incident occurred between December 14 and 16, first came to light on the 16th, and affected as many as 14 research groups at the university.

Continue reading “Kyoto University Loses 77 Terabytes of Research Data After Supercomputer Backup Error” »

Defense company Raytheon has clinched a US Navy contract to provide engineering and technical services for the Evolved Seasparrow Missile and NATO Seasparrow Missile programs, the Pentagon has said.

A press release by the Department of Defense on December 30 stated, “Raytheon Company [of] Tucson, Arizona, is awarded a $55,121,826 modification to a previously awarded contract for engineering and technical services in support of the Evolved Seasparrow Missile and NATO Seasparrow Missile Systems programs.”

The contract combines purchases for the US government (99%); and those of Japan and the United Arab Emirates (1%) under the Foreign Military Sales program.

Thyme and oregano possess an anti-cancer compound that suppresses tumor development, but adding more to your tomato sauce isn’t enough to gain significant benefit. The key to unlocking the power of these plants is in amplifying the amount of the compound created or synthesizing the compound for drug development.

Researchers at Purdue University achieved the first step toward using the compound in pharmaceuticals by mapping its biosynthetic pathway, a sort of molecular recipe of the ingredients and steps needed.

“These plants contain important compounds, but the amount is very low and extraction won’t be enough,” said Natalia Dudareva, a Distinguished Professor of Biochemistry in Purdue’s College of Agriculture, who co-led the project. “By understanding how these compounds are formed, we open a path to engineering plants with higher levels of them or to synthesizing the compounds in microorganisms for medical use.

James Webb Tracker! #NASA #WEBB
#JWST #NASA #JamesWebbLaunch.
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James Webb Space Telescope launched on Saturday, Dec 25 at 12:20 UTC from Guiana Space Centre. Webb Telescope liftoff aboard Ariane 5 rocket.

Continue reading “SUNSHIELD OPENING DAY! — James Webb Tracker! #NASA #WEBB” »