Archive for the ‘physics’ category: Page 130
Mar 9, 2022
Stanford engineers develop computer that operates on water droplets
Posted by Quinn Sena in categories: bioengineering, computing, physics
Circa 2015
Stanford bioengineer Manu Prakash and his students have developed a synchronous computer that operates using the unique physics of moving water droplets.
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Mar 9, 2022
Pilot project producing gasoline from CO2 hydrogenation completes its trials
Posted by Shubham Ghosh Roy in categories: chemistry, energy, physics, sustainability, transportation
The world’s first demonstration device to produce 1,000 tons of gasoline per year from carbon dioxide (CO2) hydrogenation has completed its technology evaluation and trial operation.
Located in the Zoucheng Industrial Park, Shandong province, China, the project has been jointly developed by the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics (DICP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and the Zhuhai Futian Energy Technology company. The hydrogenation of CO2 into liquid fuels and chemicals can not only realize the resource utilization of CO2 but also facilitate the storage and transportation of renewable energy.
However, activation and selective conversion of CO2 are challenging. A technology that can selectively produce energy-dense, value-added hydrocarbon fuels will provide a new route to promote the clean, low-carbon energy revolution.
Mar 7, 2022
Scientists confirm thermonuclear fusion in a sheared-flow Z-pinch device
Posted by Shubham Ghosh Roy in categories: computing, nuclear energy, physics
In findings that could help advance another “viable pathway” to fusion energy, research led by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) physicists has proven the existence of neutrons produced through thermonuclear reactions from a sheared-flow stabilized Z-pinch device.
The researchers used advanced computer modeling techniques and diagnostic measurement devices honed at LLNL to solve a decades-old problem of distinguishing neutrons produced by thermonuclear reactions from ones produced by ion beam-driven instabilities for plasmas in the magneto-inertial fusion regime.
While the team’s previous research showed neutrons measured from sheared-flow stabilized Z-pinch devices were “consistent with thermonuclear production, we hadn’t completely proven it yet,” said LLNL physicist Drew Higginson, one of the co-authors of a paper recently published in Physics of Plasmas.
Mar 6, 2022
Detailed Supercomputer Simulation of the Universe Creates Structures Very Similar to the Milky Way
Posted by Quinn Sena in categories: cosmology, evolution, physics, supercomputing
In their pursuit of understanding cosmic evolution, scientists rely on a two-pronged approach. Using advanced instruments, astronomical surveys attempt to look farther and farther into space (and back in time) to study the earliest periods of the Universe. At the same time, scientists create simulations that attempt to model how the Universe has evolved based on our understanding of physics. When the two match, astrophysicists and cosmologists know they are on the right track!
In recent years, increasingly-detailed simulations have been made using increasingly sophisticated supercomputers, which have yielded increasingly accurate results. Recently, an international team of researchers led by the University of Helsinki conducted the most accurate simulations to date. Known as SIBELIUS-DARK, these simulations accurately predicted the evolution of our corner of the cosmos from the Big Bang to the present day.
In addition to the University of Helsinki, the team was comprised of researchers from the Institute for Computational Cosmology (ICC) and the Centre for Extragalactic Astronomy at Durham University, the Lorentz Institute for Theoretical Physics at Leiden University, the Institut d’Astrophysique de Paris, and The Oskar Klein Centre at Stockholm University. The team’s results are published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
Mar 6, 2022
Scientist Finds ‘Evidence’ of Another Universe Before This One
Posted by Shubham Ghosh Roy in categories: cosmology, physics
“The next universe will be just like ours — but only in overall appearance, not in detail, of course…”
A researcher may just have discovered conclusive evidence that another cosmos existed before this one. Not only that, but he also claims that ours is just the latest in an infinite series of universes. Professor Sir Roger Penrose argues that our known cosmos is the latest in a long line of previous universes, answering the question of what was ‘there’ before the Big Bang.
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Mar 4, 2022
Scientists 3D print microscopic Star Trek spaceship that moves on its own
Posted by Quinn Sena in categories: 3D printing, chemistry, physics
Circa 2020 o.o!
A team of physicists at a university in the Netherlands have 3D-printed a microscopic version of the USS Voyager, an Intrepid-class starship from Star Trek.
The miniature Voyager, which measures 15 micrometers (0.015 millimeters) long, is part of a project researchers at Leiden University conducted to understand how shape affects the motion and interactions of microswimmers.
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Mar 4, 2022
Spacewalks Preps Continue, NASA Astronaut Continues Record-Breaking Mission
Posted by Chima Wisdom in categories: physics, space travel
Two NASA astronauts are assembling gear today they will install on the International Space Station during an upcoming spacewalk. The rest of the Expedition 66 crew focused on life science, space physics gear, and orbital maintenance.
NASA Flight Engineers Raja Chari and Kayla Barron began assembling modification kits today to ready the station’s truss structure for new roll-out solar arrays during the first spacewalk. The roll-out solar arrays will be delivered on an upcoming SpaceX Cargo Dragon mission and installed at a later date. The duo will set their U.S. spacesuits to battery power at 7:50 a.m. on March 15, signifying the beginning of their planned six-and-a-half-hour spacewalk. The second spacewalk on March 23 will see more roll-out solar array preparations by two yet to be named astronauts.
Roll-out solar array technology will not only augment the space station’s existing solar arrays and power system, they will also be used to power the Lunar Gateway. Gateway is a space station developed by NASA, the Canadian Space Agency, ESA (European Space Agency), and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency that will orbit the Moon and will serve as a hub for crew visiting the lunar surface and beyond. Gateway will enable new scientific investigations in the cis-lunar environment during crewed and uncrewed periods.
Mar 3, 2022
Putting the physics into science fiction
Posted by Jose Ruben Rodriguez Fuentes in categories: futurism, physics
Mar 3, 2022
New NASA research brings Warp Speed inches closer to reality: Looks more promising than ever
Posted by Chima Wisdom in category: physics
In our everyday lives, we may take light for granted, yet for decades, the idea of measuring its attributes and overcoming its obstacles has piqued our interest. First discovered in 1,676 by Danish astronomer Ole Roemer; scientists had previously considered the speed of light was either impossible to measure or unlimited.
Light travels at a speed of 299,792 kilometers per second, which can now be readily found on the internet thanks to the work of other scientists. In 1916, Albert Einstein published his renowned theory of general relativity, in which he said, among other things, that no known object can move faster than the speed of light.
This was a significant moment in history. Attempting to break through that barrier has captivated us ever since, inspiring innumerable creative minds to try their hand at it.