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Archive for the ‘sustainability’ category: Page 447

Mar 23, 2020

No Autonomous Trucks? Wait, What?: Science Fiction in the News

Posted by in categories: Elon Musk, robotics/AI, sustainability, transportation

No Autonomous Trucks? Wait, What? ‘…it resembled conventional human-operated transportation vehicles, but with one exception — there was no driver’s cabin.’ — Philip K. Dick, 1955.

Elon Musk’s Traffic Tunnel Challenge Is Boring ‘The car vibrated… threading the maze of local tubes.’ — Jack Vance, 1954.

Continue reading “No Autonomous Trucks? Wait, What?: Science Fiction in the News” »

Mar 22, 2020

A Tesla Model S reaches 1 million km for first time

Posted by in categories: sustainability, transportation

Circa 2019


A Tesla owner has put over 1 million km (621,000 miles) on a Model S for the first time and he explains his experience in a video interview.

Continue reading “A Tesla Model S reaches 1 million km for first time” »

Mar 22, 2020

Elon Musk: Should Have 1000 Ventilators Next Week, + 250,000 N95 Masks For Hospitals Tomorrow Exclusive

Posted by in categories: bioengineering, biotech/medical, Elon Musk, ethics, health, policy, space travel, sustainability

Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, an American oncologist and bioethicist who is senior fellow at the Center for American Progress as well as Vice Provost for Global Initiatives at the University of Pennsylvania and chair of the Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy, said on MSNBC on Friday, March 20, that Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk told him it would probably take 8–10 weeks to get ventilator production started at his factories (he’s working on this at Tesla and SpaceX).

Continue reading “Elon Musk: Should Have 1000 Ventilators Next Week, + 250,000 N95 Masks For Hospitals Tomorrow Exclusive” »

Mar 21, 2020

Focus: Molecule’s Long-Lived Vibration in Superfluid Helium

Posted by in categories: solar power, sustainability

Trapping a molecule inside a liquid helium nanodrop allows clean measurements of the molecule’s vibrations.

The solvent in which a molecule is suspended can strongly influence the molecule’s motion. Now researchers have demonstrated that a molecule dissolved inside a superfluid helium nanodrop experiences very little effect from the solvent. The researchers measured, with femtosecond resolution, the intramolecular vibrations of an indium dimer (In2) in a helium nanodrop. They say that their method could be used to study molecules relevant for light-harvesting technologies, such as solar cells, that have been difficult to observe because of solvent effects.

Mar 21, 2020

Innovative new fabrication approach for reprogrammable photonic circuits

Posted by in categories: computing, quantum physics, solar power, sustainability

Modern society relies on technologies with electronic integrated circuits (IC) at their heart, but these may prove to be less suitable in future applications such as quantum computing and environmental sensing. Photonic integrated circuits (PICs), the light-based equivalent of electronic ICs, are an emerging technology field that can offer lower energy consumption, faster operation, and enhanced performance. However, current PIC fabrication methods lead to large variability between fabricated devices, resulting in limited yield, long delays between the conceptual idea and the working device, and lack of configurability. Researchers at Eindhoven University of Technology have devised a new process for the fabrication of PICs that addresses these critical issues, by creating novel reconfigurable PICs in the same way that the emergence of programmable logic devices transformed IC production in the 1980s.

Photonic integrated circuits (PICs) – the light-based equivalent of electronic ICs—carry signals via visible and . Optical materials with adjustable refractive index are essential for reconfigurable PICs as they allow for more accurate manipulation of light passing through the materials, leading to better PIC performance.

Current programmable PIC concepts suffer from issues such as volatility and/or high optical signal losses—both of which negatively affect a material’s ability to keep its programmed state. Using hydrogenated (a-Si: H), a material used in thin-film silicon , and the associated Staebler-Wronski effect (SWE), which describes how the of a-Si: H can be changed via light exposure or heating, researchers at Eindhoven University of Technology have designed a new PIC fabrication process that addresses the shortfalls of current techniques and could lead to the emergence of universal programmable PICs.

Mar 20, 2020

Coronavirus could cause fall in global CO2 emissions

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, government, policy, sustainability

Responses to outbreak also show how government policy and behavioural changes can have impact.

Mar 20, 2020

Dutch Company Reveals An Electric Car That Charges Itself With Sunlight

Posted by in categories: sustainability, transportation

A Dutch company from Eindhoven has released a prototype car called Lightyear One, that won the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge, being the very first long-range solar car in the world. It has already sold 100 orders to be filled in 2011 and is a four-passenger vehicle.

Mar 20, 2020

A cyclic phosphate-based electrolyte for safe and high voltage lithium-ion batteries

Posted by in categories: energy, internet, sustainability

In light of the ongoing shift toward renewable energy technologies and the growing number of Internet of Things (IoT) devices, researchers worldwide have been trying to develop batteries that can operate more efficiently and for longer periods of time. Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are currently the preferred energy-storage technology for portable electronics, as they contain organic electrolytes, which typically enable high operating voltages and energy densities.

Despite their widespread use, further increasing the performance of existing LIBs could have a significant impact on their safety. In fact, these batteries contain highly volatile and flammable organic carbonates, which, if ignited, can cause considerable damage.

In recent years, researchers have made significant efforts toward overcoming these safety issues, for instance, by using additional substances or by optimizing the materials separating battery components. While some of these strategies successfully reduced the risk of the battery catching fire, as long as LIBs are made with highly flammable electrolytes, accidents may still occur.

Mar 19, 2020

Musk the Virus Skeptic Makes Reluctant Ventilator Offer After GM

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, sustainability

Tesla Inc. joined General Motors Co. in offering to manufacture hospital ventilators in auto factories shuttered by the coronavirus outbreak, an effort that would echo Detroit’s contribution to Allied powers during World War II.

Mar 19, 2020

This AI system predicts air pollution before it happens

Posted by in categories: robotics/AI, sustainability

Computer scientists from Loughborough University in the UK have developed a new AI system that predicts air pollution levels days in advance.

The system developed analyzes air data through sensors installed in cities to predict the pollution levels.

It could be used to help us understand the environmental factors that affect one of the most dangerous pollutants in the world: PM2.5.