Lifeboat Foundation

(Phys.org)—Researchers have developed a type of rechargeable battery called a flow cell that can be recharged with a water-based solution containing dissolved carbon dioxide (CO₂) emitted from fossil fuel power plants. The device works by taking advantage of the CO₂ concentration difference between CO₂ emissions and ambient air, which can ultimately be used to generate electricity.

The new flow cell produces an average power density of 0.82 W/m, which is almost 200 times higher than values obtained using previous similar methods. Although it is not yet clear whether the process could be economically viable on a large scale, the early results appear promising and could be further improved with future research.

The scientists, Taeyong Kim, Bruce E. Logan, and Christopher A. Gorski at The Pennsylvania State University, have published a paper on the new method of CO₂-to-electricity conversion in a recent issue of Environmental Science & Technology Letters.

In Brief:

Physicists were able to simulate high-energy experimens thanks to this primitive quantum computer. Prediction of theoretical physics may soon be tested.

Our current computers are not capable of running simulations of high-energy physics experiments. However, quite recently, scientists were able to use a primitive quantum computer in the simulation of the spontaneous creation of particle-antiparticle pairs. This makes it easier for physicists to further investigate the fundamental particles. A research team published their findings in the journal, Nature.

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This vibrating device can ‘turn off’ period cramps immediately.

Harvard Medical School is testing a new design of a brain implant meant to restore vision to the blind.

Patently Apple’s other blog called Patently Mobile has covered the advances of flexible displays from Samsung for years. You could check out some of the major ones here: (one, two, three and four. The most interesting ones relate to a possible scrollable smart device. Today the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that reveals their work on flexible displays and electronics that will extend to specialty applications. Beyond applying their revealed technology to known devices such as a smartphone or tablet, Apple see’s the technology being widely adopted into smart clothing, smart windows, applications in vehicles, furniture and more. One of the inventors on the patent previously worked for a company where they made flexible medical devices, skin-mounted epidermal electronics and even next gen flexible processors. So this is a serious invention that is likely to work through the system over time and eventually to market. It’s not just pie in the sky thinking.

Traditional displays and touch sensors mounted in a device may be subject to stress-induced failures. As devices with flexible displays are being considered for the future, Apple has to invent new and improved input-output methodologies to accommodate such displays.

Apple notes that their invention relates to a flexible input-output device such as a display or a display with integrated sensors and haptic output may be formed from an elastomeric substrate layer.

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Excellent read on study of Sirt1 in endothelium-dependent vascular function.

Sirtuin1 (Sirt1) is a class III histone deacetylase that regulates a variety of physiological processes, including endothelial function. Caveolin1 (Cav1) is also an important determinant of endothelial function.

Nice write up on magnetic Nano diamonds (NDs)

Here we present a simple physical method to prepare magnetic nanodiamonds (NDs) using high dose Fe ion-implantation. The Fe atoms are embedded into NDs through Fe ion-implantation and the crystal structure of NDs are recovered by thermal annealing.

Making small graphene devices more of a reality.

Since its discovery, graphene has held great promise as a two-dimensional (2D) metal with massless carriers and, thus, extremely high-mobility that is due to the character of the band structure that results in the so-called Dirac cone for the ideal, perfectly ordered crystal structure.

Playlist: Do We Live in a Simulated Reality?

The Quantum World of Digital Physics: Can a virtual reality be real?

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