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Blog – Page 24

Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have tested a quantum computing approach to an old challenge: solving classical fluid dynamics problems.

The work is published in the journal Physics of Fluids. The results highlight avenues for further study of ’s potential to aid scientific discovery.

For the test problem, the research team used the Hele-Shaw flow problem—a scenario of two flat, parallel plates extremely close to each other and the flow of liquids and gases between them. The problem, although idealized, offers important applications in real-world problems such as microfluidics, groundwater flow, porous media flow, oil recovery and bioengineering.

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A recent study reveals that the famous Wolf-Rayet 104 “pinwheel star” holds more mystery but is even less likely to be the potential “death star” it was once thought to be.

Research by W. M. Keck Observatory Instrument Scientist and astronomer Grant Hill finally confirms what has been suspected for years: WR 104 has at its heart a pair of massive stars orbiting each other with a period of about 8 months. The collision between their powerful winds gives rise to its rotating pinwheel of dust that glows in the infrared, and spins with the same period.

The pinwheel structure of WR 104 was discovered at Keck Observatory in 1999 and the remarkable images of it turning in the sky astonished astronomers. One of the two stars that were suspected to orbit each other—a Wolf-Rayet star—is a massive, evolved star that produces a powerful wind highly enriched with carbon. The second star—a less evolved but even more massive OB star—has a strong that is still mostly hydrogen.

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The development of fast and efficient quantum batteries is crucial for the prospects of quantum technologies. In this work the authors have shown that both requirements are accomplished in the paradigmatic model of a harmonic oscillator strongly coupled to a highly non-Markovian thermal reservoir.

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Wastewater generated by animal farms poses a significant environmental risk, as it can pollute soil and groundwater and can be hazardous to human health. However, animal farm wastewater also contains carbon and many other nutrients. What if we could extract the carbon and nutrients and then release treated water back into the environment?

That’s the future envisioned by Prathap Parameswaran, an associate professor at Kansas State University who researches how to use environmental biotechnology platforms for biological wastewater treatment and sustainable resource recovery.

ABPDU and Kansas State University researchers make progress on extracting useful products from animal farm wastewater.

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