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Jan 17, 2022

SCO2 Turbomachinery Developed for Concentrated Solar Power Plant

Posted by in categories: government, solar power, sustainability

Southwest Research Institute worked with government and commercial collaborators to successfully develop and demonstrate full-scale turbomachinery for one of the world’s first supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO2) power systems for a concentrated solar power (CSP) plant. The technology combines sCO2 power cycles with integrated thermal energy storage.

The project was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy’s APOLLO program, which was created to improve performance and reduced the cost of electricity from CSP plants. The 10MW sCO2 turbomachinery has successfully completed performance and endurance tests in a closed-loop environment.

SCO2 is carbon dioxide held above a critical temperature and pressure, which causes it to act like a gas while having the density of a liquid. It’s also nontoxic and nonflammable, having been used in dry cleaning processes, low-GHG refrigeration systems, as well as to decaffeinate coffee.

Jan 17, 2022

Newly Discovered Type of “Strange Metal” — Material That Shares Fundamental Quantum Attributes With Black Holes

Posted by in categories: cosmology, quantum physics

A new discovery could help scientists to understand “strange metals,” a class of materials that are related to high-temperature superconductors and share fundamental quantum attributes with black holes.

Scientists understand quite well how temperature affects electrical conductance in most everyday metals like copper or silver. But in recent years, researchers have turned their attention to a class of materials that do not seem to follow the traditional electrical rules. Understanding these so-called “strange metals” could provide fundamental insights into the quantum world, and potentially help scientists understand strange phenomena like high-temperature superconductivity.

Now, a research team co-led by a Brown University physicist has added a new discovery to the strange metal mix. In research published in the journal Nature, the team found strange metal behavior in a material in which electrical charge is carried not by electrons, but by more “wave-like” entities called Cooper pairs.

Jan 17, 2022

Where Are Memories Stored in the Brain? They May Be in the Connections Between Your Brain Cells

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, computing, neuroscience

All memory storage devices, from your brain to the RAM in your computer, store information by changing their physical qualities. Over 130 years ago, pioneering neuroscientist Santiago Ramón y Cajal first suggested that the brain stores information by rearranging the connections, or synapses, between neurons.

Since then, neuroscientists have attempted to understand the physical changes associated with memory formation. But visualizing and mapping synapses is challenging to do. For one, synapses are very small and tightly packed together. They’re roughly 10 billion times smaller than the smallest object a standard clinical MRI can visualize. Furthermore, there are approximately 1 billion synapses in the mouse brains researchers often use to study brain function, and they’re all the same opaque to translucent color as the tissue surrounding them.

Jan 17, 2022

MIT Scientists Overcome a Major Bottleneck in Carbon Dioxide Conversion

Posted by in categories: chemistry, sustainability

Study reveals why some attempts to convert the greenhouse gas into fuel have failed, and offers possible solutions.

If researchers could find a way to chemically convert carbon dioxide into fuels or other products, they might make a major dent in greenhouse gas emissions. But many such processes that have seemed promising in the lab haven’t performed as expected in scaled-up formats that would be suitable for use with a power plant or other emissions sources.

Now, researchers at MIT.

Jan 17, 2022

Integration of the Blockchain is a Game Changer in the Cloud Computing Sector

Posted by in categories: blockchains, computing

Cloud computing and blockchain industries may very well have one property in common; both are growing rapidly while having the potential to revolutionize their respective fields. However, up until now, pioneers within the two industries have not yet found a common interest. That could soon change as projects have started embracing the idea of integrating the blockchain into the cloud computing sector, and we could soon see a future of endless possibilities.

The game-changing development could mean big things for both industries. The development of the cloud computing sector has been aided by several elements, including the increasing use of mobile devices and data storage and processing capability. However, the integration of blockchain technology into the cloud computing industry could turn out to be one of the most significant drivers of the age of cloud computing.

Jan 17, 2022

Elon Musk Shares Crucial Starlink Data That Will Enable Big Leap Over Global Broadband

Posted by in categories: Elon Musk, internet, satellites

Space Exploration Technologies Corporation’s (SpaceX) ch8ef executive officer Mr. Elon Musk has shared the latest details for his company’s Starlink satellite internet constellation. Starlink is SpaceX’s internet service which uses low Earth orbit (LEO) small satellites to beam down the Internet to its users. Due to a rapid cadence of launches, SpaceX has ensured that Starlink is the world’s largest internet constellation in service, and the company is currently upgrading the satellites with laser based connectivity. This will allow Starlink to expand its coverage and reach areas that cannot be served without ground stations to connect the satellites and the users to internet servers.

Starlink Will Soon Start To Operate Laser Links Between Satellites Confirms Musk

Mr. Musk shared the latest details through his social media platform Twitter, as he outlined the number of Starlink satellites currently in orbit and his company’s plans to activate newer spacecraft capable of optical communication. These are crucial for evaluating the internet service’s current capacity, which has come under fire from rivals in proceedings for spectrum sharing and licensing currently underway at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

Jan 17, 2022

Archaeologists reveal a key date in the evolution of modern humans

Posted by in category: evolution

In this edition of Inverse Daily, read about an egg-shaped planet too close to its sun, how Twitch streamer Amouranth thinks the medium should change, and more.

Jan 17, 2022

Artificial Intelligence will Take Over These Jobs in 2022

Posted by in categories: employment, robotics/AI

Robots taking advantage of the newest advances in Artificial Intelligence systems are expected to make a huge dent in the job market of 2022 as workers are wanting higher wages and better working conditions. These robots and AI’s outcompete and outright beat humans in many fields such as translation, self driving, news article reporting and more. It’s exciting to see where the field of Robotics and AI is going in the near future of 2022 predictions.

TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 The Great Surge of 2022
00:53 All the jobs that will be taken over.
04:41 What robots mean for society.
06:22 The Robots have already won.
08:12 Last Words.

#robots #ai #jobs

Jan 17, 2022

The Future of Medicine: CRISPR, Drug Prices & Gene Therapy

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, futurism

01:55 Future of Medicine.
14:06 Future of healing.
27:14 Future of Diagnosis.
38:08 Future of Babies.
49:36 Future of Drugs.

What Happens Next examines the future as we confront massive technological transformations in central aspects of daily life. In this episode, we focus on water, food, work, driving, meat, and fact.

Continue reading “The Future of Medicine: CRISPR, Drug Prices & Gene Therapy” »

Jan 17, 2022

New sub-Jupiter-mass exoplanet detected by astronomers

Posted by in categories: physics, satellites, sustainability

An international team of astronomers using NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) has detected a rocky planet, about half the mass of Earth, in an extraordinarily short 7.7-hour orbit around its parent star.

It’s a reminder that the science of extrasolar planet hunting seems to enter bizarro land with each new discovery. Planetary scientists still haven’t figured out how our own tiny Mercury — which orbits our Sun once every 88 days — actually formed and evolved. So, this iron-rich ultrashort-period (USP) planet, dubbed GJ 367b should really boggle their minds.

It’s completely rocky, unlike most previously detected gaseous hot Jupiters on extremely short stellar orbits. As a result, the tiny planet is estimated to have a surface with temperatures of 1,500 degrees Celsius, hot enough to melt iron; hardly an Earth 2.0.

Continue reading “New sub-Jupiter-mass exoplanet detected by astronomers” »