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Category: energy

3D printing with moon dirt for lunar habitats

“By combining different feedstocks, like metal and ceramics, in the printing process, we found that the final material is really sensitive to the environment,” said Sizhe Xu. [ https://www.labroots.com/trending/space/30260/3d-printing-mo…habitats-2](https://www.labroots.com/trending/space/30260/3d-printing-mo…habitats-2)

How can lunar regolith be used to construct future habitats on the Moon? This is what a recent study published in Acta Astronautica hopes to address as a team of scientists investigated novel methods for using lunar regolith for making structures on the lunar surface. This study has the potential to help scientists, engineers, mission planners, and future astronauts develop methods for working and living on the Moon, which comes as NASA’s Artemis program plans to land humans on the Moon in 2028.

For the study, the researchers examined how a laser 3D printing method called laser directed energy deposition (LDED) could be used for manufacturing structures using lunar simulant under a myriad of environments, specifically lunar conditions of zero atmosphere, oxygen, and complete vacuum. The lunar simulant used for the experiments is known as LHS-1 (lunar highland regolith simulants), with the lunar highlands being the lighter-colored mountainous regions of the Moon as seen from Earth, as opposed to the volcanic regions of the Moon that are darker in appearance.

Along with the environmental conditions, the researchers also examined how printing LHS-1 on various types of surfaces yielded different results. They also examined laser speed, scanning power, and the final microstructure products. In the end, the researchers found that alumina-silicate ceramic surfaces and high temperatures produced the most promising structures but cautioned that laboratory conditions vary from the real-world environment on the Moon.

How Intelligent People Deal with Stupid People — Schopenhauer

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WoetPdW1-xI)

How to Protect Yourself from ‘Idiots’ — Arthur Schopenhauer ## Intelligent people should protect their emotional energy and well-being by being cautious and strategic in their interactions with others, particularly those who are unreasonable, toxic, or manipulative.

## Questions to inspire discussion.

Recognizing Bad-Faith Arguments.

🚩 Q: What are the four red flags that signal someone is arguing in bad faith?

A: Watch for personal attacks on character instead of addressing your actual point, extending and distorting your argument to an absurd extreme, treating epistemic humility as weakness, and unresolved conflicts that shift without resolution—these patterns indicate the goal is asserting dominance, not understanding.

Disengaging from Unproductive Conversations.

Continue reading “How Intelligent People Deal with Stupid People — Schopenhauer” | >

From theory to safety: New model predicts how combustion scenarios unfold

Researchers from Skoltech have published a paper in the journal Physica D: Nonlinear Phenomena presenting an analysis of steady propagating combustion waves—from slow flames to supersonic detonation waves. The study relies on the authors’ mathematical model, which captures the key physical properties of complex combustion processes and yields accurate analytical and numerical solutions. The findings are important for understanding the physical mechanisms behind the transition from deflagration to detonation, as well as for developing safer engines, fuel combustion systems, and protection against unwanted explosions in industrial settings.

The scientists identified several main types of combustion waves. The most powerful is strong detonation —a supersonic shock wave that sharply compresses and heats the mixture, triggering a chemical reaction. This type of wave is highly stable. In weak detonations and weak deflagration waves, there is no abrupt shock front.

The chemical reaction only begins if the mixture has been preheated to a temperature where it can ignite. These regimes occur rarely, under specific conditions, and can easily break down or transition into another wave type.

Ion bombardment triggers a reliable quantum switch in tantalum disulfide crystals

When you toss a coin, you put it into a higher-energy state until it falls back down again. It can then end up in one of two possible states: heads or tails. No matter which state the coin was in before, after the toss both outcomes are equally likely. A team at TU Wien has analyzed a quantum system that also has two equivalent ground states. By supplying energy through ion bombardment, this state can be changed.

Remarkably, however, the system behaves very differently from a coin toss: it switches every single time. After ion impact, it reliably ends up in the opposite state. For the experiment, the ion-beam equipment of TU Wien was transported to DESY in Hamburg. The crystals studied were provided by Kiel University (CAU), which also participated in the experiments at DESY. The research is published in the journal Nano Letters.

Surprise solar eruptions on sun’s far side validate new forecasting method

Co-author Dr. Willie Soon, from the Center for Environmental Research and Earth Sciences (CERES), added, “Nature gave us the perfect test. These far-side discoveries essentially validated our method in real time, proving that the underlying patterns we identified are reliable and work everywhere on the sun’s surface.”

Solar superflares are the most powerful eruptions the sun can produce. A direct hit from one of these storms could cause widespread power outages, damage satellites, disrupt GPS navigation, interfere with radio communications, and create radiation hazards for astronauts and airline passengers at high altitudes.

A giant star is changing before our eyes and astronomers are watching in real time

For decades, astronomers have been watching WOH G64, an enormous heavyweight star in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a galaxy visible with the naked eye from the Southern Hemisphere. This star is more than 1,500 times larger than the sun and emitting over 100,000 times more energy. For a long time, red supergiant WOH G64 looked like a star steadily reaching the end of its life, shedding material and swelling in size as it began to run out of fuel.

Astronomers didn’t think its final demise would happen anytime soon, because no one has ever seen a known red supergiant die. But in recent years, astronomers—including our team working with the Southern African Large Telescope (SALT)—discovered that this star has started to change, growing dimmer than before and seemingly warmer. This has surprised scientists and suggests the star’s final stages of life may be more complicated, and perhaps unfold faster, than once thought.

Massive stars, more than about eight times the mass of the sun, produce so much energy, which we see as light, that they run out of fuel within millions of years, instead of the billions of years of the sun’s lifespan.

Groundbreaking 2D Nanomaterial Rolls Into a New Dimension

MXene nanoscrolls transform flat 2D materials into conductive 1D structures, unlocking advances in energy storage, sensing, wearables, and superconductivity. Nearly 15 years after identifying a versatile two-dimensional conductive nanomaterial known as MXene, researchers at Drexel University have

Impact-formed glass provides evidence of cosmic collision in Brazil about 6 million years ago

For the first time in Brazil, researchers have identified a field of tektites. These are natural glasses formed by the high-energy impact of extraterrestrial bodies against Earth’s surface. These structures, named geraisites in honor of the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, where they were first discovered, constitute a new strewn field. This expands the incomplete record of impacts in South America.

The discovery was described in an article published in the journal Geology by a team led by Álvaro Penteado Crósta, a geologist and senior professor at the Institute of Geosciences at the State University of Campinas (IG-UNICAMP). Crósta collaborated with researchers from Brazil, Europe, the Middle East, and Australia.

Until now, only five large tektite fields had been recognized on the planet: in Australasia, Central Europe, the Ivory Coast, North America, and Belize. The Brazilian field now joins this select group.

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