Lifeboat Foundation

A team of researchers, led by a University of Hawai’i (UH) at Manoa planetary scientist, discovered that high energy electrons in Earth’s plasma sheet are contributing to weathering processes on the Moon’s surface and, importantly, the electrons may have aided the formation of water on the lunar surface. The study was published today in Nature Astronomy.

Understanding the concentrations and distributions of water on the Moon is critical to understanding its formation and evolution, and to providing water resources for future human exploration. The new discovery may also help explain the origin of the water ice previously discovered in the lunar permanently shaded regions.

Due to Earth’s magnetism, there is a force field surrounding the planet, referred to as the magnetosphere, that protects Earth from space weathering and damaging radiation from the Sun. Solar wind pushes the magnetosphere and reshapes it, making a long tail on the night side. The plasma sheet within this magnetotail is a region consisting of high energy electrons and ions that may be sourced from Earth and the solar wind.

TouchWind.

For years, the wind energy industry has adopted the three-blade model for its turbines. As the world looks for cleaner sources of energy, the turbines are getting larger and are also going deeper into the seas, where winds blow stronger.

The need for modern technologies to dismantle existing underwater infrastructure is growing due to increasing demand for renewable energy sources. For example, to bring a wind power plant in the sea up to higher powers, the existing old steel frames, which may be below sea level, must first be dismantled so that engineers can rebuild them to obtain these higher powers.

In laboratory tests, researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Material and Beam Technology IWS (Fraunhofer IWS) have developed a shortwave green laser method for beneath-sea cutting that offers multiple advantages over commonly used techniques that use saws, automatic saw wires, and plasma cutters, for example.

According to the researchers, the technique is possible because of the availability of shortwave green lasers in the more-than-1-Kw-class, which are required to achieve the necessary cutting power. In the future, the researchers said, shorter-wavelength versions with blue lasers are conceivable.

From VC Elements—bridging the gap between global trends shaping our future, and the raw materials powering them ⚡️.

Coal is Still King

Coal still leads the charge when it comes to electricity, representing 35.4% of global power generation in 2022, followed by natural gas at 22.7%, and hydroelectric at 14.9%.

Morgan Stanley released a report Monday, predicting a semiconductor-driven hopeful outlook for Musk’s company.

Tesla’s shares were up 9.5 percent yesterday. But what drove them up?

The investment banking firm issued a research note that upgraded the Elon Musk-owned automotive company’s rating from ‘equalweight’ to ‘overweight’ with a price target of $400 from a prior price target of $250. An ‘overweight’ rating means that the analysts, in this case Morgan Stanley (MS), expects Tesla’s stock to outperform its industry in the market.

Continue reading “Tesla’s Dojo supercomputer could fuel a $500 billion jump” »

Researchers are even exploring the possibility of extracting lithium from seawater, potentially a game-changer for lithium accessibility globally.

A recent breakthrough by researchers at Princeton University provides renewed optimism for the future of the battery industry. An innovative method for extracting lithium presents a high potential to revolutionize clean energy sectors, such as electric vehicles and grid storage, while also reducing the environmental impact of lithium production.

Lithium, the silvery-white metal found in abundance in saline waters, has been a cornerstone of the clean energy transition. However, the environmental footprint of traditional lithium extraction is far from pure, requiring expansive plots of land and prolonged extraction processes. The solution? A new groundbreaking method that reduces both land use and time.

We could soon see more lithium-ion batteries made with recycled materials thanks to a new partnership. BASF, a battery materials producer, has announced that it’s teaming up with Nanotech Energy, a maker of graphene-based energy products, to produce lithium-ion batteries with recycled materials for customers in North America.

While BASF will create the cathode active materials using recycled metals from a Battle Creek, Michigan facility, Nanotech will use those materials to create the lithium-ion battery cells. Making the batteries with recycled metals could decrease their CO₂ footprint by around 25 percent, according to BASF.

Additionally, BASF and Nanotech Energy will also work with the American Battery Technology Company (ABTC) and the Canada-based TODA Advanced Materials Inc. ABTC will recycle the materials gathered by Nanotech, such as nickel, cobalt, manganese, and lithium. TODA will then use the materials to create battery precursors, which BASF will then convert into cathode active materials.

The year one hundred two thousand twenty-three. A giant meteorite the size of Pluto is approaching the Solar System. It flies straight to Earth. But as the meteorite crosses Saturn’s orbit, a swarm of miner probes approaches it. The scan revealed no minerals on the object, so the searches returned with nothing.

Meanwhile, the Space Security Center in Alaska military personnel are setting up a laser. The Solar System witnesses a sudden flare and nothing remains of the dwarf-sized meteorite. Now, unless hydrogen miners on Jupiter post videos of another annihilation on social media… This is what the world will look like when humanity finally becomes a Type Two civilization on the Kardashev scale. We’ll have almost infinite energy reserves, the ability to prepare for interstellar flights, or to instantly destroy any threat. But will humanity really be safe? And what can ruin a Type Two civilization?

NASA’s Perseverance rover has successfully completed an experiment designed to create oxygen on Mars, using a technique that could one day provide astronauts with breathable air, and be used as a key ingredient in rocket fuel for a return journey home.

Humanity is looking to expand deeper into the solar system, first by establishing a permanent base on the Moon, before finally placing human boots on Mars for the first time in our species’ short history. For this to be a reality, both NASA and its partners need to develop new technologies that will make use of the natural resources of those distant worlds to ensure that future missions are as self reliant as possible.

One major problem faced by astronauts visiting Mars is ensuring they have a ready supply of breathable air. Oxygen on Earth is relatively abundant, making up roughly 21 percent of our planet’s atmosphere. However, the gasseous shell enveloping Mars is composed of less than one percent oxygen, and 96 percent carbon dioxide, with nitrogen, argon, and other myriad trace gases making up the remainder.