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Archive for the ‘sustainability’ category: Page 36

Jun 15, 2024

New concrete can turn your home into a giant battery

Posted by in categories: mobile phones, sustainability, transportation

Researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) discovered that adding a highly conductive substance called carbon black to a water and cement mixture created a construction material that could also serve as a supercapacitor.

Supercapacitors can charge and discharge extremely efficiently but are typically not capable of storing energy for long amounts of time. So while they lack the functionality of traditional lithium-ion batteries – which are found in everything from smartphones to electric cars – they are a useful method of storing excess electricity generated from renewable energy sources like solar and wind.

Since first unveiling the technology last year, the team has now built a working proof-of-concept concrete battery, the BBC reported. The MIT researchers are now hoping to build a 45-cubic-metre (1,590-cubic-feet) version capable of meeting the energy needs of a residential home.

Jun 14, 2024

Mineralizing emissions: Advanced reactor designs for CO₂ capture

Posted by in categories: particle physics, sustainability

In advancing sustainable waste management and CO2 sequestration, researchers have crafted reactors that mineralize carbon dioxide with fly ash particles. This avant-garde technique is set to offer a sustainable and lasting solution to the pressing issue of greenhouse gas emissions, repurposing an industrial by-product in the process.

Jun 14, 2024

Map shows best US states for drinking water safety

Posted by in categories: health, sustainability

Newsweek ranked which states had the fewest health-related water safety violations based on data from the Environmental Protection Agency.

Jun 14, 2024

Artificial photosynthesis to produce hydrogen peroxide

Posted by in categories: chemistry, solar power, sustainability

National University of Singapore (NUS) chemists have developed hexavalent photocatalytic covalent organic frameworks (COFs) which mimic natural photosynthesis for the production of hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O2), an important industrial chemical.

The conventional method of H 2 O2 production involves using anthraquinone as a catalyst to convert air and hydrogen into H 2 O2. However, this process requires substantial energy, costly noble metal catalysts, high-pressure hydrogen gas and hazardous solvents. Artificial photosynthesis of H 2 O2, resembling the natural photosynthesis process with the use of sunlight as an energy source and abundant water and air as feedstocks, presents a sustainable and promising alternative to the conventional anthraquinone process.

However, such an artificial system faces three key challenges: insufficient charge carrier generation and fast charge recombination, which lowers the efficiency; limited number of available catalytic sites, which results in low productivity; and lack of efficient delivery of charges and reactants to the catalytic sites, which causes sluggish reaction kinetics.

Jun 14, 2024

Elon Musk Says Tesla Shareholders Are Backing His Giant Pay Deal

Posted by in categories: Elon Musk, sustainability, transportation

The billionaire’s bank balance won’t necessarily be $56 billion bigger if the vote really does go his way, since it’s non-binding. Expect the saga to continue.

Jun 13, 2024

Tesla’s FSD Launch in China: A Game-Changer for Electric Vehicles!

Posted by in categories: robotics/AI, sustainability, transportation

Brighter with Herbert.

Jun 13, 2024

Ørsted got a huge Tesla battery storage system for the world’s single largest offshore wind farm

Posted by in categories: energy, sustainability

Ørsted has bought a 300 MW Tesla battery energy storage system for the UK’s massive Hornsea 3 Offshore Wind Farm.

Jun 13, 2024

‘Dyson spheres’ were theorized as a way to detect alien life. Scientists say they’ve found potential evidence

Posted by in categories: alien life, solar power, sustainability

O.o!!!! Woah even the news is talking about Dyson spheres now o.o


By Jacopo Prisco, CNN

(CNN) — What would be the ultimate solution to the energy problems of an advanced civilization? Renowned British American physicist Freeman Dyson theorized it would be a shell made up of mirrors or solar panels that completely surrounds a star — harnessing all the energy it produces.

Continue reading “‘Dyson spheres’ were theorized as a way to detect alien life. Scientists say they’ve found potential evidence” »

Jun 13, 2024

New robotic gripper for automated apple picking developed

Posted by in categories: food, life extension, robotics/AI, sustainability

Washington state leads the nation in apple production, and in 2022, the industry contributed more than two billion dollars to the U.S. gross domestic product. Throughout Washington, farms employ anywhere from a dozen to hundreds of workers each year for orchard operations, including for pollination, pruning, flower thinning and fruit harvesting. With an and a decrease in migrant farm workers, however, farmers have struggled to meet their needs for workers during harvest season.

In recent years, researchers have started developing robotic apple harvesting systems, but the ones that have been developed are expensive and complex to use in orchards.

Ninatanta, who grew up in Yakima, Washington, picked fruit alongside his parents during his childhood. When he began his work with Luo on a robotic apple gripper, he had his parents videotape their work, so he could model his gripper on their handiwork.

Jun 12, 2024

AI discovers new rare-earth-free magnet at 200 times the speed of man

Posted by in categories: drones, robotics/AI, sustainability

As some entities identify new (or at least overlooked) sources to meet the growing demand for rare earth materials, others are looking toward new tools. UK deep-tech company Materials Nexus announced on Tuesday that it has designed a new rare-earth-free permanent magnet with the help of its AI platform. It says the AI-driven discovery and development process was 200 times faster than the resource-intensive manual route, bringing new hope to an electrifying world with a growing appetite for powerful magnets.

With the world moving away from internal combustion engines and gradually embracing electric mobility, the demand for compact, high-power motors is rapidly rising. By far the most popular option in the automotive industry right now is the permanent magnet motor, which powers upward of 80% of modern electric vehicles.

Materials Nexus estimates that demand for permanent magnets will grow tenfold by 2030, in the EV industry alone. And it’s not just electric cars and trucks, either. Permanent magnet motors are in demand for many applications, including robotics, drones, wind turbines and HVAC equipment.

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