Although we’ve heard a lot about how 3D-printing concrete homes speeds up the construction process, you still have to wait up to 28 days for the concrete to sufficiently cure. A new printable substitute, however, is ready to go in just three days.
Concrete consists of three parts: water, an aggregate such as sand or gravel, and a cement which binds everything together. The cement is the part that typically takes about a month to cure after being poured. And a slow curing time isn’t cement’s only problem.
Traditional Portland-style cement is made by grinding up limestone and other raw materials, then heating the resulting powder to temperatures of up to 1,450 ºC (2,642 ºF). Unfortunately, the processes by which that heat is generated produce a lot of carbon dioxide.
When ultraviolet light hits ice—whether in Earth’s polar regions or on distant planets—it triggers a cascade of chemical reactions that have puzzled scientists for decades.
Now, researchers at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering (UChicago PME) and collaborators at the Abdus Salam International Center for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) have used quantum mechanical simulations to reveal how tiny imperfections in ice’s crystal structure dramatically alter how ice absorbs and emits light. The findings, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, pave the way for scientists to better understand what happens at a sub-atomic scale when ice melts, which has implications including improving predictions of the release of greenhouse gases from thawing permafrost.
“No one has been able to model what happens when UV light hits ice with this level of accuracy before,” said Giulia Galli, Liew Family Professor of Molecular Engineering and one of the senior authors of the new work. “Our paper provides an important starting point to understand the interaction of light with ice.”
The first recipient of the Neuralink implant has successfully turned the X comment section wholesome after posting how the implant gave him a newfound sense of purpose.
A study of some of the first net-zero-ready homes in the UK has found that their peak grid power demand is far lower than planners had anticipated. The research confirms that these all-electric homes can significantly cut energy use and emissions.
Buildings account for around 37% of global energy-related emissions, with residential properties making up approximately 17% of that total. In 2019, the UK government set an ambitious target to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. To help meet it, the Future Homes Standard requires all new homes built from 2025 to cut their carbon emissions by 75% to 80%.
Fully electric homes use technologies like air-source heat pumps (ASHPs) for heating (by extracting heat from outdoor air) and solar PV panels for electricity generation. But the big question has been whether they work as promised and achieve their energy efficiency goals in the real world.
Wearable electronics could be more wearable, according to a research team at Penn State. The researchers have developed a scalable, versatile approach to designing and fabricating wireless, internet-enabled electronic systems that can better adapt to 3D surfaces, like the human body or common household items, paving the path for more precise health monitoring or household automation, such as a smart recliner that can monitor and correct poor sitting habits to improve circulation and prevent long-term problems.
The method, detailed in Science Advances, involves printing liquid metal patterns onto heat-shrinkable polymer substrates—otherwise known as the common childhood craft “Shrinky Dinks.” According to team lead Huanyu “Larry” Cheng, James L. Henderson, Jr. Memorial Associate Professor of Engineering Science and Mechanics in the College of Engineering, the potentially low-cost way to create customizable, shape-conforming electronics that can connect to the internet could make the broad applications of such devices more accessible.
“We see significant potential for this approach in biomedical uses or wearable technologies,” Cheng said, noting that the field is projected to reach $186.14 billion by 2030. “However, one significant barrier for the sector is finding a way to manufacture an easy-to-customize device that can be applied to freestanding, freeform surfaces and communicate wirelessly. Our method solves that.”
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Since the first airplane took flight over 100 years ago, virtually every aircraft in the sky has flown with the help of moving parts such as propellers, turbine blades, or fans that produce a persistent, whining buzz.
Now MIT engineers have built and flown the first-ever plane with no moving parts. Instead of propellers or turbines, the light aircraft is powered by an “ionic wind” — a silent but mighty flow of ions that is produced aboard the plane, and that generates enough thrust to propel the plane over a sustained, steady flight.
Unlike turbine-powered planes, the aircraft does not depend on fossil fuels to fly. And unlike propeller-driven drones, the new design is completely silent.