Energy: Technology Physics: Optics
Published

Streamlined microcomb design provides control with the flip of a switch      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers describe new microcomb lasers they have developed that overcome previous limitations and feature a simple design that could open the door to a broad range of uses.

Energy: Technology Engineering: Nanotechnology Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Recycling carbon dioxide into household chemicals      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists report a family of tin-based catalysts that efficiently converts CO2 into ethanol, acetic acid and formic acid. These liquid hydrocarbons are among the most produced chemicals in the U.S and are found in many commercial products.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Zoology Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: Dinosaurs Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

Researchers discover hidden step in dinosaur feather evolution      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists discover 'zoned development' in dinosaur skin, with zones of reptile-style scales and zones of bird-like skin with feathers. A new dinosaur skin fossil has been found to be composed of silica -- the same as glass.

Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Thermodynamics Energy: Technology Engineering: Nanotechnology
Published

Powering wearable devices with high-performing carbon nanotube yarns      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Carbon nanotube (CNT) yarns are promising for flexible and fabric-type wearable materials that can convert waste heat into thermoelectricity. To improve the thermoelectric properties of CNT yarns, researchers dispersed CNT filaments in a highly viscous glycerol, enabling the production of CNT yarn with highly aligned bundles together with surfactants that prevent increased thermal conductivity. This innovative approach can significantly improve carbon nanotube-based thermoelectric materials, making it possible to power wearable devices using just body heat.

Anthropology: General Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Developmental Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

Diverse headgear in hoofed mammals evolved from common ancestor      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

From the small ossicones on a giraffe to the gigantic antlers of a male moose -- which can grow as wide as a car -- the headgear of ruminant hooved mammals is extremely diverse, and new research suggests that despite the physical differences, fundamental aspects of these bony adaptations likely evolved from a common ancestor.

Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Energy: Nuclear Energy: Technology Physics: General Physics: Optics Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

Magnetic imprint on deconfined nuclear matter      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have the first direct evidence that the powerful magnetic fields created in off-center collisions of atomic nuclei induce an electric current in 'deconfined' nuclear matter. The study used measurements of how charged particles are deflected when they emerge from the collisions. The study provides proof that the magnetic fields exist and offers a new way to measure electrical conductivity in quark-gluon plasma.

Chemistry: General Energy: Alternative Fuels Energy: Technology Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Wind farms can offset their emissions within two years      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

After spinning for under two years, a wind farm can offset the carbon emissions generated across its entire 30-year lifespan, when compared to thermal power plants.

Energy: Technology Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography
Published

Copper can't be mined fast enough to electrify the US      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Copper cannot be mined quickly enough to keep up with current U.S. policy guidelines to transition the country's electricity and vehicle infrastructure to renewable energy, according to a new study.

Chemistry: Thermodynamics Energy: Technology Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Using AI to improve building energy use and comfort      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have developed a new method that can lead to significant energy savings in buildings. The team identified 28 major heat loss regions in a multi-unit residential building with the most severe ones being at wall intersections and around windows. A potential energy savings of 25 per cent is expected if 70 per cent of the discovered regions are fixed.

Biology: Biochemistry Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Nature Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: Dinosaurs Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds Paleontology: General
Published

First 'warm-blooded' dinosaurs may have emerged 180 million years ago      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The ability to regulate body temperature, a trait all mammals and birds have today, may have evolved among some dinosaurs early in the Jurassic period about 180 million years ago. The new study looked at the spread of dinosaurs across different climates on Earth throughout the Mesozoic Era (the dinosaur era lasting from 230 to 66 million years ago), drawing on 1,000 fossils, climate models and the geography of the period, and dinosaurs' evolutionary trees.

Chemistry: General Energy: Technology Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound Physics: Optics
Published

Metalens expands Its reach from light to sound      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Engineers achieve a wide field-of-hearing acoustic metalens free from aberrations.

Chemistry: Thermodynamics Energy: Technology
Published

Exceptionally large transverse thermoelectric effect produced by combining thermoelectric and magnetic materials      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A research team has demonstrated that a simple stack of thermoelectric and magnetic material layers can exhibit a substantially larger transverse thermoelectric effect -- energy conversion between electric and heat currents that flow orthogonally to each other within it -- than existing magnetic materials capable of exhibiting the anomalous Nernst effect. This mechanism may be used to develop new types of thermoelectric devices useful in energy harvesting and heat flux sensing.

Chemistry: General Energy: Technology Physics: General
Published

Hide and seek between atoms: Find the dopant      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Collaborative efforts decode the mechanism behind stabilizing cathode doping in electric vehicle batteries.

Chemistry: Thermodynamics Energy: Technology Engineering: Nanotechnology
Published

Transforming common soft magnets into a next-generation thermoelectric conversion materials by 3 minutes heat treatment      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A research team has demonstrated that an iron-based amorphous alloy, widely used as a soft magnetic material in transformers and motors, can be transformed into a 'transverse' thermoelectric conversion material that converts electric and thermal currents in orthogonal directions, with just a short period of heat treatment. This is the first example that highlights the importance of microstructure engineering in the development of transverse thermoelectric conversion materials, and provides new design guidelines for materials development to realize environmentally friendly power generation and thermal management technologies using magnetic materials.

Energy: Alternative Fuels Energy: Technology Environmental: General Geoscience: Geography
Published

Efficacy of solar panels boosted      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Solar energy is a crucial asset in the fight against climate change, and researchers have now devised a smart approach to optimize its effectiveness. Their innovative method includes incorporating artificial ground reflectors, a simple yet powerful enhancement.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Energy: Batteries Energy: Technology Physics: General
Published

Cost-effective, high-capacity, and cyclable lithium-ion battery cathodes      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Charge-recharge cycling of lithium-superrich iron oxide, a cost-effective and high-capacity cathode for new-generation lithium-ion batteries, can be greatly improved by doping with readily available mineral elements.

Anthropology: General Biology: Zoology Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Nature Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds
Published

Feathers, cognition and global consumerism in colonial Amazonia      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Amazonia is the home of the largest variety of birds in the world. In such a unique environment, craft cultures have flourished by translating the beauty and creativity of environmental materials like feathers into stunning pieces of art. A new article examines artisanal featherwork within the context of early modern colonialism and globalization.

Energy: Technology
Published

Innovation promises to prevent power pole-top fires      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Engineers in Australia have found a new way to make power-pole insulators resistant to fire and electrical sparking, promising to prevent dangerous pole-top fires and reduce blackouts. Pole-top fires pose significant challenges to power providers and communities worldwide. In March, pole-top fires cut power from 40,000 homes and businesses in Perth, Australia. The 2020 Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements found that power outages experienced by 280,000 customers from various energy providers during Black Summer fires in Australia were mainly triggered by events involving insulators and poles.