Showing 20 articles starting at article 121
< Previous 20 articles Next 20 articles >
Categories: Environmental: Water, Physics: Quantum Computing
Published A 2D device for quantum cooling
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Engineers have created a device that can efficiently convert heat into electrical voltage at temperatures lower than that of outer space. The innovation could help overcome a significant obstacle to the advancement of quantum computing technologies, which require extremely low temperatures to function optimally.
Published How dust pollution from shrinking Great Salt Lake affects communities disproportionately
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Exposure to wind-blown dust from exposed playa of the Utah lake is worse in Hispanic neighborhoods, according to new research. Findings suggest restoring the lake could ease social inequities associated with air pollution.
Published Cool roofs are best at beating cities' heat
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Painting roofs white or covering them with a reflective coating would be more effective at cooling cities like London than vegetation-covered 'green roofs,' street-level vegetation or solar panels, finds a new study led by UCL researchers.
Published A breakthrough in inexpensive, clean, fast-charging batteries
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists have created an anode-free sodium solid-state battery. This brings the reality of inexpensive, fast-charging, high-capacity batteries for electric vehicles and grid storage closer than ever.
Published A genetic algorithm for phononic crystals
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers tested phononic nanomaterials designed with an automated genetic algorithm that responded to light pulses with controlled vibrations. This work may help in the development of next-generation sensors and computer devices.
Published Early-onset El Niño means warmer winters in East Asia, and vice versa
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have found that the early onset of El Nino around June leads to warm winter climates in Japan, while the late onset of El Nino is associated with colder winters. By analyzing 100-ensemble member climate simulations over the past 61 years, the team found that the warming of the tropical Indian Ocean was a player in warmer Japanese winters.
Published Giant clams may hold the answers to making solar energy more efficient
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Solar panel and biorefinery designers could learn a thing or two from iridescent giant clams living near tropical coral reefs, according to a new study. This is because giant clams have precise geometries -- dynamic, vertical columns of photosynthetic receptors covered by a thin, light-scattering layer -- that may just make them the most efficient solar energy systems on Earth.
Published Neutrons on classically inexplicable paths
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Is nature really as strange as quantum theory says -- or are there simpler explanations? New neutron measurements prove: It doesn't work without the strange properties of quantum theory.
Published Layers of carbonate provide insight into the world of the ancient Romans
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Archaeologists face a major challenge when they intend to acquire information about buildings or facilities of which only ruins remain. This was a particular challenge for the remnants of the Roman water mills in Barbegal in Southern France, dating back to the 2nd century CE. This unique industrial complex consisted of 16 water wheels placed in parallel rows. Little could at first be deduced about the site from these now scant ruins -- except that the wheels were supplied by an aqueduct that brought water from the surrounding hills. Researchers have now unraveled the history of the mill complex using calcium carbonate deposits that are now stored in the Archaeological Museum of Arles. These deposits had formed towards the end of the roughly 100-year operational life of the Barbegal water mills on the sides and base of the wooden supply system that conveyed the water to the wheels.
Published Researchers identify unique survival strategies adopted by fish in the world's warmest waters
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A team of researchers have identified unexpected ways coral reef fish living in the warmest waters on earth, in the Arabian Gulf, have adapted to survive extreme temperatures.
Published Novel spectroscopy technique sheds light on NOx reduction
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The process that can convert pollution into benign by-products is called selective catalytic reduction, or SCR. Until now, it has been unclear how this reaction actually occurs, and contradictions have long existed between reaction models within the literature. Catalysis researchers used a technology called modulation excitation spectroscopy, or MES, to finally identify the correct pathway.
Published Investigating newly discovered hydrothermal vents at depths of 3,000 meters off Svalbard
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Hydrothermal vents can be found around the world at the junctions of drifting tectonic plates. But there are many hydrothermal fields still to be discovered. During a 2022 expedition of the MARIA S. MERIAN, the first field of hydrothermal vents on the 500-kilometer-long Knipovich Ridge off the coast of Svalbard was discovered.
Published Drowning in waste: Pollution hotspots in aquatic environments
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study explores waste management systems and reveals that achieving zero waste leakage by 2030 is unlikely, potentially jeopardizing related Sustainable Development Goals. The authors emphasize the need for global cooperation, particularly across four regions, to responsibly manage waste disposal.
Published Climate change to shift tropical rains northward
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Atmospheric scientists predict that unchecked carbon emissions will force tropical rains to shift northward in the coming decades, which would profoundly impact agriculture and economies near the Earth's equator. The northward rain shift would be spurred by carbon emissions that influence the formation of the intertropical convergence zones that are essentially atmospheric engines that drive about a third of the world's precipitation.
Published Visual explanations of machine learning models to estimate charge states in quantum dots
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source To form qubit states in semiconductor materials, it requires tuning for numerous parameters. But as the number of qubits increases, the amount of parameters also increases, thereby complicating this process. Now, researchers have automated this process, overcoming a significant barrier to realizing quantum computers.
Published Antarctic ice shelves hold twice as much meltwater as previously thought
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Slush -- water-soaked snow -- makes up more than half of all meltwater on the Antarctic ice shelves during the height of summer, yet is poorly accounted for in regional climate models. The findings could have profound implications for ice shelf stability and sea level rise.
Published Pacific cod can't rely on coastal safe havens for protection during marine heat waves
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source During recent periods of unusually warm water in the Gulf of Alaska, young Pacific cod in near shore safe havens where they typically spend their adolescence did not experience the protective effects those areas typically provide, a new study found.
Published Characterization of the extraordinary thermoelectric properties of cadmium arsenide thin films
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source If there's one thing we humans are good at, it's producing heat. Significant amounts, and in many cases most of the energy we generate and put into our systems we lose as heat, whether it be our appliances, our transportation, our factories, even our electrical grid.
Published US Clean Water Act leaves about 55% of water flowing out of rivers vulnerable to pollution
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The Supreme Court ruled last year that rivers that only flow in response to weather events -- called ephemeral streams -- do not fall under the protection of the Clean Water Act. New research suggests that this now leaves many U.S. waterways vulnerable to pollution.
Published Climate change and sea level rise pose an acute challenge for cities with combined sewer systems
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Older coastal cities, like Philadelphia, New York and Boston are at risk of being inundated by untreated sewage during floods. Due in part to the design of their combined sewer systems and in part due to sea level rise, these cities could be facing a growing public health crisis as climate change also drives more extreme precipitation. The group recently published research that modeled the potential extent of the problem in a section of the coastal city of Camden, New Jersey, and the effectiveness of one proposed intervention to help protect these communities.