Show Notes 22 July 2022
Story 1: James Webb telescope detected water, clouds, and haze on a giant planet more than a thousand light years away!
Source: CNN
Link: https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/12/world/gallery/james-webb-telescope-first-images-space/index.html
Source: NASA
Link: https://exoplanets.nasa.gov/news/1707/webb-reveals-steamy-atmosphere-of-distant-planet-in-detail/
- Last week we talked a bit about the amazing James Webb telescope images.
- And I said what really blew my mind was the telescope’s ability to analyze the atmosphere of a giant exoplanet called WASP-96 b located 1,150 light-years away!
- Remember that a light year is 6 trillion miles.
- So, this exoplanet is 6,900 trillion miles from the telescope
- The purpose of the telescope’s atmosphere analysis is to look for possible biosignatures, which include water, oxygen or methane that could indicate life on the surface of a distant planet.
- And here’s how the telescope was able to analyze the atmosphere of this faraway planet:
- The telescope’s enormous mirror and precise instruments joined forces to capture the most detailed measurements ever recorded of starlight filtering through the atmosphere of a planet outside our solar system.
- A light spectrum analysis of the different wavelengths of the starlight passing through the atmosphere enabled scientists to identify a distinct signature of water, along with evidence of clouds and haze.
- The analysis, which revealed the presence of specific gas molecules based on tiny decreases in the brightness of precise colors of light, is the most detailed of its kind to date, demonstrating Webb’s unprecedented ability to analyze atmospheres hundreds of light-years away.
- In addition to detecting water, the light spectrum analysis will enable scientists to also detect and measure the presence of carbon and oxygen, and even estimate the temperature of the atmosphere!
- And the telescope will be able to do the same for many other planets in the future.
Story 2: Someday tiny robot shapeshifters may brush and floss your teeth for you!
Source: Futurism.com Story by Maggie Harrison
Link: https://futurism.com/neoscope/robot-shapeshifters-brush-floss
Source: University of Pennsylvania
- A group of researchers at the University of Pennsylvania has developed the ultimate no-hands dental care in the form of a swarm of shapeshifting microrobots, that can treat and remove bacteria and plaque from your teeth.
- The teeth cleaning micro-swarm is primarily made up of tiny iron oxide nanoparticles.
- And because iron oxide is magnetic, these miniscule nanoparticles can be manipulated into shapeable structures using a magnetic field device.
- By controlling the magnetic field, the researchers were able to transform the iron oxide minibots into bristle and floss-like shapes that can be moved to reach every dental nook and cranny.
- In fact, they can form bristles that can extend, sweep, and even transfer back and forth to emulate flossing.
- The tiny iron oxide minibots aren’t just magnetic, they’re also catalytic, with the ability to generate bacteria-killing and plaque-degrading free radicals by activating hydrogen peroxide.
- This may seem like a weird science stunt, but this could be a real blessing for those with disabilities who can’t clean their own teeth.
Story 3: Future electric vehicles may use low-cost Sodium-Ion batteries instead of Lithium-Ion batteries
Source: AutoTech.news Story by EurekAlert!
Link: https://autotech.news/longer-lasting-sodium-ion-batteries-on-the-horizon/
- Our electric vehicles today use lithium-ion batteries. But Sodium-Ion battery technology, an alternative that’s been on the sidelines for many years, may now finally become a viable and more environmentally friendly alternative.
- The big appeal of Sodium-Ion batteries is that the chemical element sodium, in contrast to lithium, is cheap and abundant.
- When it comes to manufacturing a car battery, a sodium-Ion battery is nearly identical to a lithium-ion battery, with the key difference being sodium compounds are used instead of lithium compounds.
- But, to date the limited longevity performance of sodium-ion batteries has hindered their large-scale use by auto makers.
- But here’s the good news – Thanks to a research team at the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Washington that barrier is falling.
- By using an ingenious shift in the ingredients that make up the liquid core of a sodium-ion battery the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory team recently announced that they greatly extended the performance and longevity of this battery technology.
- The research findings provide a promising recipe for a low-cost battery solution that may soon power electric vehicles and even help store energy from the sun.
Story 4: Key trend to watch – Cargo ships with high-tech rigid sails
Source: CleanTechnica.com Story by Tina Casey
Link: https://cleantechnica.com/2021/12/13/cargo-ships-reclaim-wind-power-with-high-tech-rigid-sails/
- Recently a French startup company Zéphyr & Borée unveiled plans for a cargo container ship decked out with huge rigid sails designed by an outfit called Computed Wing Sails.
- It’s an example of a trend that’s gaining interest in the shipping industry.
- The ship will be about 607 feet long with a capacity to carry 1,800 20-foot cargo containers.
- Each of the large vertically mounted rigid sails is a structure that resembles the curved wing of an airplane or glider.
- Like a glider wing, the rigid sails have an asymmetric profile with an extremely high lift/drag ratio, leading to optimal propulsive force generation.
- To adjust to changing wind conditions, the sail structures can fold down to half their height for optimal wind-power efficiency.
- And controlling the rigid sails does not require any additional crew members, as the positioning and operation settings are entirely computer automated.
- And the sails meet the robustness and reliability requirements called for by maritime regulations for commercial ships.
- The bottom line: By combining wind-powered rigid sails with traditional fossil-fuel based propulsion this cargo ship is expected to produce 30% less carbon dioxide than a conventional ship of its size.
- Again, this is not the only effort to put sails on cargo ships. Check out what a company BAR Technologies has going with its WindWings [link: https://www.bartechnologies.uk/project/windwings/]
According to the company’s website: “BAR has already secured 2 signed contracts for work on new vessels combining WindWings with hull optimization for a customized solution”.