Show Notes 27 October 2023
Story 1: Roads Can Be Built on the Moon, Laser Experiment Shows
Source: Newsweek Story by Aristos Georgiou
Link: https://www.newsweek.com/roads-built-moon-laser-experiment-shows-1834003
Source: ScienceFocus.com Story by Noa Leach
Link: https://www.sciencefocus.com/news/laser-moondust-lunar-roads
Image source: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/wild-experiment-shows-how-lasers-could-be-used-to-build-moon-roads/ar-AA1i6Jd8
- For transport systems on the Moon to be successful, solid roads and landing pads will be essential. But sending road-building materials to the lunar surface is expensive.
- The latest research comes in an era when NASA is aiming to establish a long-term presence on the moon as part of its Artemis program, while the space agencies of Russia and China are also planning to develop their own lunar base.
- Being able to construct paved roads and landing pads on the moon will be an important component of planned lunar settlements in order to mitigate issues encountered by previous missions. Low levels of gravity at the lunar surface can result in dust floating around when disturbed by exploration vehicles, which can potentially damage equipment.
- So researchers at Aalen University, Germany, hit a space exploration milestone when they discovered they could melt lunar soil to form a more solid, robust substance that locks in the extremely fine dust.
- The novel approach, described in a proof-of-concept study published in the journal Scientific Reports, would involve melting lunar soil with focused sunlight to turn it into a more solid substance. This could be used to create paving for roads and other infrastructure like landing pads.
- In experiments conducted on Earth, the Aalen University team of scientists demonstrated the viability of the technique using lasers—instead of the use of a large lens to concentrate sunlight [which the team proposes to be used on the Moon]—to melt a lunar soil substitute. Their findings indicate that the technique could be replicated on the lunar surface, although several challenges remain to be overcome.
- In the study, the Aalen University team outlined how they conducted experiments that involved manufacturing tiles by heating and melting the moon dust substitute.
- These tiles were then allowed to cool, producing a robust, consolidated piece with an interlocking design that measured around 25 millimeters (one inch) in thickness.
- Such tiles could be placed alongside each other to cover a wide area of lunar soil, according to the researchers.
- In the experiments, the scientists used high-powered carbon dioxide (CO2) laser beams to heat the dust substitute, replicating the effects of concentrated sunlight that could be projected on the Moon using a large lens.
- The spot of the beam had a maximum diameter of 100 millimeters (4 inches) and 12 kilowatts of maximum power, which has never been used before in previous studies.
- To reproduce this approach on the moon, the scientists propose the use of a special type of lens measuring over 7 feet across that would focus sunlight like a magnifying glass.
- This lens would enable the manufacture of tiles using only sunlight and lunar soil. Such a solution would be simple and low weight—a significant advantage given that transporting construction materials from Earth is costly and logistically challenging.
Story 2: These Solar Windows Are an Invisible Alternative to Solar Panels
Source: CNET Story by Claire Reilly
Link: https://www.cnet.com/science/these-solar-windows-are-an-invisible-alternative-to-solar-panels/
- Note – this is not a new idea, but the latest step in a global research and delivery effort to offer windows that can act as solar panels. About a year ago we talked about a company in Australia called ClearVue – they’ve been working on this for quite a while. See: https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/new-type-of-glass-can-actually-generate-free-electricity-a-paradigm-shift-in-the-way-glass-will-be-used/ar-AA1iwRcX
- This news story has to do with technology developed by MIT
- For decades, generating solar power has meant installing big, solar panels on your roof. But what if you could generate electricity by harnessing light that passes through your windows?
- That’s the promise of solar windows — a cutting-edge technology that could change the way we build sustainable infrastructure and generate power in the future.
- The technology was created by researchers at MIT who spun the development out into a company, Ubiquitous Energy, and a solar window product called UE Power. See: https://ubiquitous.energy/ See video here: https://vimeo.com/694611291
- Ubiquitous Energy says its completely see-through solar window panels are “the world’s first aesthetically acceptable, electricity-generating alternative to traditional windows.”
- Traditional solar panels are designed to capture every single photon of sunlight that lands on their surface.
- But UE Power lets visible photons pass through the glass, while capturing invisible light — specifically ultraviolet and infrared waves.
- That invisible light is then converted into electricity, which is directed through a tiny wire that comes out of the window and connects to the building’s wiring, just like a standard solar system.
- The result is a piece of glass that looks like a regular window, but one that can generate power.
- The company has rolled out Ubiquitous Energy power in 12 pilot installations, including at Michigan State University and its own headquarters in Redwood, California.
- The panels are small now — roughly 14 by 20 inches — but the company is working on plans to build its own production facility to manufacture floor-to-ceiling solar glass panels for commercial applications.
- Reality check: It’s estimated that these commercial panels would cost 30% to 40% more than traditional “passive” glass.
- Though you can’t buy Ubiquitous Energy solar windows for your house just yet, the company has partnered with glass manufacturer Andersen Windows to sell the panels for residential homes.
Story 3: Raytheon Is Building a Revolutionary New Detonation Engine for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency [DARPA]
Source: WonderfulEngineering.com Story by Shaheer Shahzad
For details on what a rotating detonation engine is, check out this Wikipedia article.
- Aerospace and defense firm Raytheon is leading the development of the innovative air-breathing rotating detonation engine to support DARPA’s Gambit Program.
- Because it does not require traditional moving parts, this novel propulsion technology has the potential to completely transform the aerospace sector and open the door to lighter, more affordable missiles with longer ranges.
- Here’s the problem: Traditional gas turbines, prevalent in modern air travel and weapon systems, pose numerous challenges.
- They are intricate, heavy, expensive to manufacture and maintain due to their multitude of moving components, and necessitate specialized materials to withstand high operating temperatures.
- When integrated into expendable weapons like cruise missiles, these drawbacks limit the payload capacity and escalate costs significantly.
- To address these issues, the Rotating Detonation Engine (RDE) has emerged as a viable alternative.
Image source: https://bryanwweber.com/writing/rotating-detonation-engines-the-wave-of-the-future.html
- This engine replaces the complexities of gas turbines with a distinctive combustion process involving a combustible mixture of fuel and air within a gap between coaxial cylinders.
- The combustion forms a supersonic wave that circulates within the gap, generating heat and pressure as it moves towards the nozzle, resulting in thrust production.
- The advantages of the Rotating Detonation Engine are evident, featuring:
- a simplistic design,
- cost-effectiveness in mass production,
- reduced reliance on exotic materials,
- and a lightweight, and compact form.
- Additionally, Rotating Detonation Engines can be configured with ramjets, gas turbines, and rockets, offering versatile applications across various domains.
- DARPA has contracted Raytheon to advance the Gambit Program Rotating Detonation Engine from the testing phase to a functional demonstrator. This initiative is part of a phased approach, focusing on preliminary design, fabrication, and testing to refine the engine for integration into future military weapon systems, particularly next-generation stand-off missiles.
- The ultimate objective is to develop an Rotating Detonation Engine that can be seamlessly incorporated into upcoming prototype weapon systems.
Story 4: Scientists Develop Drug That Prevents Weight Gain in Junk-Food-Eating Mice
Source: ScienceAlert.com Story by Rebecca Dyer
- Mice fed a high-sugar, high-fat diet for most of their lives managed to escape weight gain and protect their livers when they were treated with an experimental new drug.
- The small-molecule drug was developed by a team led by The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio.
- Known by its chemical acronym CPACC, it works by limiting the entry of magnesium into the mitochondria, the parts of the cell in charge of generating energy and burning calories.
- Side note, what are mitochondria? The plural of mitochondrion – A mitochondrion is an organelle found in the cells of most animals, plants, and fungi.
- Mitochondria have a double membrane structure and use aerobic respiration to generate adenosine triphosphate, which is used throughout the cell as a source of chemical energy. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitochondrion
- Mitochondrial abnormalities have been implicated in a range of diseases, including obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.
- Along with calcium, potassium, and sodium, magnesium is one of the four major positively charged ions that contribute to cellular functions in the body in multiple ways.
- In fact, magnesium plays many important roles in maintaining health, such as regulating blood sugar and blood pressure and helping construct strong bones.
- But here’s the problem: too much magnesium slows energy production in mitochondria.
- The University of Texas researchers discovered the new drug while studying the effect of deleting a specific gene called MRS2, which encodes a magnesium transporter protein called Mrs2. This protein acts as a channel to transport magnesium across the mitochondrial membrane.
- They investigated the effects of a long-term high-fat, high-sugar, and high-calorie Western diet on normal mice compared to mice whose MRS2 gene was deleted.
- MRS2 deletion led to leaner, healthier mice with improved sugar and fat metabolism in their mitochondria, despite consuming the Western diet starting at 14 weeks of age, for up to a year (a long time in a mouse’s life).
- In further experiments with administration of the newly discovered the new drug CPACC, the University of Texas Health Science Center team reported the same effects as deletion of the MRS2 gene.
- The drug works by inhibiting the magnesium channels that the gene encodes for. Again, it resulted in lean, healthy mice by reducing the amount of magnesium transported into the mitochondria.
Honorable Mentions:
NASA is visiting an asteroid valued at more than the entire world economy’s worth, but that’s not why it’s going there
Source: Business Insider Story by Grace Eliza Goodwin and Jenny McGrath
- NASA has announced a new mission to a metal-rich asteroid called 16 Psyche.
- The metals that 16 Psyche is thought to contain would be worth $100,000 quadrillion on Earth.
- But NASA isn’t going to mine the asteroid for its resources.
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
What if the humble house brick could store power? Researchers reveal new material and shed light on exciting world of structural capacitors
Source: TechRadar.com Story by Keumars Afifi-Sabet
- Scientists have devised a new type of structural material that could double as a source of power, with these new structural supercapacitors matching the performance of state-of-the-art energy-storing devices.
- The device created by a team at UC San Diego, led by professors of electral and computer engineering, could be used to construct, say, gadgets or vehicles and provide them with extra power without overloading them.
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
This off-roading, solar-powered vehicle just sped across the Sahara – Designed by college students, the Stella Terra zipped through Morocco and portions of the desert as fast as 90 mph.
Source: Popular Science Story by Andrew Paul
Link: https://www.popsci.com/technology/solar-powered-off-road-car-sahara/
- Designed by a team of 21-to-25-year-old college students at the Netherland’s Eindhoven University of Technology, their Stella Terra recently completed a 620 mile (1,000 km) test drive that began in Morocco before speeding through portions of Tangier and the Sahara. While miles ahead of what is currently available to consumers, the army green two-seater could be a preview of rides to come.
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
8 billion-year-old radio signal reaches Earth
Source: CNN Story by Ashley Strickland
Link: https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/19/world/distant-ancient-fast-radio-burst-scn
- Astronomers have detected a mysterious blast of radio waves that have taken 8 billion years to reach Earth. The fast radio burst is one of the most distant and energetic ever observed.
- Fast radio bursts, or FRBs, are intense, millisecond-long bursts of radio waves with unknown origins. The first FRB was discovered in 2007, and since then, hundreds of these quick, cosmic flashes have been detected coming from distant points across the universe.
- The burst, named FRB 20220610A, lasted less than a millisecond, but in that fraction of a moment, it released the equivalent of our sun’s energetic emissions over the course of 30 years.
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Intel Launches Industry’s First AI PC Acceleration Program – New program provides software ecosystem with engineering tools and resources to enable artificial intelligence on more than 100 million PCs through 2025
Source: Intel News Room
- Intel’s AI PC Acceleration Program will enable artificial intelligence (AI) on more than 100 million PCs through 2025, propelled by the upcoming launch of Intel® Core™ Ultra processors on Dec. 14.
- Working with more than 100 ISVs and more than 300 AI-accelerated features, Intel will enhance PC experiences across audio effects, content creation, gaming, security, streaming, video collaboration and more.
- Program includes Adobe, Audacity, BlackMagic, BufferZone, CyberLink, DeepRender, Fortemedia, MAGIX, Rewind AI, Skylum, Topaz, VideoCom, Webex, Wondershare Filmora, XSplit and Zoom.