Show Notes 6 December 2024
Story 1: Columbia Engineers Knit a “Blanket” of Sophisticated Radio-Frequency Antennas
Source: Electronicsforu.com Story by Akanksha Gaur
Link: https://www.electronicsforu.com/news/sophisticated-blanket-of-radio-frequency-antennas
See video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIb2evFmk3U&t=1s
- Researchers at Columbia University are the first to use traditional flat-knitting techniques to fabricate flexible, lightweight metasurfaces [i.e. large-aperture antennas] that can easily be stowed and deployed for long-range communications.
- Side note – Metasurfaces are artificial, ultra-thin surfaces engineered to control light and other electromagnetic waves in ways that natural materials cannot. They consist of a 2D array of nanostructures, often called “meta-atoms,” which manipulate incoming waves through specific designs and patterns.
- Side note – A large-aperture antenna is a type of antenna with a larger physical size or aperture compared to standard antennas. This increased size allows them to collect and transmit more electromagnetic waves, enhancing their performance.
- A team of researchers from Columbia Engineering has developed an innovation in radio frequency communications by embedding antennas directly into textiles, using a flat-knitting process. This innovative approach could make communication systems lighter, more portable, and easier to deploy, especially in remote locations or emergency situations.
- Side note – Flat knitting is a method of producing knitted fabrics where the work is turned periodically, meaning the fabric is worked with alternating sides facing the knitter. This technique is often used for items like scarves, blankets, and the individual pieces of sweaters (like the front, back, and sleeves)
- The researchers harnessed metasurfaces—ultra-thin materials that control light and electromagnetic waves—to create flexible, lightweight RF antennas. Their work addresses the challenges of traditional RF antennas, which are often heavy, rigid, and expensive to manufacture.
- While traditional textile-based antennas have used methods like screen printing or embroidery to add conductive materials to fabrics, these techniques have faced issues such as delamination and limited scalability.
- In contrast, the Columbia University team used a knitting technique called float-jacquard knitting, traditionally used in patterned garments like Fair Isle sweaters. This method involves weaving two or more types of yarns to form a pattern, allowing for the direct integration of antennas during fabric manufacturing.
- The team demonstrated the practicality of this technique by creating two prototype RF devices—a metasurface lens and a vortex-beam-generating antenna. Both were produced using commercial knitting machinery, using metallic and dielectric yarns.
- Remarkably, each prototype was knitted in under an hour and withstood multiple washes and stretches without damage. The resulting textile antennas showed promising performance and could focus or shape RF signals for communications tasks.
- The bottom line: This promises lighter, more portable communication systems for remote or emergency use, opening the door to flexible, wearable tech with powerful radio frequency capabilities.
Story 2: Revolutionary New Material Harvests Water from Thin Air Without Energy – Janus crystals, developed by international researchers, efficiently harvest atmospheric water without energy, inspired by desert organisms, offering a promising solution to global water scarcity.
Source: SciTechDaily Story by New York University
Link: https://scitechdaily.com/revolutionary-new-material-harvests-water-from-thin-air-without-energy/
- A team of scientists from Jilin University, NYU Abu Dhabi’s Smart Materials Lab, and the Center for Smart Engineering Materials have developed a new crystalline material that can harvest water from fog [moisture in the air] without any energy input.
- These novel smart crystals, named Janus crystals, are inspired by desert plants and animals, which can survive in arid conditions. For instance, desert beetles and lizards have evolved to develop surface structures that have both hydrophilic and hydrophobic areas and effectively capture moisture from the air. Water is attracted to the hydrophilic areas and droplets are accumulated and transported through the hydrophobic areas.
- Side note – The term “hydrophilic” comes from the Greek words for “water-loving.” It describes substances or materials that have a strong affinity for water, meaning they can easily attract and interact with water molecules.
- Side note – The term “hydrophobic” comes from the Greek words for “water-fearing.” It describes substances or materials that repel water or do not mix well with it.
- The researchers chose three chemically versatile organic compounds from which they grew elastic organic crystals. They then tested how each of these materials interacted with the airborne water, which led to the creation of the new water-collecting materials, which the researchers call Janus crystals, that contain both hydrophilic and hydrophobic regions on the surface level, one to capture water and one to transfer it to a receptacle for collection.
- The Janus crystals capture humidity from humid air with the highest-to-date water collection efficiency. The crystals’ narrow and light-translucent structures enable researchers to monitor the collection and condensation of fog droplets in real-time by using light.
- Here’s the key advantage over traditional desalination – this new process of condensation of aerial humidity [or fog] utilized by the Janus crystals is spontaneous under ambient conditions and can be performed without the input of energy, potentially providing an endless source of clean water.
Story 3: Turning waste into fuel: Bourbon industry offers new path for renewable energy
Source: University of Kentucky
See also: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301479724019613
- University of Kentucky Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment researchers are turning one of the state’s largest and fastest-growing industries into an unlikely renewable energy source.
- In a study published in the Journal of Environmental Management the University of Kentucky team discovered that stillage — a leftover byproduct from bourbon and whiskey production — holds the potential to be a sustainable energy supply.
- Stillage, which remains after grains are distilled into bourbon, has traditionally been used as feed for livestock. However, Kentucky’s cattle population has reached its lowest point since 1962, while bourbon production is expected to double in the next five years. This imbalance has prompted distilleries to seek alternative ways to manage increasing stillage.
- This is where anaerobic digestion, a process that transforms organic material into renewable natural gas by using microorganisms without oxygen, plays a role.
- The team’s research analyzed how the composition of bourbon stillage — affected by the different grains used in production — impacts the amount of renewable natural gas generated. Whiskey and bourbon production involves a variety of mash bills (grain combinations such as corn, rye, barley and wheat).
- The researchers found that these differences significantly alter the biogas output during anaerobic digestion. This discovery provides distilleries with critical insights into how their byproducts can be efficiently turned into energy, with each type of mash bill producing different methane and carbon dioxide levels.
- Some large distilleries are leading the way by incorporating anaerobic digesters to convert their stillage into renewable natural gas. A key benefit – distilleries can use the gas for their operations, reducing their reliance on external energy and lowering waste disposal costs.
- The University of Kentucky researchers noted that the gas can be used in multiple ways, including fueling trucks, heating homes or generating electricity. This creates a valuable opportunity for distilleries to cut energy costs and become more self-sufficient.
Story 4: This ‘Morphing’ Wheel from South Korea Could Transform Lives and Robots
Source: WonderfulEngineering.com Story by Shaheer Shahzad
See video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uodsxXLTByg
- South Korea’s Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials is pioneering a new “morphing” wheel that could revolutionize mobility for people and robotics. Imagine a wheelchair equipped with wheels flexible enough to handle obstacles like curbs, humps, and even staircases.
- Or envision an unmanned delivery vehicle taking the stairs to deliver food and groceries to your doorstep. This is the vision for the morphing wheel, capable of overcoming obstacles up to 1.3 times the height of its radius.
- Inspired by the surface tension of water droplets, this innovative wheel changes its form from solid to fluid as it encounters obstructions, adapting dynamically to its environment.
- The morphing wheel could also benefit robotics in challenging terrains, including surveillance or combat robots on the battlefield, where maneuverability is crucial. Additionally, Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials team hopes to use morphing wheels on two- and four-legged robots, improving stability and payload management in industrial settings where smooth movement is essential.
- The team’s principal researcher explains that unlike other wheels, such as non-pneumatic or airless tires, the morphing wheel’s flexibility is enhanced with obstacle-handling capabilities.
- Built with an outer hoop of chain links and spoke wires extending through the hub, the wheel’s stiffness is automatically adjusted by sensors based on the terrain.
- In a recent demonstration, a prototype wheelchair with morphing wheels successfully climbed stairs with 18-cm steps while carrying a life-sized dummy.
- The morphing wheel can currently reach speeds up to 30 kph [that’s about 19 mph], with hopes of making it viable at car speeds, or up to 100 kph [that’s about 60 mph].
Honorable Mentions
Story: Largest all-electric aircraft in history will take off in 2025
Source: New Atlas Story by Abhimanyu Ghoshal
Link: https://newatlas.com/aircraft/heart-aerospace-electric-x1-test-flight-2025/
- Swedish startup Heart Aerospace is gearing up for the first experimental flight of the X1 early next year, an electric demonstrator aircraft that’s the same size as its upcoming 30-seater commercial plane.
- Heart unveiled the X1 back in September, noting that it was built to similar proportions as the ES-30, with a 32-meter (105 ft) wingspan. The test flight will take off from Plattsburgh International Airport in upstate New York, which the company found to be an ideal choice given its low air traffic density, and support for developing and testing transportation tech. Heart hasn’t yet specified if the X1 will also match the ES-30’s zero-emissions range of 124 miles (200 km), though.
- The ES-30 commercial aircraft is designed to take off from runways as short as 1,100 m (3,609 ft), thanks to its high-torque electric motors and turbo propellers, and is going to feature a hybrid system to allow for a total range of nearly 250 miles (400 km). With that relatively short range and its limited seating capacity, Heart isn’t looking to replace major airliners. Instead, the focus is on connecting smaller ‘pocket airports’ with roughly 2 acres of space in underserved communities.
- For its part, Heart has its work cut out for it ahead of its first X1 flight. The company noted the aircraft is “undergoing extensive tests of critical systems to ensure a safe and successful flight.” We’ll also see a Heart X2 incorporate learnings from the first demonstrator and test the firm’s “Independent Hybrid propulsion” system in 2026. That’s a whole lot of stuff to get right before the company’s commercial debut in 2028.
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Story: Scientists identify crucial detail essential for the production of hydrogen from algae enzymes
Source: Phys.org Story by Meike DrieBen
Link: https://phys.org/news/2024-06-scientists-crucial-essential-production-hydrogen.html
- Under certain conditions, some algae are able to produce hydrogen—a much sought-after green energy source. Its production takes place in the unique catalytic center of the unicellular algae and is only possible if certain cofactors of the relevant proteins are present.
- Researchers at Ruhr University Bochum, Germany, have identified how such a cofactor, the so-called hydrogen cluster, is assembled. Specifically, they describe the previously unexplained role of the enzyme HydF, which is involved in the final steps of assembly. Their findings are published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Story: We Finally Know What Creates Static Electricity, After Thousands of Years
Source: ScienceAlert.com Story by Michelle Starr
Link: We Finally Know What Creates Static Electricity, After Thousands of Years : ScienceAlert
- In 600 BCE, Greek philosopher Thales of Miletus noticed that when he rubbed fur on amber, the fur attracted dust.
- That tiny charge generated came to be known as static electricity.
- You might know it as the crackle and puff of your hair when you brush it, or the force that sticks a balloon to the ceiling after you rub it on your head, but scientists have been trying to get to the bottom of what creates the phenomenon for centuries.
- Now, we finally have an answer: The beginning and the end of the sliding motion that produces static electricity experience different forces – resulting in a charge differential between the front and the back that results in the crackle of static electricity.
- “For the first time, we are able to explain a mystery that nobody could before: why rubbing matters,” says materials scientist Laurence Marks of Northwestern University in the US.
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Story: Scientists Invent Giant Dishwashing Machine for Entire Human Bodies
Source: Futurism Story by Ashley Bardhan
Link: https://www.yahoo.com/tech/scientists-invent-giant-dishwashing-machine-130006490.html
- A Japanese showerhead maker called Science Co. is planning to debut what it’s calling the “human washing machine of the future” at the Osaka Kansai Expo in April 2025 — and while we have no idea who the target customer might be, consider us morbidly fascinated.
- The washing machine, which pretty much looks like a hypersleep chamber from Aliens (1986), will wash and dry willing humans in about 15 minutes, Japanese newspaper The Asahi Shimbun reported. And if getting scrubbed down like a frying pan isn’t a compelling sell, the washing machine of the future purportedly offers therapeutic benefits, too.
Leave a Reply