Lifeboat Foundation

A long-standing quest for science and technology has been to develop electronics and information processing that operate near the fastest timescales allowed by the laws of nature.

A promising way to achieve this goal involves using laser light to guide the motion of electrons in matter, and then using this control to develop electronic circuit elements—a concept known as lightwave electronics.

Remarkably, lasers currently allow us to generate bursts of electricity on femtosecond timescales—that is, in a millionth of a billionth of a second. Yet our ability to process information in these ultrafast timescales has remained elusive.

Oxford University researchers have developed a sensor made of sapphire fiber that can tolerate extreme temperatures, with the potential to enable significant improvements in efficiency and emission reduction in aerospace and power generation.

The work, published in the journal Optics Express, uses a sapphire optical fiber —a thread of industrially grown sapphire less than half a millimeter thick—which can withstand temperatures over 2000°C. When light is injected onto one end of the sapphire fiber, some is reflected back from a point along the fiber which has been modified to be sensitive to temperature (known as a Bragg grating). The wavelength (color) of this reflected light is a measure of the temperature at that point.

The research resolves a 20-year-old problem with existing sensors—while the sapphire fiber seems very thin, in comparison to the wavelength of light it is huge. This means that the light can take many different paths along the sapphire fiber, which results in many different wavelengths being reflected at once. The researchers overcame this problem by writing a channel along the length of the fiber, such that the light is contained within a tiny cross-section, one-hundredth of a millimeter in diameter. With this approach, they were able to make a sensor that predominantly reflects a single wavelength of light.

At the Technical University of Denmark (DTU), a team of researchers have developed a new kind of 3D printer whose technology combines a CT scanner and light. By reversing the principle of CT scanning, they could create all types of parts in record time from different polymer resins and play on their hardness. They would thus be able to reproduce the appearance of blood vessels or muscle tissue.

Today’s CT scans allow us to make slice images of our body parts and to visualize tissues of different densities. This X-ray machine is therefore used in the medical sector to establish a diagnosis. In this case, it was used to design a new, faster resin 3D printer.

Circa 2015

Researchers have taken a regular gel pen and turned it into a DIY chemical sensor.

A simple colour change could indicate the presence of potentially hazardous hydrogen gas thanks to a new sensor developed by researchers in Germany. The micron-scale device, which uses so-called “supraparticles” that turn from purple to pink in the presence of hydrogen, could help prevent explosions by making it easier to detect and localize leaks at fuel stations, generators and pipelines.

41 Megapixel Quanta Image Sensor’s Low Light and HDR Imaging Capabilities with Small Pixels are Unrivaled in the Market.

PASADENA, Calif. 0, April 4, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Gigajot Technology, inventors and developers of Quanta Image Sensors (QIS), today announced the expansion of its groundbreaking QIS product portfolio with the GJ04122 sensor and associated QIS41 camera. With market leading low read noise, the GJ04122 sensor is capable of photon counting and photon number resolving at room temperature. The QIS41 camera, built around the GJ04122 sensor, pairs well with standard 4/3-inch microscopy optics, bringing unparalleled resolution and low light performance to scientific and industrial imaging applications.

And it could mean signs of the war will remain for a long time. Reports are in that Russian forces are laying “smart” landmines in Ukraine that are only able to target soldiers. Called the POM-3 “Medallion” landmine, these anti-personal weapons are activated, allegedly, specialist seismic target sensors.

Once the conflict ends, it is important to begin the process of “demining.” The goal is to clear the land of any explosive devices that pose a risk to the population. Currently, there are an estimated 110 million landmines scattered across dozens of war-torn countries, and approximately 26,000 people per year (or roughly 70 people per day) die due to these devices.

Many die while trying to collect parts of the metal mines for scrap, or by accidentally triggering the mines. Here’s a look at a few different technologies, both old and new, that are working to clear affected areas of these destructive weapons.

Continue reading “The Real Minesweepers Are Changing Lives and Saving Limbs” »

Rén is a customizable lantern with an integrated OLED screen for users to project whatever moving images or videos they’d like.

Over the past few years, we’ve learned to prioritize what is most important to us. From going to the virtual family reunion to getting creative in the arts, we’re keeping the stuff that matters most to us extra close. Since the pandemic has transformed many of those experiences into digital ones, designers shave been getting creative in making them as large as real life, and sometimes even larger.

Designer: Merve Nur Sökme

The city of St. Louis, Missouri fleet plans to deploy 18 electric buses on the city’s busiest routes. Charging infrastructure for the 60-seat New Flyer buses will be provided by Swiss/Swedish electronics giant ABB.

St. Louis transit agency Metro Transit says it expects the e-buses to reduce carbon emissions by 100 to 160 tons per year, and to deliver up to $125,000 in maintenance savings and $400,000 in fuel savings over their 12-year lifespan.

ABB will provide 23 Buy America-compliant chargers, with a total of over 4.35 MW of charging capacity. ABB’s sequential charging system consists of 20 plug-in depot chargers, each with 150 kW of power, and three additional pantograph chargers. St. Louis’s buses can be fully charged in one hour. ABB says its fast-charging system easily integrates with existing transit schedules, so cities can switch to zero-emission buses without disrupting existing routes.