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Category: energy – Page 161

The game-changing tech in DARPA’s new missile

A few weeks ago, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) quietly unveiled a new high-speed missile program called Gambit. The program is meant to leverage a novel method of propulsion that could have far-reaching implications not just in terms of weapons development, but for high-speed aircraft and even in how the Navy’s warships are powered.

This propulsion system, known as a rotation detonation engine (RDE), has the potential to be lighter than existing jet engines while offering a significant boost in power output, range, and fuel efficiency.

The Gambit missile is just one of a number of programs placing a renewed focus on RDE technology, though for the most part, these systems have managed to fly under the media’s radar.

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Perturbation theory of large scale structure in the $ LambdaCDM Universe: Exact time evolution and the two-loop power spectrum

The large-scale structure (LSS) of the Universe is obviously nonlinear and very complicated. However, the scale of onset of nonlinearity is well separated from the size of the Universe which makes a large portion of the structure formation modes accessible to perturbation theory (PT). The latter is itself complicated by the time dependence of the lambdaCDM background. The authors provide an exact all-order recursive solution for the PT kernels, which allows them to go beyond the Einstein-de Sitter approximation for the time dependence, and quantify the deviation at the two-loop level in the 10% range, a deviation detectible with upcoming observations.

Vertically aligned single-walled carbon nanotubes for energy storage and the electronics industry

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) scientists have created vertically aligned single-walled carbon nanotubes on metal foils that could be a boon for energy storage and the electronics industry.

Vertically aligned carbon nanotubes (VACNTs) have exceptional mechanical, electrical and in addition to an aligned architecture, which is key for applications such as membrane separation, thermal management, fiber spinning, electronic interconnects and energy storage.

To date, widespread integration of VACNTs into next-generation technologies is thwarted by a lack of compatible, economic, mass-production capabilities. High-quality VACNTs are typically made on substrates such as silicon (Si) or quartz wafers that are rigid, expensive and electrically insulating.

Norwegian companies submit record $20.5 billion fossil fuel investment plans amid Russia-Ukraine war

This does not bode well for eco-friendly renewables.

Last month, Europe supported a call by India to phase down fossil fuel use as part of a COP27 deal. Now, partially due to the Russian-Ukrainian war, it seems to be changing its mind.

These projects amount to total investments of more than NOK 200 billion (around $20.

Aker BP

Norway’s oil and gas company Aker BP and its partners announced on Friday that it has submitted a plan for installation and operation and ten plans for the development and operation of oil and gas projects to the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy (MPE), according to a press release by the firm.

How do wind turbines spin during winter? The science behind frozen blades

Building a wind power operation that can thrive in icy conditions requires a keen understanding of the underlying physics.

Winter is supposed to be the best season for wind power — the winds are more potent, and since air density increases as the temperature drops, more force is pushing on the blades. But winter also comes with a problem: freezing weather.

Frequent severe icing can cut a wind farm’s annual energy production by over 20 percent, costing the industry hundreds of millions.

Piola666/iStock.

Even light icing can produce enough surface roughness on wind turbine blades to reduce their aerodynamic efficiency, which reduces the amount of power they can produce, as Texas experienced in February.

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Cooking with Phason Gas

Heat-transport measurements and neutron-scattering spectroscopy probe a form of thermal conduction based on excitations called phasons.

The understanding of how substances conduct heat is of great significance in materials science. It is needed for many important technological applications—from heat management in electronics to temperature control in buildings [1]. Therefore, when an unusual form of thermal transport is identified, materials scientists take notice. Michael Manley of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Tennessee, and his colleagues have shown that excitations called phasons can provide the main contribution to thermal transport in a material known as fresnoite [2]. Phasons are collective lattice oscillations that occur in certain crystals with an aperiodic lattice structure—fresnoite being one of the best known. The researchers’ demonstration could pave the way for new heat-management strategies.

Thermal conductivity is a measure of a material’s ability to transfer heat. It is a property that we are all abruptly reminded of when we accidentally place our hand on a hot kitchen stove. The temperature gradient between our cooler skin and the hotter surface facilitates a transfer of energy into our hand, resulting in an unpleasant sensation. The notion that different materials conduct heat at different rates is similarly experienced when we perceive the cooling sensation of holding a metal spoon relative to a wooden one.

New Lantern Is Better Than Solar and Can Be Charged

Colombian renewable energy startup E-Dina developed a wireless lantern, called WaterLight, that converts salt water into electricity and is more reliable than solar-powered lamps, a Dezeen article explains. And it can also be charged by urine in emergency situations.

The portable device acts as a mini generator that produces light using ionization — by filling it with 500 milliliters of seawater, the salt in the water reacts with magnesium and copper plates inside the device, converting it into electrical energy.

Tesla launches ‘Tesla Electric’ to become an electricity retailer

Tesla has launched “Tesla Electric” to become an electricity retailer through its Powerwall owners – starting with some markets in Texas.

After gaining experience through its virtual power plants (VPPs), Tesla is taking things a step further with the launch of “Tesla Electric.”

Instead of reacting to specific “events” and providing services to your local electric utilities, like Tesla Powerwall owners have done in VPPs in California, Tesla Electric is actively and automatically buying and selling electricity for Tesla Powerwall owners – providing a buffer against peak prices.

Singing inverters show electrical harmony for renewable power systems

Standing among solar arrays and power grid equipment at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), you might hear a faint, distorted melody buzzing from somewhere. You are not hallucinating—that gray box really is singing the Star Wars Theme, or the ice cream truck song, or Chopin’s Waltz in A minor. Power system engineers are just having some fun with an NREL capability that prevents stability problems on the electrical grid.

Usually, the engineers send another kind of waveform through the inverters and load banks: megawatts of power and voltage vibrations at many frequencies. The purpose of their research is to see how and the grid interact—to get them “in tune” and prevent dangerous electrical oscillations that show up like screechy feedback or a booming sub-bass.

The engineers can do this analysis at with NREL hardware using the lab’s advanced impedance measurement system, and they have also produced a commercially available software called the Grid Impedance Scan Tool or GIST that can do the same with simulated power on device models, allowing any manufacturer or grid operator to certify grid with renewable energy resources.

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