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Archive for the ‘energy’ category: Page 61

Sep 19, 2023

Revolutionary solar tower can create jet fuel out of thin air — and it may be the key to cleaning up the aviation sector

Posted by in categories: energy, transportation

It’s not rocket science, but instead “carbon-neutral” jet-fuel science.

It’s simply a method for pulling carbon pollution and water from the air and using the sun’s energy to turn these into fuel for an airplane.

Continue reading “Revolutionary solar tower can create jet fuel out of thin air — and it may be the key to cleaning up the aviation sector” »

Sep 19, 2023

Quantum Gauge Networks: A New Kind of Tensor Network

Posted by in categories: energy, information science, quantum physics

Kevin Slagle, Quantum 7, 1113 (2023). Although tensor networks are powerful tools for simulating low-dimensional quantum physics, tensor network algorithms are very computationally costly in higher spatial dimensions. We introduce $\textit{quantum gauge networks}$: a different kind of tensor network ansatz for which the computation cost of simulations does not explicitly increase for larger spatial dimensions. We take inspiration from the gauge picture of quantum dynamics, which consists of a local wavefunction for each patch of space, with neighboring patches related by unitary connections. A quantum gauge network (QGN) has a similar structure, except the Hilbert space dimensions of the local wavefunctions and connections are truncated. We describe how a QGN can be obtained from a generic wavefunction or matrix product state (MPS). All $2k$-point correlation functions of any wavefunction for $M$ many operators can be encoded exactly by a QGN with bond dimension $O(M^k)$. In comparison, for just $k=1$, an exponentially larger bond dimension of $2^{M/6}$ is generically required for an MPS of qubits. We provide a simple QGN algorithm for approximate simulations of quantum dynamics in any spatial dimension. The approximate dynamics can achieve exact energy conservation for time-independent Hamiltonians, and spatial symmetries can also be maintained exactly. We benchmark the algorithm by simulating the quantum quench of fermionic Hamiltonians in up to three spatial dimensions.

Sep 18, 2023

World’s first crewed liquid hydrogen plane takes off

Posted by in categories: energy, transportation

At a somewhat small and unassuming airport in Maribor, Slovenia, German hydrogen propulsion startup H2FLY has quietly been building up to a major milestone in zero-emission aviation over the summer. And all the hard work has come to fruition, with the successful completion of the world’s first crewed liquid hydrogen-powered flights.

Before any aviation history enthusiast out there goes “but what about the Tupolev Tu-155?” — yes, the Soviets did try out liquid hydrogen as fuel 35 years ago, but only for one of the three engines. In contrast, H2FLY’s HY4 has now operated using only liquid hydrogen (as opposed to the gaseous kind) as fuel, relying solely on the hydrogen fuel-cell powertrain for the entire flight.

Sep 17, 2023

Vertical farms could take over the world | Hard Reset by Freethink

Posted by in categories: energy, food, space, sustainability

Vertical farming saves water, land, and energy — and it could be how we grow food on Mars.

Subscribe here: http://freeth.ink/youtube-subscribe-verticalfarming.

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Sep 17, 2023

Handwritten LEDs Light Up the Page

Posted by in categories: energy, materials

Using a ballpoint pen filled with specially formulated inks, scientists have designed LEDs that can be drawn on everyday materials.

Even in our digital age, ballpoint pens are an irreplaceable tool for writing down flashes of inspiration or signing legally binding documents. The ink flowing through these everyday objects has always been a passive absorber of light, but Junyi Zhao from Washington University in St. Louis and colleagues have now changed that [1]. The team has designed a ballpoint pen that writes with ink that produces light as a light emitting diode (LED).

LEDs are used in everything from TV screens to lightbulbs. They are often made using highly tunable semiconducting materials called halide perovskites. However, these devices have traditionally been time and energy intensive to fabricate, and they do not easily adhere to nonuniform substrates, such as fabric and plastic.

Sep 17, 2023

Electrons from Earth may be forming water on the Moon

Posted by in categories: energy, space

A team of researchers, led by a University of Hawai’i (UH) at Manoa planetary scientist, discovered that high energy electrons in Earth’s plasma sheet are contributing to weathering processes on the Moon’s surface and, importantly, the electrons may have aided the formation of water on the lunar surface. The study was published today in Nature Astronomy.

Understanding the concentrations and distributions of water on the Moon is critical to understanding its formation and evolution, and to providing water resources for future human exploration. The new discovery may also help explain the origin of the water ice previously discovered in the lunar permanently shaded regions.

Due to Earth’s magnetism, there is a force field surrounding the planet, referred to as the magnetosphere, that protects Earth from space weathering and damaging radiation from the Sun. Solar wind pushes the magnetosphere and reshapes it, making a long tail on the night side. The plasma sheet within this magnetotail is a region consisting of high energy electrons and ions that may be sourced from Earth and the solar wind.

Sep 15, 2023

Single-blade wind turbine works at wind speeds of 157 mph

Posted by in categories: energy, sustainability

TouchWind.

For years, the wind energy industry has adopted the three-blade model for its turbines. As the world looks for cleaner sources of energy, the turbines are getting larger and are also going deeper into the seas, where winds blow stronger.

Sep 15, 2023

Underwater Laser Cutting Method Saves Energy, Optimizes Efficiency

Posted by in categories: energy, sustainability

The need for modern technologies to dismantle existing underwater infrastructure is growing due to increasing demand for renewable energy sources. For example, to bring a wind power plant in the sea up to higher powers, the existing old steel frames, which may be below sea level, must first be dismantled so that engineers can rebuild them to obtain these higher powers.

In laboratory tests, researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Material and Beam Technology IWS (Fraunhofer IWS) have developed a shortwave green laser method for beneath-sea cutting that offers multiple advantages over commonly used techniques that use saws, automatic saw wires, and plasma cutters, for example.

According to the researchers, the technique is possible because of the availability of shortwave green lasers in the more-than-1-Kw-class, which are required to achieve the necessary cutting power. In the future, the researchers said, shorter-wavelength versions with blue lasers are conceivable.

Sep 14, 2023

Electricity Sources by Fuel in 2022

Posted by in categories: energy, materials

From VC Elements—bridging the gap between global trends shaping our future, and the raw materials powering them ⚡️.


Coal is Still King

Coal still leads the charge when it comes to electricity, representing 35.4% of global power generation in 2022, followed by natural gas at 22.7%, and hydroelectric at 14.9%.

Sep 14, 2023

Tesla’s Dojo supercomputer could fuel a $500 billion jump

Posted by in categories: Elon Musk, energy, finance, supercomputing

Morgan Stanley released a report Monday, predicting a semiconductor-driven hopeful outlook for Musk’s company.

Tesla’s shares were up 9.5 percent yesterday. But what drove them up?

The investment banking firm issued a research note that upgraded the Elon Musk-owned automotive company’s rating from ‘equalweight’ to ‘overweight’ with a price target of $400 from a prior price target of $250. An ‘overweight’ rating means that the analysts, in this case Morgan Stanley (MS), expects Tesla’s stock to outperform its industry in the market.

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