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Category: engineering – Page 56

Scientists discover exotic quantum interference effect in a topological insulator device

In a novel experiment, physicists have observed long range quantum coherence effects due to Aharonov-Bohm interference in a topological insulator-based device. This finding opens up a new realm of possibilities for the future development of topological quantum physics and engineering.

This finding could also affect the development of spin-based electronics, which may potentially replace some current electronic systems for higher energy efficiency and may provide new platforms to explore .

The research, published in the February 20 issue of Nature Physics, is the culmination of more than 15 years of work at Princeton. It came about when Princeton scientists developed a —called a bismuth bromide (α-Bi4Br4) topological insulator—only a few nanometers thick and used it to investigate .

Ex-SpaceX engineers unveil Arc Sport, 570 horsepower electric wakeboat

Discover the Arc Sport, a revolutionary electric wake boat engineered for performance, sustainability, and seamless user experience.

Former SpaceX engineers have unleashed their latest innovation, the Arc Sport, onto the waters, redefining the landscape of wake sports. Combining cutting-edge aerospace engineering with electric vehicle (EV) technology, the Arc Spor t promises an exhilarating experience like no other.

Boasting a massive 226 kWh battery capacity and a robust 570 horsepower (425 kW) motor, this engineering marvel delivers more than double the torque of its gas-powered counterparts.

Arc Sport stands out as a beacon of progress in a market hungry for innovation. Unlike traditional wake boats that lag in technological advancements, the Arc Sport integrates advanced software seamlessly, offering a truly smart boating experience with over-the-air updates continuously enhancing its capabilities; the Arc Sport evolves, setting a new standard for intelligent watercraft.

New study finds ‘Sweet spot’ for Length of Yarn-shaped Supercapacitors

As interest in wearable technology has surged, research into creating energy-storage devices that can be woven into textiles has also increased. Researchers at North Carolina State University have now identified a “sweet spot” at which the length of a threadlike energy storage technology called a “yarn-shaped supercapacitor” (YSC) yields the highest and most efficient flow of energy per unit length.

“When it comes to the length of the YSC, it’s a tradeoff between power and energy,” said Wei Gao, corresponding author of a paper on the work and an associate professor of textile engineering, chemistry and science at NC State.

“It’s not only about how much energy you can store, but also the internal resistance we care about.”

Bio-inspired neuroprosthetics: Sending signals the brain can understand

A few years ago, a team of researchers working under Professor Stanisa Raspopovic at the ETH Zurich Neuroengineering Lab gained worldwide attention when they announced that their prosthetic legs had enabled amputees to feel sensations from this artificial body part for the first time.

Unlike commercial leg prostheses, which simply provide amputees with stability and support, the ETH researchers’ prosthetic device was connected to the sciatic nerve in the test subjects’ thigh via implanted electrodes.

This electrical connection enabled the neuroprosthesis to communicate with the patient’s brain, for example relaying information on the constant changes in pressure detected on the sole of the prosthetic foot when walking. This gave the test subjects greater confidence in their prosthesis—and it enabled them to walk considerably faster on challenging terrains.

NASA Sponsored Researcher Suggests It Might Be Possible to Change the Laws of Physics

In an extremely cosmic–brain take, University of Rochester astrophysics professor Adam Frank suggests that a civilization could advance so much that it could eventually tinker with the fundamental laws of physics.

It’s a mind-bending proposition that ventures far beyond the conventional framework of scientific understanding, a reminder that perhaps we should dare to think outside the box — especially as we continue our search for extraterrestrial civilizations.

If a civilization were to be able to change the laws of physics, “the very nature of energy itself, with established rules like energy conservation, would be subject to revision within the scope of engineering,” Frank, who is part of the NASA-sponsored Categorizing Atmospheric Technosignatures program, wrote in an essay for Big Think.

Terahertz biosensor detects skin cancer with remarkable accuracy, advancing new era of early detection

Researchers have developed a revolutionary biosensor using terahertz (THz) waves that can detect skin cancer with exceptional sensitivity, potentially paving the way for earlier and easier diagnoses. Published in IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering, the study presents a significant advancement in early cancer detection, thanks to the collaboration of multidisciplinary teams from Queen Mary University of London and the University of Glasgow.

“Traditional methods for detecting skin cancer often involve expensive, time-consuming, CT, PET scans and invasive higher frequencies technologies,” explains Dr. Shohreh Nourinovin, Postdoctoral Research Associate at Queen Mary’s School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science, and the study’s first author. “Our biosensor offers a non-invasive and highly efficient solution, leveraging the unique properties of THz waves—a type of radiation with lower energy than X-rays, thus safe for humans—to detect subtle changes in cell characteristics.”

The key innovation lies in the biosensor’s design. Featuring tiny, asymmetric resonators on a flexible substrate, it can detect subtle changes in the properties of cells. Unlike traditional methods that rely solely on , this device analyzes a combination of parameters, including , transmission magnitude, and a value called “full width at half maximum” (FWHM). This comprehensive approach provides a richer picture of the tissue, allowing for more accurate differentiation between healthy and cancerous cells and to measure malignancy degree of the tissue.

Scientists design ‘sunflower’ city to boost solar energy in countries with relatively low levels of sunlight

Inspired by the distribution of sunflower seeds, a group of scientists say they have developed a new city-pattern that ensures the best distribution of solar energy utilization “in low solar radiation countries.”

“Our new city-plan bears close resemblance to the distribution of seeds in sunflowers. This distribution ensures the best utilization of solar ,” says Dr. Ammar A. T. Alkhalidi, University of Sharjah’s Associate Professor of Sustainable and Renewable Energy Engineering.

Dr. Alkhalidi is the lead author of a new study titled “Sunflower-inspired urban city pattern to improve solar energy utilization in low solar radiation countries.” The study is published in journal Renewable Energy Focus.

Femtotech: computing at the femtometer scale using quarks and gluons from Hugo de Garis

Sept 22 2016.

Kurzweilai – How the properties of quarks and gluons can be used (in principle) to perform computation at the femtometer (10^−15 meter) scale.

An atom is about 10^−10 m in size.

The next smallest thing in nature is the nucleus, which is about 100,000 times smaller, i.e., 10^−15 m in size — a femtometer, or “fermi.” A nucleus is composed of protons and neutrons (i.e., “nucleons”), which we now know are composed of 3 quarks, which are bound (“glued”) together by massless (photon-like) particles called “gluons.”

Hence if one wanted to start thinking about a possible femtotech, one would probably need to start looking at how quarks and gluons behave, and see if these behaviors might be manipulated in such a way as to create a technology, i.e., computation and engineering (building stuff).