Most recent 40 articles: PHYS.ORG - Technology
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Using sim-to-real reinforcement learning to train robots to do simple tasks in broad environments - PHYS.ORG - Technology  (Apr 18) |
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Apr 18 · A team of roboticists at the University of California, Berkeley, reports that it is possible to train robots to do relatively simple tasks by using sim-to-real reinforcement learning to train them. In their study, published in the journal Science Robotics, the group trained a robot to walk in unfamiliar environments while it carried different loads, all without toppling over. Over the past several years, roboticists have used a variety of techniques to train robots to move efficiently and quickly across varied environments. But as the researchers with this new effort note, such robots do not have very many useful applications. They suggest that robots that are able to carry ... Read more ... |
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Can bismuth prevent oil leaks and save Norwegians billions? - PHYS.ORG - Technology  (Apr 18) |
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Apr 18 · Over the next 25 years, as the world shifts away from fossil fuels, the oil and gas wells that have sustained the fossil fuel age will have to be plugged. No big deal, you might think, drilling those wells was the hard part. Plugging them should be no problem. But think again. The Norwegian Continental Shelf, as an example, is punctured by more than 2,000 wells. Harald Linga, center director for SWIPA, a Center for Research Based Innovation based at SINTEF, Scandinavia's largest independent research institute, estimates that plugging them using today's technology will cost upwards of NOK 800 billion - that's USD 73 billion. And while oil companies are responsible ... Read more ... |
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Floating solar's potential to support sustainable development - PHYS.ORG - Technology  (Apr 18) |
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Apr 18 · A study, published in Nature Energy, is among the first to explore the floating photovoltaics (FPV) at the continental scale, finding that FPV installed at existing major reservoirs could produce 20–100% of the electricity expected from Africa's planned hydropower dams. Using a state-of-the-art energy planning model covering the continent's entire energy system, the researchers found that FPV is cost-competitive with other renewables and thus a key part of Africa's future energy mix. "Floating solar is fast becoming cost-competitive with land-based solar, and our results suggest it could conceivably avoid the need to build many of the dams planned for hydropower across ... Read more ... |
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Garbage could replace a quarter of petroleum-based jet fuel every year - PHYS.ORG - Technology  (Apr 18) |
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Apr 18 · One way to reduce emissions? Reuse society's waste and turn it into sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). In a new paper, a team of researchers from the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) found that if waste-to-fuel refineries were built today near major travel hubs, the United States could produce 3–5 billion gallons of SAF from waste every year. Those gallons could replace 15–25% of the nation's annual supply of jet fuel. "We've identified places in the United States where large airports are close enough to major waste-producing centers where you could build these SAF refineries right now," said Timothy Seiple, a computational ... Read more ... |
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Green cement production is scaling up - and it could cut the carbon footprint of construction - PHYS.ORG - Technology  (Apr 18) |
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Apr 18 · If you were to pour that amount of concrete to make a paving slab ten centimeters thick, it would cover all of England and about half of Wales. In the US, the same amount would cover the state of New York. But concrete production releases carbon dioxide (CO₂), one of the greenhouse gases that drives climate change. About 90% of emissions associated with concrete come from the production of Portland cement—this fine gray powder, the part that binds concrete ingredients together, was named after its resemblence to stone from the Isle of Portland, Dorset. Portland cement accounts for 7%–8% of the world's direct CO₂ emissions. Production of a more ... Read more ... |
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Harvesting vibrational energy from 'colored noise' - PHYS.ORG - Technology  (Apr 18) |
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Apr 18 · The most efficient types of harvester are tri-stable energy harvesters, which can convert even low-frequency random vibrations into alternating current (AC) and thence into direct current (DC). Tingting Zhang and Yanfei Jin from Beijing Institute of Technology in China have now investigated how the properties of these systems can be altered to optimize the power output; their findings are published in the European Physical Journal B. Tri-stable energy harvesters are examples of non-linear energy harvesters, which can use a wider bandwidth of vibrations than the earlier, linear ones. They convert mechanical energy from random vibrations in the environment directly into AC ... Read more ... |
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Mess is best: Disordered structure of battery-like devices improves performance - PHYS.ORG - Technology  (Apr 18) |
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Apr 18 · Supercapacitors are a key technology for the energy transition and could be useful for certain forms of public transport, as well as for managing intermittent solar and wind energy generation, but their adoption has been limited by poor energy density. Like batteries, supercapacitors store energy, but supercapacitors can charge in seconds or a few minutes, while batteries take much longer. Supercapacitors are far more durable than batteries, and can last for millions of charge cycles. However, the low energy density of supercapacitors makes them unsuitable for delivering long-term energy storage or continuous power. "Supercapacitors are a complementary technology to ... Read more ... |
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New report tackles electric vehicle charging payment challenges and offers key recommendations - PHYS.ORG - Technology  (Apr 18) |
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Apr 18 · Addressing payment issues presents an opportunity for improvements that may speed along EV adoption and improve drivers' time with their EVs, keeping them on the road and not waiting at a charging station. "We need to make ease of payment a core focus of public EV charging network expansion," said Kristi Moriarty, a senior researcher and ChargeX Consortium lead at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. "If we want to build consumer trust around the promise of a reliable national charging network, we need to maintain a seamless charging experience." To address failures in accepting or processing payments during EV charging sessions, the U.S. Department of Energy's ... Read more ... |
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New research finds electric vehicles depreciate faster than gas cars, but the trend is changing - PHYS.ORG - Technology  (Apr 18) |
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Apr 18 · The study examined more than nine million car listings at over 60,000 dealerships between 2016 and 2022. It found that older battery electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles with shorter driving ranges depreciated at faster rates than conventional cars and hybrid electric cars, the one exception being Tesla, whose older battery electric vehicle model held its value better. However, the study also showed the trend is changing—as newer model electric vehicles with higher driving ranges come online, they are retaining their value better than the older models with smaller driving ranges. The research also found that the COVID-19 pandemic significantly affected ... Read more ... |
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New understanding of energy losses in emerging light source - PHYS.ORG - Technology  (Apr 18) |
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Apr 18 · "This insight will help us to reduce efficiency loss, allowing us to design and develop LEC devices that deliver bright emission at high efficiency," says Xiaoying Zhang, a doctoral student at the Department of Physics at Umeå University, and one of the authors of the study that was published in the journal Advanced Materials. The breakthrough revolves around a detailed understanding and quantification of the internal so-called quenching processes, where collisions between particles in the device lead to energy loss in the form of decreased light production. "Think of a box with two kinds of tiny balls bouncing around: one kind can glow, and the other kind can't. ... Read more ... |
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Recycling carbon fiber reinforced plastics waste is a challenge, but researchers find a way to make it work - PHYS.ORG - Technology  (Apr 18) |
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Apr 18 · Supercritical water has a high polarity, diffusivity, and density that allows it to selectively remove only the epoxy impregnated in the CFRP to obtain recycled carbon fiber. The researchers achieved a highly efficient recycling system using only water without using any catalysts, oxidants, or organic solvents. They also found that adding glycine to supercritical water can upcycle CFRP into recycled carbon fiber doped with nitrogen atoms. This upcycled carbon fiber has better electrical conductivity than conventional recycled carbon fiber. This is the first time that a single recycling process has been used to simultaneously recycle and upcycle CFRP within tens of minutes, ... Read more ... |
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Researchers develop technology to improve offshore wind safety - PHYS.ORG - Technology  (Apr 18) |
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Apr 18 · A new project at The University of Texas at Dallas' Wind Energy Center, known as UTD Wind, is designed to make the divers' jobs safer through the development of remote-monitoring technology for offshore wind farms. The project, which began in March, expands UTD Wind research into a new area focusing on safety. Researchers will develop digital twins, or virtual models, to simulate wind turbines, and algorithms to extract information about failures from simulation data. "We're focusing on something very important: safety. In every industry, you want zero accidents," said Dr. Mario Rotea, professor of mechanical engineering in the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and ... Read more ... |
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Scientists urge action over life-threatening pollution from solar power waste in Africa - PHYS.ORG - Technology  (Apr 18) |
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Apr 18 · Common informal recycling activities for lead-acid batteries used in solar energy systems were recorded to release 3.5-4.7 kg of lead pollution from a typical battery, which is equivalent to more than 100 times the lethal oral dose of lead for an adult. Off-grid solar technologies are used to provide power to areas lacking traditional grid connections and are crucial for expanding electricity access across sub-Saharan Africa. The private market for off-grid solar electrification technologies is expected to provide electricity access to hundreds of millions of people by 2030, subsidized by global energy companies in the Global North, including the UK. Meanwhile, ... Read more ... |
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Study demonstrates high CO2 storage efficiency in shale reservoirs using fracturing technology - PHYS.ORG - Technology  (Apr 18) |
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Apr 18 · A new study published in the journal Engineering unveils the remarkable carbon storage potential of shale reservoirs utilizing CO2 fracturing technology. Conducted by a collaborative team from the PetroChina Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration and Development (Beijing), the National Key Laboratory of Continental Shale Oil (Daqing), and China University of Petroleum (Beijing), the research signifies a pivotal advancement in China's pursuit of energy independence and carbon neutrality. Shale reservoirs play a crucial role in China's energy landscape, and the utilization of CO2 fracturing offers a dual benefit: not only enhance oil recovery but also promote large ... Read more ... |
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Tesla, Starlink entry on agenda when Musk heads to India - PHYS.ORG - Technology  (Apr 18) |
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Apr 18 · Tech billionaire Elon Musk is set to visit India as his businesses seek new markets in the world's most populous nation, with electric carmaker Tesla - suffering a sales downturn in the United States - reportedly scouting factory locations. Another Musk-owned business, satellite internet operator Starlink, is set to receive initial approvals to operate in India, a government source told AFP. Also likely to be on the agenda for the self-described "free speech absolutist" is the large number of content takedown orders India's government imposes on X, the social media platform he took over in 2022. "Looking forward to meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in ... Read more ... |
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Universal 'cocktail electrolyte' developed for 4.6 V ultra-stable fast charging of commercial lithium-ion batteries - PHYS.ORG - Technology  (Apr 18) |
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Apr 18 · LiCoO2 (LCO) is the primary cathode material for LIBs. Currently, the advanced electrolytes for LCO cannot meet the high energy density and fast-charging performance of LIBs. Recently, a research group led by Prof. Wu Zhongshuai from the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics (DICP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) developed a novel universal additive-containing "cocktail electrolyte" based on the synergistic cooperation of multi-component additives. This electrolyte enabled commercial LCO with high voltage (4.6 V) and ultra-fast charging (5 C) in a wide temperature range (-20 to 45o C). It also exhibited high applicability to high-Ni and Co-free cathodes. The ... Read more ... |
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Amazon removed Just Walk Out from many of its own stores but wants to sell the system to others - PHYS.ORG - Technology  (Apr 17) |
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Apr 17 · Amazon wants the public and - especially other businesses - to know it's not giving up on its Just Walk Out technology. Although the company is ditching the cashier-less checkout system at its Amazon Fresh grocery stores, it plans to sell the technology to more than 120 third-party businesses by the end of the year. Reaching that goal would double the number of non-Amazon enterprises that use Just Walk Out compared to last year. "For us, really making sure that we can service that third-party market is the most important thing," Jon Jenkins, the vice president of Just Walk Out at Amazon, said in an interview. "We've definitely been reassuring people that we are in this ... Read more ... |
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Control of temperature dependent viscosity for manufacturing of Bi-doped active fiber - PHYS.ORG - Technology  (Apr 17) |
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Apr 17 · The work could guide the development of heavily doped Bi active fibers, which exhibit great potential for application in the next-generation optical amplifiers. Bi-dopants exhibit multi-chemical states and can transform into a deactivated state when the bulk is drawn into the fiber at high temperature, which limits the development of high-performance Bi-active fibers. "From the viewpoint of thermodynamics, the deactivation of Bi dopants cannot be prevented during the fiber drawing process, since the Bi-active center is not the thermodynamics stable at such temperatures," said Shifeng Zhou, corresponding author on the paper and professor at the South China University of ... Read more ... |
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Environment recognition technologies for off-road self-driving with improved real-time processing performance - PHYS.ORG - Technology  (Apr 17) |
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Apr 17 · Off-road environment recognition technologies for detecting extraneous substances such as dust, mud, snow, or rain during off-road autonomous driving of construction machinery, agricultural machines, and unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) and removing the sensor signals of these substances on a real-time basis, have been developed for the first time in Korea. It is expected that these newly developed technologies will be applied in the future to industrial machinery such as excavators, dump trucks, and search vehicles and also to military self-driving cars, and will provide workers with a safe working environment. Among the off-road environment recognition technologies that ... Read more ... |
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How ideology is darkening the future of renewables in Alberta - PHYS.ORG - Technology  (Apr 17) |
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Apr 17 · The ideology of fossil fuels is characterized by an inability to imagine life, or progress, without petroleum products. In politics, this ideology influences the positions of left and right alike. It even encourages those on the center-left to support oil and gas while also endorsing green energy. In Alberta, we saw this when former Premier Rachel Notley enthusiastically supported the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion and increased renewable electricity production. On the right, conservatives see in this ideology the vindication of their love of business and fossil fuel producers above all else. Project 2025, proposed by the Heritage Foundation, a leading American ... Read more ... |
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New material for hydrogen storage confines this clean yet troublesome fuel - PHYS.ORG - Technology  (Apr 17) |
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Apr 17 · Finding efficient ways to confine hydrogen is crucial for integrating this promising energy carrier into the sustainable economy of the future. With proper storage technology, hydrogen could one day fuel high-temperature industrial processes and transportation, and serve for balancing supply and demand on the power grid. The study appears in Advanced Energy Materials. Hydrogen is expected to play a major role in the future low-carbon economy. It can be produced renewably and consumed to generate electricity or heat via fuel cells or combustion. Some of the areas that stand to gain the most from hydrogen energy are steelmaking, production of glass and cement, and the chemical ... Read more ... |
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Novel method proposed to design high-efficiency guest components for ternary organic solar cells - PHYS.ORG - Technology  (Apr 17) |
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Apr 17 · This work was published in Advanced Materials. OSCs have attracted considerable attention in the field of organic electronic devices due to their light weight, good mechanical flexibility and transparency. The ternary strategy, in which a guest component is introduced into a host binary system, is considered to be one of the most effective and facile ways to achieve OSCs with excellent power conversion efficiencies (PCEs). Various efficient guest components have been developed for binary host systems, but there is still no effective way to predict the effectiveness of guest components in improving device efficiency. Using density functional theory calculations, the ... Read more ... |
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Retro-reflectors could help future cities keep their cool - PHYS.ORG - Technology  (Apr 17) |
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Apr 17 · By outfitting building walls and roadways in dense urban centers with retro-reflective materials, which reflect most incoming light directly back to its source, the researchers found that it could be possible to reduce surface temperatures by up to 36°F, lower surrounding air temperatures by almost 5°F, and cool human skin temperatures by almost a degree Fahrenheit. Such retro-reflective surfaces could be a key strategy for fending off urban heat in dense, high-rise cities like New York, Hong Kong, and Singapore. Working with collaborators from the University of Perugia in Italy, the team published their findings, including guidelines for installing retro-reflective ... Read more ... |
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Cooler transformers could help electric grid - PHYS.ORG - Technology  (Apr 16) |
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Apr 16 · Transformers are aging and approaching an average of being 30 to 40 years old. Plus, they face more stress than ever before brought on by factors such as renewable energy and by extreme weather events such as hurricanes, heat waves, and winter storms. Case in point—the 2021 event in Texas that left millions powerless. That is when University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin) researchers decided to look inside grid transformers to see if they could make them better. Grid transformers are filled with copper windings, other metallic components, and cellulose-based electrical insulation like kraft paper. The cellulose insulation is a great electrical insulator essential in the ... Read more ... |
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Decarbonization scenario model analyzes ambitious pathways to net-zero carbon emissions - PHYS.ORG - Technology  (Apr 16) |
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Apr 16 · Scientists are developing multiple strategies to reduce carbon emissions in, and remove them from, the atmosphere—processes known collectively as decarbonization. In fact, the holy grail of climate change research is finding viable decarbonization pathways to achieve the U.S. government's target of net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050. While decarbonization pathways are complex, varied and specific to individual industries, clean-energy technologies and low- and zero-carbon fuels are integral to all carbon dioxide (CO2) mitigation strategies across the U.S. economy. And as scientists develop strategies, they are also creating tools to assess them. Now, ... Read more ... |
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High electric bills threaten California's clean future: This plan could help - PHYS.ORG - Technology  (Apr 16) |
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Apr 16 · California has some of the nation's highest electricity rates, and power bills are rising fast. That's a problem because it makes it harder for people to afford switching from fossil fuels to clean electric cars and appliances that are essential to combating climate change. Who wants to invest thousands of dollars in a heat pump or induction stove only to be punished with higher bills? But there's a proposal by the California Public Utilities Commission that would ease the burden by changing the way customers of the state's big three investor-owned utilities are billed. Rather than being charged for each kilowatt-hour with rates bulked up to cover capital costs and ... Read more ... |
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How Amazon became the largest private EV charging operator in the US - PHYS.ORG - Technology  (Apr 16) |
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Apr 16 · Amazon's Maple Valley, Washington, warehouse is built for speed. At night, big rigs pull up to one end to unload boxes and padded mailers - some after a short drive from a bigger warehouse down the road, others following a flight in the hold of a cargo plane. Waiting employees scan, sort and load them into rolling racks. Before 7 a.m. each day, many of those racks are wheeled out to dozens of vans lined up in four painted lanes. It's the starting line at a Formula One race, but for $22-an-hour delivery drivers who ferry bottles of shampoo and packs of batteries to suburban Seattle doorsteps. Their routes, the last step in a journey that can take products thousands of ... Read more ... |
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Neutron scattering study points the way to more powerful lithium batteries - PHYS.ORG - Technology  (Apr 16) |
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Apr 16 · The team used quasi-elastic neutron scattering at Oak Ridge National Laboratory to set the first benchmark, one-nanosecond—or one billionth of a second—for a mixture of lithium salt and an organic polymer electrolyte. The work is published in the journal Nature Materials. "It all comes down to the study of materials," said Eugene Mamontov, ORNL Chemical Spectroscopy group leader. "And polymer electrolytes won't catch fire the way liquid electrolytes do in lithium batteries." The team used the neutron technique to validate computer simulations, ending a long-standing debate about how long it takes lithium ions to break free from tiny cages created by ... Read more ... |
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Nissan says it will make next-generation EV batteries by early 2029 - PHYS.ORG - Technology  (Apr 16) |
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Apr 16 · Nissan expects to mass produce electric vehicles powered by advanced next-generation batteries by early 2029, the company said Tuesday during a media tour of an unfinished pilot plant. Japan's legacy automakers have fallen behind newer rivals like America's Tesla and China's BYD in the emerging all-electric auto sector. But Nissan, like other companies, sees a chance to catch up and perhaps leap ahead with a new kind of battery that promises to be more powerful, cheaper, safer and faster to charge than the lithium-ion batteries in use today. Solid-state batteries, which replace the corrosive liquids found in conventional batteries with solid metals, are widely seen ... Read more ... |
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Researchers can help shipowners achieve ambitious climate targets - PHYS.ORG - Technology  (Apr 16) |
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Apr 16 · Shipowners around the world are in a very difficult position because they are having to order new ships now that will run on fuel and technologies that are not yet fully developed. A new study suggests that ammonia could be a smart and energy-efficient fuel in the race to achieve net zero in shipping. Researchers at the Department of Industrial Economics and Technology Management (IØT) and the Department of Marine Technology (IMT) at NTNU and SINTEF Ocean are behind the study. Help making choices in uncertain times Postdoctoral fellow Benjamin Lagemann at the Department of Marine Technology describes the challenges the industry is facing. "They need to ... Read more ... |
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Samsung returns to top of the smartphone market: Industry tracker - PHYS.ORG - Technology  (Apr 16) |
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Apr 16 · Samsung regained its position as the top smartphone seller, wresting back the lead from Apple as Chinese rivals close the gap on both market leaders, industry tracker International Data Corporation (IDC) reported Monday. South Korea-based Samsung overtook Apple as worldwide smartphone shipments grew nearly 8 percent in the first quarter of this year to 289.4 million, IDC said, citing its preliminary data. It was the third consecutive quarter of growth in the global smartphone market, signaling that a recovery from a slump in the sector is underway, according to IDC. IDC Worldwide Mobility and Consumer Device Trackers team vice president Ryan Reith expected top ... Read more ... |
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Solar energy can uplift rural Ethiopians, but is hard to come by - PHYS.ORG - Technology  (Apr 16) |
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Apr 16 · Affordable but uncertified and substandard solar panels, coupled with minimal government involvement in the rural energy-transition process, are among the key factors that hinder access to reliable electricity for local communities. At the same time, when solar panels are added to homes, they offer a healthy and environmentally friendly alternative to kerosene lamps, and they support education by providing children electric light to study past sundown. "Not a lot is known about how the energy transition to renewable energy is occurring in rural areas in the Global South, so we wanted to understand how households are involved," said Yujin Lee, a doctoral student of ... Read more ... |
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Colorado will try turning off the electrical grid to prevent wildfires, an operation pioneered in California - PHYS.ORG - Technology  (Apr 15) |
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Apr 15 · Over the past decade, power grids have played roles in wildfires in multiple states, including California, Hawaii, Oregon and Minnesota. When wind speeds are high and humidity is low, electrical infrastructure such as aboveground power lines can blow into vegetation or spark against other components, starting a fire that high winds then spread. Under extreme conditions, utilities may opt to shut off power to parts of the grid in their service areas to reduce wildfire risk. These outages, known as public safety power shutoffs, have occurred mainly in California, where wildfires have become larger and more destructive in recent decades. On April 5-6, 2024, Colorado utility ... Read more ... |
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Global North energy outsourcing demands more attention, researchers say - PHYS.ORG - Technology  (Apr 15) |
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Apr 15 · Global North countries use their advantages in capital and technology to grab a large amount of energy through outsourcing—creating a 'false decoupling' of energy consumption from economic growth. However, backward production technologies in the Global South tend to result in more energy consumption per unit of output—leading to greater carbon emissions and environmental damage. An international group of researchers from the UK, Netherlands, and China published their findings in Energy Economics—calling on countries across both Global North and Global South to work together on resolving the problem. Concerns about the energy associated with the ... Read more ... |
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Report explores possibilities of capturing and using carbon dioxide for sustainable production routes - PHYS.ORG - Technology  (Apr 15) |
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Apr 15 · A new DECHEMA report "Carbon for Power-to-X—Suitable CO2 sources and integration in PtX value chains" deals with possibilities of capturing and utilizing carbon dioxide for sustainable production routes. Carbon dioxide can serve as a carbon feed for numerous climate friendly commodities produced with Power-to-X technologies. The report elaborates on point sources and state-of-the-art capture methods. Climate neutral commodities produced with sustainable power - that is the promise of Power-to-X (PtX). The PtX concept unites numerous innovative technologies to establish value chains that are fueled by renewable energy. For this reason, PtX is considered to be a relevant ... Read more ... |
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Tesla plans to lay off 10% of workforce after dismal quarterly sales, multiple news outlets report - PHYS.ORG - Technology  (Apr 15) |
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Apr 15 · After reporting dismal first-quarter sales, Tesla is planning to lay off about a tenth of its workforce as it tries to cut costs, multiple media outlets reported Monday. CEO Elon Musk detailed the plans in a memo sent to employees. The layoffs could affect about 14,000 of the 140,473 workers employed by the Austin, Texas, company at the end of last year. Musk's memo said that as Tesla prepares for its next phase of growth, "it is extremely important to look at every aspect of the company for cost reductions and increasing productivity," The New York Times and CNBC reported. News of the layoffs was first reported by electric vehicle website Electrek. Also Monday, ... Read more ... |
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The airline industry's biggest climate challenge: A lack of clean fuel - PHYS.ORG - Technology  (Apr 15) |
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Apr 15 · In a glimmer of progress for the daunting task of reducing air travel's climate impact, a newly built plant in rural Georgia is expected to begin pumping out the world's first commercial quantities of a new type of cleaner jet fuel this month. The $200 million plant from LanzaJet Inc. will be the first to turn ethanol into a fuel compatible with jet engines. The facility is one of many efforts around the globe attempting to crack one of the biggest problems facing greener air travel: finding and developing cleaner feedstocks that can generate enormous quantities of fuel without triggering ripple effects that end up worsening the climate and biodiversity crises. Progress ... Read more ... |
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Amazon CEO touts AI in annual shareholder letter - PHYS.ORG - Technology  (Apr 12) |
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Apr 12 · In his annual letter to shareholders, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy went back to 2003. Quoting from a "Vision document" that year for Amazon Web Services - the company's cloud computing division - Jassy said Amazon has always been focused on designing and offering "primitives," or the building blocks that other innovators need to make the next great thing. That philosophy is how Amazon built AWS, as well as how it sped up delivery for retail customers and how it decided to store and ship products for the third-party merchants that sell on Amazon's digital store, Jassy said. Other companies used those building blocks to launch their own services, Jassy continued, naming Airbnb, ... Read more ... |
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Making cement is very damaging for the climate. One solution is opening in California - PHYS.ORG - Technology  (Apr 12) |
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Apr 12 · Now one California startup has developed a technology that reduces carbon dioxide in the making of cement and could have the potential to operate at large scale. Fortera intercepts carbon dioxide exhaust from the kilns where cement is made and routes it back in to make additional cement. In its first effort at commercial scale, the technology is being added to a CalPortland facility in Redding, California, one of the largest cement plants in the western U.S. It opens Friday. "Our target is about being a ubiquitous solution that can work really at any plant," said Ryan Gilliam, Fortera CEO. Initially Fortera will produce enough to mix with about one-fifth of CalPortland's ... Read more ... |
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New open-source generative machine learning model simulates future energy-climate impacts - PHYS.ORG - Technology  (Apr 11) |
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Apr 11 · Energy system planners and operators need detailed, high-resolution data projected into the future to understand how climate change will impact wind and solar generation, electricity demand, and other weather-dependent energy variables. Available data show that climate change will likely increase energy demand, but there are very few high-resolution resources to quantify these impacts. "We envision a future where all or nearly all electricity demand is met by renewable energy sources," said Grant Buster, data scientist at the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). "We need to understand how renewable resources like wind or solar might be ... Read more ... |
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