The Elements of Innovation Discovered
The Elements of Innovation Discovered
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ISS researchers mix together simulated lunar soil, cement, and water to determine microgravity effects. As NASA eyes the Moon for future habitation, an astronaut aboard the International Space Station is already busy mixing the cement, unraveling the mysteries of its hardening process in microgravity. This critical step could determine how we build resilient structures on the Moon and Mars, inching us closer to a permanent human outpost beyond Earth. Building a permanent...
Decades-old theory proved possible as QuTech's "somersaulting" spin qubits simplify control, paving way for scalable quantum computing. Researchers at QuTech have taken a giant leap in quantum computing with the development of "somersaulting" spin qubits, an innovation that simplifies and enhances control of this advanced technology and marks a breakthrough that could revolutionize the construction of powerful quantum processors. Quantum computing, unlike classical computing,...
Pulsar's timely discovery of a massive helium deposit in Minnesota may keep our medical scanners, rockets, and nuclear reactors going. Despite being the second most abundant gas in the universe, there is a definite helium shortage in America, risking the operation of everything from medical diagnostics to cooling nuclear reactors. But the U.S. might finally be in luck – a recently discovered reservoir in Minnesota boasts concentrations pushing 13.8%, the highest the i...
Japanese researchers unveil platinum electrode enhancement for producing clean hydrogen. Imagine a world where clean energy is not just a dream but a reality. Researchers at Chiba University have taken one step closer by cracking the code on platinum electrodes that are vital to hydrogen fuel cells and electrolysis. With subtle changes to the way these electrodes interact with water, they've discovered a game-changing method to boost both efficiency and durability – a small t...
Canada's Global Innovation Cluster for digital technologies invests C$3.5 million in surgical mining of high-grade deposits. Mining tech start-up Novamera has received a $2.6 million (C$3.5 million) investment from Canadian technologies accelerator DIGITAL to advance a technology to surgically mine metals from high-grade deposits that have been overlooked because they are uneconomic with conventional mining technologies due to their size and shape. Many high-grade narrow vein...
A novel light-based method enhances PbS quantum dot solar cells, promising cheaper and more efficient renewable energy. South Korean scientists have discovered a new method to enhance the efficiency of lead-sulfide (PbS) quantum dot solar cells. By using rapid bursts of specialized light instead of prolonged heating, they have found a way to produce cheaper and more effective solar power. At present, the fabrication of PbS solar cells requires a lengthy heat treatment process....
Uses quantum mechanics to discover how light makes thin gold films glow. In a groundbreaking study, researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) have revealed the quantum secrets behind how light makes thin gold films glow. This discovery, solving a decades-old puzzle, could transform how we make solar fuels and batteries. Luminescence, the process where substances emit photons when exposed to light, has long been observed in semiconductor...
Trucks send seismic waves beneath cities to explore the terrain for oil, gas, faults and geothermal. In 2017, two fleets of massive trucks crossed from Long Beach into Orange County in southern California, sending literal shock waves through the streets. And now, in Germany, they're going to be at it again. The vehicle used to create these vibrations is a seismic vibrator truck or thumper. These trucks use a large weight to thump the ground's surface while sophisticated...
Rio Tinto invests in tech startups, partners with Founders Factory to help establish Western Australia as Silicon Valley of mining tech. Global mining company Rio Tinto has teamed up with world-leading venture studio and start-up investor Founders Factory to help establish the city of Perth on Australia's west coast as the Silicon Valley of mining technologies. As the capital of Western Australia, one of the most productive and diversified mining regions in the world, Perth...
New material bridges anti-gravity tech and super-sensitive instruments. Flying cars and personal jetpacks notwithstanding, a new carbon-based material is bringing us closer to stable levitation technologies with no need for mechanical or electrical assists. Today's levitation uses electrically manipulated magnetic fields, superconductors or diamagnetic (magnetically repelled) materials to float above magnets. The primary use for this is in developing super-sensitive...
Space Agency finds costs and timeframe of previous plan too high, seeks public and private sector innovation to get samples to Earth. In response to Perseverance's successful sample collection efforts, a discussion on returning these samples of Martian geology and potential signs of life back to Earth has been revisited. During a teleconference held early this morning, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration outlined its recommendations regarding a path forward for t...
In a discovery that is approaching an "alchemist's dream", a team of scientists from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne and Tokyo Tech has transformed glass into a light-powered semiconductor that could be the window into future clean energy generation. Interested in the behavior of atoms in tellurite glass when exposed to ultrafast bursts of high-energy laser light, the researchers were surprised that a short burst of energy over one femtosecond, or one quadri...
Begins study to develop first railroad network on the Moon for future extraterrestrial habitation. Invoking a time when Americans began voyaging across the continent in steam-powered engines, Northrop Grumman Corp. has been selected by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to further develop the concept of building a Moon-based railroad network. As part of a broader 10-year Lunar Architecture (LunA-10) Capability Study, this envisioned lunar railroad network would be...
Ames Lab scientists confirm the first ever unconventional superconductor found in nature. Scientists at the Ames National Laboratory in Iowa have made a world's first discovery – a naturally occurring mineral with superconducting properties similar to the high-temperature superconductors that could revolutionize energy, transportation, and electronics. Superconductive materials can conduct electricity without energy loss. Scientists have already created superconductors in the...
Startup sets new standard for orbital industry with scalable, modular thrusters that come with a suite of support tech for seamless operation. Supporting the dreams of countless space-venturing hopefuls, like its namesake, Morpheus Space Inc. has unveiled a potentially game-changing liquid metal ion propulsion system that they believe will chart a path to the stars for smaller companies and organizations to explore the infinite possibilities of endless space. As orbital capabi...
Trapping qubits inside diamonds, MIT researchers create memory nodes that may unlock quantum computing realm. Quantum computers have the potential to carry out calculations millions of times faster than today's most advanced supercomputers, but this game-changing computing power has yet to be realized due to the fragile nature of qubits, the quantum realm equivalent of the bits that store and transfer data in today's computers. Diamonds, however, could provide the armor that p...
Gallium is a key ingredient of this self-healing and pliable circuit for next-generation wearables, other smart devices. Flexibility, durability, and efficiency are some of the key functions scientists are trying to narrow down for wearable tech, soft robotics, or smart devices. In comparison, there have been numerous advances in this field, but the recipe for something as pervasive as the cellphone has yet to meet the mark. That may change with a novel liquid metal circuit de...
First-ever space habitat tech, experiment gives more than researchers expected. Not too dissimilar from Man's first Moon landing with a computer that by today's standards TI-83 calculators could overpower, when the first astronauts land on Mars, they will most likely equivocate today's microwave oven-sized device for the air they breathe and the rocket propellant that gets them home as some clunky technology future generations will be amazed could accomplish what it did. But...
Joint development agreement for research into quantum dots for solar modules. Looking to evolve its already impressive proprietary cadmium-telluride thin-film solar technology, First Solar Inc. has partnered with UbiQD Inc., a New Mexico-based nanotechnology company, to explore the possibilities of incorporating quantum dot technology into a next-gen solar system. In its simplest form, a quantum dot is a man-made nanoscale crystal that can conduct electricity, consisting of a...
Common cement and carbon black pave the way for a foundational tech for efficient future energy storage. Channeling the power of the ancients, a team at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology announced they have developed a supercapacitor from two of humanity's most ubiquitous historical materials – cement and carbon black. Possibly the foundation of a novel, low-cost energy storage system, according to a new study, this technology could facilitate the use of renewable e...
Possible Nobel Prize-winning invention has the wider science community in a frenzy; initial claims shrouded with skepticism. If you follow any kind of cutting-edge, pioneering, and borderline science fiction-level technology news, you may have come across LK-99. What had started as a likely dubious claim by more doubtful researchers has become a veritable online race for a room-temperature superconductor that, by the apparent furious attempts to replicate the claims, lends...
Flexible technologies are emerging, from foldable smartphones to freeform public information displays, and Chinese researchers have made a discovery that could elevate this technology to the next level. The high electrical conductivity and flexibility of liquid metals are the keys to this technology, with potential applications in wearable sensors, actuators, smart switches, printable circuitry for robotics, and technologies that not only move but stretch, such as...
In an effort to curb global warming, Purdue University researchers developed a cool solution – paint. But not just any paint, with what they believe to be the closest opposite of the blackest black, this ultra-white paint can not only repel heat but cool down the interior of the surface it is painted on. In September 2021, the Purdue team created an ultra-white paint that earned the Guinness World Record for an unintended side effect to reducing global warming, creating the w...
Taking inspiration from one of nature's most adaptive creatures, researchers from ACS Nano have explored the transformative qualities of squid skin to create a soft film that can regulate its transparency across a large range of wavelengths – visible, infrared, and microwave – all at the same time. The skin of squid and other cephalopods have unique cells that can reversibly change their shape and appearance to mimic their surroundings, giving them an almost imperceptible ext...
2-year-old discovery offers breakthrough in thermoelectric sustainability. Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and collaboration with the University of Colorado, have created a novel method using gallium nitride that could drastically increase the conversion of heat into electricity. If perfected, this technology could help recoup some of the roughly $100 billion of heat energy lost in the U.S. each year, according to NIST. The new...
