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New Insulation Material Enables More Efficient Electricity Distribution

Lead image: The basis of the new material is polyethylene, which is already used for insulation in existing HVDC cables. Now, by adding very small amounts – 5 parts per million – of the conjugated polymer known as poly(3-hexylthiophene), the researchers were able to lower the electrical conductivity by up to three times. Credit: Yen Strandqvist/Chalmers University of Technology High-voltage direct current cables which can efficiently transport electricity over long distances play a vital role in our electricity supply. Optimizing their performance is therefore an important challenge. With that aim in mind, scientists from Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, present…

Photonic Chip Breakthrough Opens a Path Toward Quantum Computing in Real-World Conditions

Quantum Computing Platform Accelerates Transition from Bulk Optics to Integrated Photonics on a Silicon Chip Smaller Than a Penny The quantum computing market is projected to reach $65 billion by 2030, a hot topic for investors and scientists alike because of its potential to solve incomprehensibly complex problems. Drug discovery is one example. To understand drug interactions, a pharmaceutical company might want to simulate the interaction of two molecules. The challenge is that each molecule is composed of a few hundred atoms, and scientists must model all the ways in which these atoms might array themselves when their respective molecules…

Scientists Discover New Crystal That Exhibits Exotic Form of Magnetism

This ain’t your grandma’s fridge magnet. It’s much, much more! An exotic form of magnetism has been discovered and linked to an equally exotic type of electrons, according to scientists who analyzed a new crystal in which they appear at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The magnetism is created and protected by the crystal’s unique electronic structure, offering a mechanism that might be exploited for fast, robust information storage devices. The newly invented material has an unusual structure that conducts electricity but makes the flowing electrons behave as massless particles, whose magnetism is linked to the direction…

Coral skeletons crafted from 3D-printed calcium carbonate could restore damaged reefs

Coral Carbonate is a research project that involves 3D printing with calcium carbonate to create sustainable underwater “houses” for coral reefs and marine life to grow. Developed by US design workshop Objects and Ideograms, the project is intended to facilitate the restoration of coral reefs – one of the most vulnerable ecosystems on Earth. The 3D-printed Coral Carbonate objects have cylindrical bodies with porous, rocky surfaces. These are modelled on the form of natural coral skeletons, which are also made from calcium carbonate and act as the foundations of all coral reef structures. Like coral skeletons, these units encourage the…

SpaceX’s latest drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas returns to port after landing it’s first rocket at sea

Lead image: SpaceX’s drone ship “A Shortfall of Gravitas” returns to port on Aug. 31, 2021, after its first successful Falcon 9 rocket landing. (Image credit: Amy Thompson/Space.com) SpaceX‘s newest drone ship, “A Shortfall of Gravitas” (ASOG) arrived in port Tuesday (Aug. 31) with its first catch secured to its deck. The booster, dubbed B1061 by SpaceX, launched just two days prior, carrying a cargo Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS) for NASA. The massive ship is the newest in SpaceX’s trio of drone ships, which are designed to serve as floating landing platforms for the company’s rockets…