Lifeboat Foundation

Scientists mapping out the quantum characteristics of superconductors—materials that conduct electricity with no energy loss—have entered a new regime. Using newly connected tools named OASIS at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory, they’ve uncovered previously inaccessible details of the “phase diagram” of one of the most commonly studied “high-temperature” superconductors. The newly mapped data includes signals of what happens when superconductivity vanishes.

[Editor’s Note: Mad Scientist Laboratory is pleased to publish the following post by returning guest blogger and proclaimed Mad Scientist Ms. Marie Murphy, addressing Directed Energy Weapon (DEW) applications in space, and their potential impact on Multi-Domain Operations (MDO) in the Future Operational Environment.]

The image of the “space war” is ubiquitous from popular Cold War and contemporary renderings: fast attack fighters equipped with laser cannons, swooping in to engage the enemy fleet in an outer space dogfight, culminating with the cataclysmic explosion of the enemy’s dreadnought. The use of directed energy in this scenario, while making for good entertainment, is a far cry from the practical applications of directed energy in space out to 2050. Taking a step back from the thrilling future possibilities of space combat, it is important to note that it is not a question of when lasers will be put into space — they already have been. What is uncertain is the speed at which lasers and other forms of directed energy will be weaponized, and when these capabilities will be used to extend conflict into the physical domain of low-earth orbit and outer space.

Since 2003, NASA has used a laser mounted on a satellite to measure ice sheets and conduct other environmental studies and mapping. This mission involved the constant emission of a green laser, split into six beams, reflecting off polar ice and returning photons to the satellite. NASA is presently exploring the use of lasers for communications, a technology with abundant military applications. One such program, undertaken jointly by NASA and private industry, is the use of optical, or laser, communications between space assets and ground stations on Earth. These optical transmissions have the benefit of allowing the communication.

Continue reading “The Final Frontier: Directed Energy Applications in Outer Space” »

Physicists at The University of Toledo are part of an international team of scientists who discovered a single material that produces white light, opening the door for a new frontier in lighting, which accounts for one-fifth of global energy consumption.

“Due to its high efficiency, this new material can potentially replace the current phosphors used in LED lights — eliminating the blue-tinged hue — and save energy,” said Dr. Yanfa Yan, professor of physics at UT. “More research needs to be done before it can be applied to consumer products, but the ability to reduce the power that bulbs consume and improve the color quality of light that the bulbs emit is a positive step to making the future more environmentally friendly.”

The renewable energy research was recently published in Nature, the world’s leading multidisciplinary science journal.

Fuel is heavy. And when launching a satellite into space, the amount of fuel you give it determines how long it can stay operational. That is, unless you can refuel at a space gas station.

The news: Startup Orbit Fab is scheduled to launch an experiment to the International Space Station on board a SpaceX Dragon cargo mission tomorrow at 1:38pm EST. Its goal is to test the company’s method of fluid transfer in space. It’ll be launched alongside other scientific experiments to be performed by astronauts on board the station in collaboration with the ISS US National Lab.

The challenge: Refueling and repairing satellites in space requires some expert wrangling, as well as well as the launch of large quantities and types of fuel into orbit. Also, pumping new fuel into a satellite doesn’t work in microgravity the way it does on Earth. Fluids are harder to measure and float around their tanks unpredictably.

Continue reading “A startup is about to test a ‘gas station in space’ that could one day refuel satellites” »

U.K. researchers say a new exhaust system brings practical fusion power one step closer.

(CNN) — More than 1,000 aftershocks of magnitude 1.5 or greater have shaken Alaska since Friday’s big quake knocked out power, ripped open roads and splintered buildings in Anchorage, US Geological Survey geophysicist Randy Baldwin said Sunday.

The majority were of a magnitude of 2.5 or weaker, meaning they weren’t likely felt. But more than 350 of the aftershocks were higher than 2.5, according to USGS data.

Continue reading “Alaska hit by more than 230 small earthquakes since Friday” »

The technology needed for mining water ice on the moon and converting it into fuel is pretty straight forward. Various groups are already making the actual needed hardware. Paragon Space Development and Giner are already making key pieces of what is needed. If we are making large amounts of fuel on the moon then we are massively lowering the cost of all missions in space. The cost of anything from higher earth orbit and beyond becomes several times cheaper.

After the D-day invasion, the Allies made a temporary port. We need to move beyond thinking science missions to working on logistics and supply chains.

If classic monster movies and old science experiments are to be believed, life begins with a spark.

Not everybody is convinced by this kind of origin story, so the search continues for sources of energy capable of transforming a prebiotic soup into a life-generating dish. Maybe the secret ingredient isn’t anything more shocking than a pinch of salt.

A new study led by researchers from the Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI) at Tokyo Institute of Technology in Japan has turned their attention to common old sodium chloride as a potential conduit for the chemical energy required for early biochemistry.

Continue reading “Life on Earth Could Have Started Thanks to a Simple Ingredient We Use Every Day” »

QUT chemistry researchers have discovered cheaper and more efficient materials for producing hydrogen for the storage of renewable energy that could replace current water-splitting catalysts.

Professor Anthony O’Mullane said the potential for the chemical storage of renewable energy in the form of hydrogen was being investigated around the world.

Continue reading “New catalyst material produces abundant cheap hydrogen” »