AUSTIN, Texas — A more efficient and environmentally friendly approach to extracting rare earth elements that power everything from electric vehicle
Category: transportation – Page 9
In extreme conditions, heat does not flow between materials—it bounces off
A new study published in Nature Communications shows, for the first time, how heat moves—or rather, doesn’t—between materials in a high-energy-density plasma state.
The work is expected to provide a better understanding of inertial confinement fusion experiments, which aim to reliably achieve fusion ignition on Earth using lasers. How heat flows between a hot plasma and a material’s surface is also important in other technologies, including semiconductor etching and vehicles that fly at hypersonic speeds.
High-energy-density plasmas are produced only at extreme pressures and temperatures. The study shows that interfacial thermal resistance, a phenomenon known to impede heat transfer in less extreme conditions, also prevents heat flow between different materials in a dense, super–hot plasma state.
World First: Engineers Train AI at Lightspeed
Breakthrough light-powered chip speeds up AI training and reduces energy consumption.
Engineers at Penn have developed the first programmable chip capable of training nonlinear neural networks using light—a major breakthrough that could significantly accelerate AI training, lower energy consumption, and potentially lead to fully light-powered computing systems.
Unlike conventional AI chips that rely on electricity, this new chip is photonic, meaning it performs calculations using beams of light. Published in Nature Photonics.
Stronger and safer: New design strategy for aluminum combines strength with hydrogen embrittlement resistance
Aluminum alloys are well-known for their low weight and corrosion resistance, making them ideal candidates for applications in a low-carbon economy—from lightweight automobiles to tanks for storing green hydrogen. However, their widespread application is limited by a key challenge: they suffer from embrittlement leading to cracking and failure when exposed to hydrogen. Until now, alloys resistant to hydrogen embrittlement were rather soft, limiting their application in hydrogen-related technologies that require high strength.
Now, researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Sustainable Materials (MPI-SusMat) in Germany, together with partners from China and Japan, have developed a new alloy design strategy that overcomes this dilemma. Their approach enables both exceptional strength and superior resistance to hydrogen embrittlement (HE), paving the way for safer and more efficient aluminum components in the hydrogen economy. They have published their results in the journal Nature.
Real-time magnetic structure tracking reveals oxygen redox in Li-rich cathode materials
Recently, a research team achieved real-time tracking of electronic/magnetic structure evolution in Li-rich Mn-based materials during the initial cycling through the self-developed operando magnetism characterization device.
Their study, published in Advanced Materials, elucidated the critical mechanism underlying the oxygen redox reaction. The research team was led by Prof. Zhao Bangchuan from the Institute of Solid State Physics, the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, in collaboration with Prof. Zhong Guohua from the Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology and Prof. Li Qiang from Qingdao University.
With the rise of electric vehicles and the low-altitude economy, the demand for high-energy-density batteries is growing. Li-rich Mn-based materials stand out due to their high capacity, wide voltage range, and cost-effectiveness.
A new shape for energy storage: Cone and disc carbon structures offer new pathways for sodium-ion batteries
As global demand for electric vehicles and renewable energy storage surges, so does the need for affordable and sustainable battery technologies. A new study has introduced an innovative solution that could impact electrochemical energy storage technologies.
The research is published in the journal Advanced Functional Materials. The work was led by researchers from the Department of Materials Science and NanoEngineering at Rice University, along with collaborators from Baylor University and the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Thiruvananthapuram.
Using an oil and gas industry’s byproduct, the team worked with uniquely shaped carbon materials —tiny cones and discs—with a pure graphitic structure. These unusual forms produced via scalable pyrolysis of hydrocarbons could help address a long-standing challenge for anodes in battery research: how to store energy with elements like sodium and potassium, which are far cheaper and more widely available than lithium.
Volonaut Airbike — Teaser — Your Flying Bike from the Future
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