01. Engineers develop a new kind of shape-memory material 02. Flexible solid electrolytes for all-solid-state lithium batteries 03. New light for shaping electron beams 04. Novel method helps quantify reversibility and irreversibility of practical Li metal batteries 05. POWER Aims to Create Revolutionary Power Distribution Network 06. Researchers develop ultra-strong aerogels with materials used in bullet-proof vests 07. Researchers fabricate miniaturized bionic ocean-battery 08. Researchers fabricate tiny multi-component beam shaper directly onto optical fiber 09 Researchers unveil mystery inside lithium oxygen batteries 10. Stretchy, bio-inspired synaptic transistor can enhance, weaken device memories And others… To Better Predict Extreme Precipitation, Scientists […]
To Better Predict Extreme Precipitation, Scientists Model Cloud Microphysics
EureakAlert October 5, 2022 Microphysics processes, which include the formation and breakup of liquid droplets and ice crystals, cannot be directly simulated in climate models because of their small spatial scales. Thus, models must simulate their net effect on clouds indirectly. A team of researchers in the US (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, UC Irvine) investigated multiple ways of doing this and examined the resultant effect on rainfall extremes. While feedbacks onto large-scale weather patterns are important globally as they were in CONUS, significant local effects manifest in the tropics. For instance, the more comprehensive (2-moment) microphysics scheme produces clouds associated […]
Coronavirus formation is successfully modeled
Phys.org October 3, 2022 Researchers at UC Riverside developed a model to explore the mechanisms of RNA condensation by structural proteins, protein oligomerization and cellular membrane–protein interactions that control the budding process and the ultimate virus structure. Using molecular dynamics simulations, they deciphered how the positively charged N proteins interact and condense the very long genomic RNA resulting in its packaging by a lipid envelope decorated with structural proteins inside a host cell. Considering the length of RNA and the size of the virus they found that the intrinsic curvature of M proteins is essential for virus budding. While most […]
Engineers develop a new kind of shape-memory material
MIT News October 5, 2022 Researchers at MIT used computational thermodynamics, phase transformation physics, crystallographic calculations, and machine learning to solve the problem of creating a material that can actuate without accumulating damage, thus making it possible for it to function reliably as a shape-memory material through many cycles of use resulting in a new variation of zirconia. They introduced some atoms of different elements into its structure in a way that altered some of its properties. The elements dissolved into the lattice, and they sculpt it, and changed that transformation, made it more gentle at the atomic scale. The […]
Flexible solid electrolytes for all-solid-state lithium batteries
Phys.org October 3, 2022 The thick electrolyte layer and rigid nature as well as poor interfacial contact of doped garnet-type solid electrolytes are obstacles for its application in all-solid-state lithium batteries. Through solvent-free procedure researchers in China developed an ultrathin flexible Li6.4La3Zr1.4Ta0.6O12- (LLZTO-) based solid electrolyte with 90 wt% LLZTO. The resulting film exhibited ultrahigh ionic conductance of 41.21 mS at 30°C, excellent oxidation stability of 4.6 V, superior thermal stability and nonflammability. The assembled Li||LiFePO4 pouch cell with integrated electrolyte/cathode interface exhibited excellent rate performances and cycle performances with a capacity retention of 71.4% from 153 mAh g-1 to 109.2 mAh g-1 at 0.1 C […]
New light for shaping electron beams
Science Daily September 29, 2022 An international team of researchers (Austria, Germany) shaped a laser pulse with a spatial light modulator which interacted with a counter-propagating, synchronized pulsed electron beam in a modified scanning electron microscope. This enabled imprinting on demand transverse phase shifts to the electron wave, enabling unprecedented control over electron beams. They demonstrated the potential of this innovative technology by creating convex and concave electron lenses and by generating complex electron intensity distributions. According to the researchers their experiments paved the way for wavefront shaping in pulsed electron microscopes with thousands of programmable pixels. In contrast to […]
Novel method helps quantify reversibility and irreversibility of practical Li metal batteries
Phys.org October 4, 2022 Accurate assessment of the reversibility of electrodes is crucial for battery performance evaluations. However, it is challenging to acquire the true reversibility of the Li anode in lithium-metal batteries, mainly because an excessive amount of Li is commonly used. An international team of researchers (China, USA – UC San Diego, University of Chicago) proposed an analytic approach to quantitatively evaluate the reversibility of practical lithium-metal batteries. They identified key parameters that govern the anode reversibility and subsequently established their relationship with the cycle number by considering the mass of active and inactive Li of the cycled […]
POWER Aims to Create Revolutionary Power Distribution Network
DARPA News October 5, 2022 DARPA is working on the next leap forward in energy distribution by leveraging wireless power beaming to create a dynamic, adaptive, speed of light wireless energy web. The goal of the Persistent Optical Wireless Energy Relay (POWER) program is to design and demonstrate airborne optical energy relays. These relays are a critical component necessary to allow ground-sourced lasers to be coupled with high-altitude, efficient long-range transmission. Additionally, such relays will enable future multi-path wireless energy networks. It is a three-phase development effort, culminating in a compelling energy relay flight demonstration. This is the internet for […]
Researchers develop ultra-strong aerogels with materials used in bullet-proof vests
Science Daily October 3, 2022 Researchers in Hong Kong have developed new type of polymer aerogel material involving self-assembled 3D networks of aramid nanofiber composites with high nodal connectivity and strong crosslinking between fibrils. Theoretical simulations of 3D networks revealed that these features at fibrillar joints may lead to an enhancement of macroscopic mechanical properties by orders of magnitude even with a constant level of solid content. They verified that polymeric aerogels achieved both high specific tensile modulus and fracture energy which are advantageous for diverse structural applications. According to the researchers the fabrication process is simple, the material can […]
Researchers fabricate miniaturized bionic ocean-battery
Phys.org September 30, 2022 Researchers in China fabricated a bio-solar cell consisting of a four-species microbial community by mimicking the ecological structure of marine microbial ecosystems. The four-species microbial community was assembled into a spatial-temporally compacted cell using conductive hydrogel as a sediment-like anaerobic matrix, forming a miniaturized bionic ocean-battery. The battery directly converts light into electricity with a maximum power of 380 μW. It stably operated for over one month. They demonstrated such ecological structure consisting of primary producer, primary degrader, and ultimate consumers is essential for achieving high power density and stability. According to the researchers the photoelectric conversion […]