Optics.org July 10, 2019 The UK’s Ministry of Defence plans to spend up to £130 million developing three new directed-energy weapons – including both laser and radio-frequency systems. The plan is to trial the technologies at sea and on-board army vehicles in 2023. Similar programs to the UK’s are already under way elsewhere and appear to be at a significantly more advanced stage in the US. Following earlier tests of a 30-kilowatt system on the USS Ponce, the USS Preble is now set to become the first US Navy destroyer to be equipped with a high-energy laser, with installation expected […]
Tag Archives: S&T UK
Spanish flu may have lingered two years before 1918 outbreak and vaccine could have treated it
Science Daily May 23, 2019 A team of researchers in the UK revisited the literature published in Europe and the United States, and the notes left by physicians who lived at the time. According to them the science of 2018 provides us with tools which did not exist at the time. Two such tools are ‘gain of function’ where a potential pandemic virus, such as influenza A (H5N1), can be deliberately mutated in the laboratory in order to change its virulence and spreadability. Key mutations can then be identified. A second tool lies in phylogenetics, combined with molecular clock analysis. […]
New method developed to detect and trace homemade bombs
Science Daily May 10, 2019 The new method for detecting trace amounts of explosives developed by researchers in the UK uses ion chromatography. The method is less time consuming. The technique can tell us so much more than just the explosives content. They have demonstrated that the technique detects thousands of different compounds simultaneously, which means there is an element of in-built future-proofing capability to detect new types of explosives if needed or provide critical information about where a device came from or who it belongs to. In particular, linearity for 19 targeted compounds yielded R2 > 0.99 across several orders of […]
A New ‘State’ of Matter Can Be Solid And Liquid at The Same Time
Science Alert April 9, 2019 Applying high pressures and temperatures to potassium creates a state in which most of the element’s atoms form a solid lattice structure. Researches in the UK used powerful computer simulations to observe this behaviour of around 20,000 potassium atoms under extreme conditions. When the pressure and temperature are high enough – around 2 to 4 Gigapascals – the potassium atoms arranged themselves in interlinked chains and lattices. The chemical interactions between the lattice atoms are strong, so they remain an ordered solid when a temperature between 400 and 800 Kelvin is applied. But meanwhile, the […]
Computer program developed to find ‘leakage’ in quantum computers
Science Daily March 19, 2019 Researchers in the UK used the dimension witnessing approach to show that in program making use of the permitted ‘single qubit’ instructions, unwanted states were being accessed in the transmon circuit components. Their quantum computer program detects the presence of ‘leakage’, where information being processed by a quantum computer escapes from the states of 0 and 1. Most quantum computing hardware platforms suffer from this issue. They verified experimental data from its application on a publicly accessible machine, which shows that undesirable states are affecting certain computations. Even a miniscule leakage accumulating over many millions […]
Research paves the way for next generation of optical tweezers
Phys.org March 14, 2019 Optical tweezers are used to study proteins, biological molecular motors, DNA and the inner life of cells – to hold objects as small as a single nanoparticle in one place. However, the high intensities of light required by optical tweezers can damage live biological specimens and restrict the types of objects that can be held. Researchers in the UK have developed optically trapped micro-rotors, which are placed in the liquid surrounding the particle, and used to manipulate its movement using fluid flow. As the micro-rotors are rotated, they create a wave in the liquid that exerts […]
Extreme space weather can wreak havoc on Earth—these tools help warn of the dangers ahead
Phys.org January 23, 2019 Researchers in the UK have developed a system to improve the reliability of systems that predict space weather events by measuring the solar wind from distances further away from Earth than previously possible. In a project called HELCATS, they used a satellite set up to monitor the Sun and Earth from a side view, known as STEREO, to gather data on CMEs (coronal mass ejections) and how they vary in speed, density, and direction throughout a solar cycle. The idea was to exploit the STEREO Heliospheric Imaging data, with observations of over 1000 CMEs from 2007 […]
Manhole Covers Serve as Antennas Expanding Wireless Network Coverage
IEEE Spectrum December 18, 2018 High-speed bandwidth, and the use of the millimeter wave spectrum needed for 5G networks barely propagate around the corners of buildings. To overcome this issue, the strategy has been a combination of small cells with massive MIMO antennas to increase coverage. To manage to get all these small cells dispersed throughout a city landscape, researchers in the UK propose using manhole covers as antennas for mobile communications. It eliminates traffic disruptions from street construction, and there are no antennas awkwardly placed on buildings, marring the appearance of a neighborhood. The manhole does not interfere with […]
Quantum ‘compass’ could allow navigation without relying on satellites
Phys.org November 9, 2918 At extremely low temperatures, the atoms behave in a ‘quantum’ way, acting like both matter and waves. As the atoms fall, their wave properties are affected by the acceleration of the vehicle. Using an ‘optical ruler’, the accelerometer is able to measure these minute changes very accurately. Making use of this phenomenon researchers in the UK have demonstrated a transportable, standalone quantum accelerometer. The current system is designed for navigation of large vehicles, such as ships and even trains. However, the principle can also be used for fundamental science research, such as in the search for […]
New composite material that can cool itself down under extreme temperatures
Science Daily October 26, 2018 Researchers in the UK used a network of multiple microchannels with active flowing fluids as a method and proof of concept to develop a thermally-functional material made of a synthetic polymer. Through modulating volumetric flow rates, they manipulated fluid-material interface for heat transport within a microfluidic platform. The material is enhanced with precise control measures that can switch conductive states to manage its own temperature in relationship to its environment. The research will result in an advanced material that can absorb high solar radiation, as the human body can do, to cool itself autonomously whatever […]