Researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology have created a printable origami robot. It only weighs a third of
The post Origami robot – folds up by itself and moves without motors has been published on Technology Org.
Here on Earth, our days are predictable, with sunrise following sunset each day at regular intervals. The Sun rises in the east and sets in the west. But what if that wasn’t the case? What if the Sun set in the west one day and in the north the next?
Inhabitants of two of Pluto’s moons—Nix or Hydra—would not know when each day would begin and from which direction the Sun would rise. This is because, like two cosmic footballs, these moons are wobbling erratically as they travel through space. “Living on Nix, you literally would not know if the Sun was coming up tomorrow,” said Mark Showalter of the SETI Institute and co-author of a new study.
The Pluto system is unique in that it contains the only binary planet system in our solar system. Pluto and its largest moon Charon are what scientists refer to as a double-dwarf system. Pluto is currently classified as a dwarf planet; while Charon is technically labeled a moon, both bodies orbit the same point in space—a point that isn’t within the circumference of either body.
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Roger Steinforth has been through all the data from all the computer simulations. And he thinks adding wings
The post Cyclone Racing adds wings to formula racer, looks for quicker laps on track has been published on Technology Org.
Securing availability and access to critical raw materials constitutes a strategic objective for the EU political and economic agenda. Key EU industrial sectors such as construction, chemicals, automotive, aerospace and machinery provide a total added value of €1,324 billion and 30 million jobs and depend on access to critical raw materials. Rare earth elements are essential to industrial production, particularly for clean energy options such as wind turbines, solar cells, electric vehicles and energy-efficient lighting.
The scarcity of critical raw materials, together with their economic importance, makes it necessary to explore new avenues towards substitution in order to reduce the EU’s consumption and decrease the relative dependence upon imports. Recognizing the potential problems that resource scarcity poses for the industry in Europe, the European Commission is funding the project CRM_InnoNet to investigate substitutes of critical raw materials. As part of this project, Graphenea’s Business Development Director Iñigo Charola gave a talk at the conference “Substitution means evolution” on June 17th in Brussels.
Iñigo presented graphene as a potential substitute for the critical material indium, in particular focusing on the replacement of indium tin oxide (ITO) as a transparent conductor. Indium is on the list of EU’s top-20 critical raw materials.
Following the talk, Iñigo participated in a discussion panel where he answered some further questions, clarifying the potential of graphene as a replacement of some scarce materials. For example, Iñigo discussed the advantages of chemical vapour deposition (CVD) of graphene compared to most other graphene production methods, exemplified by the fact that CVD does not start from raw graphite ore but rather relies on widely available gases. CVD is fully compatible with mass production of large areas of high quality graphene for electronics and photonics. Also for the production of the popular graphene oxide, Graphenea uses synthetic graphite instead of the natural ore.
Graphene’s potential and uses in photonics, printed circuit boards and electronic components were also discussed. Most technology roadmaps predict large-scale mainstream use of graphene for these applications sometime between 2020 and 2030. Iñigo explained that graphene is already entering these markets through niche applications but also as a substitute, although price still needs to decrease and that is an important reason why we will have to wait another decade for graphene to be everywhere. Iñigo also mentioned the importance of standardization and legislation.
Finally, Graphenea’s Business Development Director assured us that graphene is not a critical material and we are not at risk of a shortage of graphene. We are looking forward to the continuation of the project CRM_InnoNet, which will map the route for replacement of critical materials, create a network of innovators and stakeholders, and prepare recommendations to relevant policymakers.
Variations in the amount of oxygen in Earth’s atmosphere significantly altered global climate throughout the planet’s history. Efforts
The post Variations in atmospheric oxygen levels shaped Earth’s climate through the ages has been published on Technology Org.
