All these advances would make me nervous if I was planning on investing millions to build the current version of solar cells or car batteries. Feels like new tech is going to make lithium batteries and silicon cells obsolete in the next 1 - 3 years.
I can imagine wearable solar tech in the next decade. Charge your tech off of your shirt Better yet charge your tech off of the motion of your body. I typed it out and decided to Google it. They are already doing it https://www.universal-sci.com/article/textile-capable-of-charging-electronics-using-body-movement
https://phys.org/news/2023-06-buckle-class-materials.html Buckle up: A new class of materials is here
Great, we will have people getting fatter and fatter to get even more thigh friction when they walk just to charge their ear implanted cellular receiver. Can't wait.
They need to solve the noise issue of the blades first. Imagine hundreds if not thousands of cars whizzing around and all making noise through the blades.
I think that this area is fascinating, but from a practical engineering stand point, I would have to see it to believe. Not the concept, because clearly it worked, but reliability of any final product would be interesting to investigate. We would likely be 10 or more years away from process optimization, reliability characterization and finally product development, but we have to start somewhere.
I know a fishing guide that put these on his boat and he said he increased his fuel miileage from 1.8 mpg to 2.4 mpg. More than the 20% noted in this article. Still very expensive for boats but they work well to reduce drone noise too Only a matter of time before these are on airplanes Toroidal propellers: A noise-killing game changer in air and water These strangely-shaped twisted-toroid propellers look like a revolutionary (sorry) advance for the aviation and marine sectors. Radically quieter than traditional propellers in both air and water, they're also showing some huge efficiency gains. Propellers are designed to take a fluid, generally air or water, and use a rotating motion to push that fluid through. They're evolutions, in a sense, from the Archimedes' screw, which was likely used in ancient Egypt thousands of years before it was described by Archimedes in 234 BCE
First saw them on 60 minutes special on drone services delivering blood and other medical devices in Africa. Not sure how sensitive the mics were but they were 30' or so from drones landing with no noticeable noise
Scientists discover 'magical' material that's stronger than steel and lighter than aluminum — and its potential is dizzying
these materials advances are going to change the world. Materials, along with computing, energy, and medical, all seem to be on the precipice of massive revolution over the next decade.
I love how this thread has evolved. It’s starting to kinda become the place for “New Science”, in general.
China has succesfully deployed a floating platform that used wind and solar energy to convert seawater directly to hydrogen with 99.9% purity without having to desal it first. Big step to truly green hydrogen. Only a 10 day run but an impressive proof of concept How a floating hydrogen farm has moved China closer to clean renewable energy (msn.com) “It successfully completed a 10-day continuous operation during its inaugural run in May, marking a promising start to the prospect of offshore hydrogen production powered by renewable energy,” state news agency Xinhua reported on June 3. The 63 square metre (678 sq ft) platform combines a hydrogen production system with a stable offshore wind power supply system. By combining the two components, the researchers created an environmentally friendly floating farm that electrolyses seawater into hydrogen without creating undesirable side effects or pollution. ................................................................................... Moreover, with no need for desalination, the platform offers a cost-effective alternative to current industrial production. The technology costs as little as 11.2 yuan (US$1.57) per kilogram (2.2 pounds) of hydrogen – much less than the current mainstream cost of hydrogen production from natural gas, which ranges from 20 to 24 yuan per kilogram. Xie said the team would now look to upscale their achievement. “We have successfully integrated offshore renewable energy and achieved desalination-free electrolysis of seawater in the real and complex ocean. Our team plans to develop a more efficient hydrogen production system that can withstand interference, and promote its industrialisation with global companies,” Xie said.
you would think they could scale this up to the size of current oil rigs. Which would allow the use of multiple energy solutions. (wind, solar, tidal/wave)
Right, I think people who haven't followed scientific development for a long time tend to get a bit too excited about all the new research findings. The truth is that 99% of these lab advances never make it to market. The few that do often take decades. True revolutionary tech is exceedingly rare. These days I really only pay attention to tech that are either about to enter production or have a clear pathway to do so and is backed by deep pockets to continue on the pathway.
Materials science is truly a foundational science, its advances are in fact what will enable advances in computing, energy, and medical. We need to continue to invest in our basic research in material sciences to maintain our tech lead.
Would be nice to see a second phase where the plant partners with local fuel stations to set up a hydrogen fueling network. Turn Hillsborough into a hydrogen car hub and experiment.
Article is long on words and short on info. Will they be using limited groundwater for this? Building solar for power? What tax breaks? Glad to see hydrogen but the cheapest, greenest hydrogen is going to come from extraction directly from seawater using solar/wind to do it.
