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Category: energy – Page 223

Circa 2016

It is known that faster-than-light (FTL) transmission of energy could be achieved if the transmission were considered in the framework of non-relativistic classical mechanics. Here we show that FTL transmission of energy could also be achieved if the transmission were considered in the framework of non-relativistic quantum mechanics. In our transmission protocol a two-spin Heisenberg model is considered and the energy is transmitted by two successive local unitary operations on the initially entangled spins. Our protocol does not mean that FTL transmission can be achieved in reality when the theory of relativity is considered, but it shows that quantum entanglement can be used in a recyclable way in energy transmission.

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Ebikes may indeed require less pedalling effort than regular bicycles, but most still offer little in the way of cargo capacity or protection from the elements. The CityQ is designed to provide both, along with four-wheeled stability.

Created by Norwegian company CityQ AS, the vehicle is pedalled like a bike, with a 250-watt motor augmenting the rider’s pedalling power. However, the pedals aren’t directly linked to the drivetrain. Instead, the CityQ features what is simply described as “a software-managed drivetrain – like you find in electric cars.”

We’re still waiting to hear back about what that entails, although we suspect it may be something like the setup utilized in the Mando Footloose ebike – it uses an alternator to convert the rider’s pedalling power into electricity, which is stored in a battery that powers the motor.

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Chinese scientists have established the world’s first integrated quantum communication network, combining over 700 optical fibers on the ground with two ground-to-satellite links to achieve quantum key distribution over a total distance of 4600 kilometers for users across the country. The team, led by Jianwei Pan, Yuao Chen, Chengzhi Peng from the University of Science and Technology of China in Hefei, reported in Nature their latest advances towards the global, practical application of such a network for future communications.

Unlike conventional encryption, quantum communication is considered unhackable and therefore the future of secure information transfer for banks, power grids and other sectors. The core of quantum communication is quantum key distribution (QKD), which uses the quantum states of particles—e.g. photons—to form a string of zeros and ones, while any eavesdropping between the sender and the receiver will change this string or key and be noticed immediately. So far, the most common QKD technology uses optical fibers for transmissions over several hundred kilometers, with high stability but considerable channel loss. Another major QKD technology uses the free space between satellites and ground stations for thousand-kilometer-level transmissions. In 2016, China launched the world’s first quantum communication satellite (QUESS, or Mozi/Micius) and achieved QKD with two ground stations which are 2600 km apart.

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“Reverse osmosis membranes are widely used for cleaning water, but there’s still a lot we don’t know about them,” said in a statement Manish Kumar, an associate professor in the Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering at UT Austin, who co-led the research. “We couldn’t really say how water moves through them, so all the improvements over the past 40 years have essentially been done in the dark.”

The researchers discovered that the problem with desalination membranes was that they were inconsistent in density and mass distribution. By giving the membranes a uniform density at the nanoscale, they were able to improve their performance.

The researchers’ new membranes are 30% to 40% more efficient, requiring less energy to clean more water. Although more efficient than non-membrane desalination processes, reverse osmosis membranes still use plenty of energy, a problematic aspect the researchers are working on.

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“The process of creating methane-based fuel has been theorized before, initially by Elon Musk and Space X. It utilized a solar infrastructure to generate electricity, resulting in the electrolysis of carbon dioxide, which, when mixed with water from the ice found on Mars, produces methane. This process, known as the Sabatier process, is used on the International Space Station to produce breathable oxygen from water. One of the main issues with the Sabatier process is that it is a two-stage procedure requiring large faculties to operate efficiently. The method developed by Xin and his team will use anatomically dispersed zinc to act as a synthetic enzyme, catalyzing the carbon dioxide and initializing the process. This will require much less space and can efficiently produce methane using materials and under conditions similar to those found on the surface of Mars.”

Among the many challenges with a Mars voyage, one of the most pressing is: How can you get enough fuel for the spacecraft to fly back to Earth?

Houlin Xin, an assistant professor in physics & astronomy, may have found a solution.

He and his team have discovered a more efficient way of creating methane-based theoretically on the surface of Mars, which can make the return trip all more feasible.

Continue reading “Making methane on Mars” | >

Circa2016 photonic propulsion.

There’s no argument in the astronomical community—rocket-propelled spacecraft can take us only so far. The SLS will likely take us to Mars, and future rockets might be able to help us reach even more distant points in the solar system. But Voyager 1 only just left the solar system, and it was launched in 1977. The problem is clear: we cannot reach other stars with rocket fuel. We need something new.

“We will never reach even the nearest stars with our current propulsion technology in even 10 millennium,” writes Physics Professor Philip Lubin of the University of California Santa Barbara in a research paper titled A Roadmap to Interstellar Flight. “We have to radically rethink our strategy or give up our dreams of reaching the stars, or wait for technology that does not exist.”

Continue reading “Lasers Could Send a Spacecraft to Mars in As Little As 3 Days” | >