Category: Technology

They used a device called diamond anvil cell to apply 640-elephant equivalent pressure, combined with a twisting movement.
This generated regular and Lonsdaleite (formed at meteorite crash sites) diamonds in microscopic samples.
The technique might be able to create meaningful quantities of diamonds for industrial use, but it’s not quite there yet.

Bulleted by Michał Słupski
on November 20, 2020

It won’t power cars or heat homes, but it could be a great alternative for industrial usage.
Iron powder mixed with air burns down to solid rust that can be easily captured after burning, without any other byproducts.
Researchers in the Netherlands have been working on this for years, and they just installed an iron powder heating system at a local brewery.
The cool thing is that the rust remaining after burning can be turned back into iron to be burned again - but the best way to do it is still unclear.
Using iron powder for industrial fuel at scale is still far from reality, but it shows promise.

Bulleted by Michał Słupski
on November 20, 2020

A gram of this soil can extract ~3.5 grams of water from air, and 0.1 to 1 kilogram (depending on the crops) can provide enough water for 1 square meter of land.
The soil is infused with a super-moisture-absorbent gel, which releases water when heated.
During a 4-week experiment, the soil retained ~40% of the water it started with, compared to only 20% left after 1 week in normal sandy soil.
The creators have been working for over 2 years on “super sponge” gel-polymer hybrid materials that extract water from air and release it when heated by the sun.
This is just the first use of this technology, and it could potentially enable farmers to grow crops in areas where there’s no water.

Bulleted by Michał Słupski
on November 13, 2020

upv.es

New technology can, among other uses, produce hydrogen from water without emitting greenhouse gases, to be used industrially and for transportation.
Creators are studying other potential uses, including the ability to recharge batteries in seconds, or generate oxygen from space rocks for planet explorers.
The technology is based on an observation that some materials change properties in unusual ways when treated with microwaves compared to normal heating.
Microwaves accelerate electrons in ionic materials, triggering the release of oxygen molecules.
This technology could play a big role in the global mission to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to zero.

Bulleted by Michał Słupski
on November 13, 2020

New method, quicker and less energy-intensive compared to alternatives, can recover 97% of hydrogen from plastic within seconds.
Scientists cut up plastic into small pieces, mixed it with a catalyst of iron oxide and aluminium oxide, and blasted it with a 1000 watt microwave generator.
The leftover solid material was carbon nanotubes.
So far it was only tested in experiments with 300 grams of plastic, but larger experiments are being planned.

Bulleted by Michał Słupski
on October 16, 2020

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