Measurements of the new material were conducted using the Echidna high-resolution powder diffractometer. ANSTO
New material could find applications in medical implants and aerospace components in advanced aircraft like that being developed by Raytheon
We are always dreaming to fly fast and safely to outer space with a new kind of energy without fossil combustion fuel and a ship that can resist very high temperatures.
We also know scientists are working a long time ago in electromagnetic fields and in nuclear fusion elements that can provide enough energy and gravity for ships to go beyond our space with unthinkable speeds, like the Element 115. (Video below)
Now Australian
researchers have created what may be one of the most thermally stable materials
ever discovered. This new zero thermal expansion (ZTE) material made of
scandium, aluminum, tungsten, and oxygen did not change in volume at
temperatures ranging from 4 to 1,400 Kelvin (-269 to 1126 °C, -452 to 2059 °F).
That's
a wider range of temperatures, say scientists from the University of New South
Wales (UNSW), than any other material, demonstrated to date, and it could make
orthorhombic Sc1.5Al0.5W3O12 , a very handy tool for
anyone engineering something that needs to work in extremely varied thermal
environments.
Examples
of where this might come in handy include things like aerospace design, where
components are exposed to extreme cold in space and extreme heat at launch or
on re-entry. Famously, the SR-71 Blackbird was designed to expand so much at it is Mach 3.4 top speed that it would liberally drizzle fuel on the runway at
ground temperatures; the fuel tanks wouldn't even fully seal until they heated
up. This new material stays exactly the same volume from close to absolute zero
all the way up to comfortably over the heat you'd expect to get on the wing of
a hypersonic aircraft traveling at Mach 5.
Or there are things like medical implants,
where the range of expected temperatures isn't so varied but even a small
amount of thermal expansion can cause critical issues.
The UNSW team made the
discovery more or less by accident: "We were conducting experiments with
these materials in association with our batteries-based research, for unrelated
purposes, and fortuitously came across this singular property of this
particular composition" says Associate Professor Neeraj Sharma.
After measuring the
material using the Echidna high-resolution powder diffractometer at ANSTO's
Australian Synchrotron and the Australian Centre for Neutron Scattering, the team found an incredible degree of thermal stability. At the molecular level,
materials usually expand because an increase in temperature leads directly to
an increase in the length of the atomic bonds between elements. Sometimes it
also causes atoms to rotate, resulting in more spacious structures that affect
the overall volume.
Not with
this stuff, which the team observed across that huge temperature spectrum
demonstrating "only minute changes to the bonds, the position of oxygen atoms
and rotations of the atom arrangements." The team says the exact mechanism
behind this extreme thermal stability isn't totally clear, but that perhaps
bond lengths, angles, and oxygen atom positions are changing in concert with one
another to preserve the overall volume.
"Which
part's acting at which temperature, well, that's the next question," says
Sharma, who adds, “the scandium is rarer and more costly, but we are
experimenting with other elements that might be substituted, and the stability
retained,”
The other
ingredients, however, are widely available, and bond together using a
"relatively simple synthesis," so the team believes this material
should present no impediments to large-scale manufacturing.
The paper
is available at the journal Chemistry of Materials, and the video below provides an overview of the material.
Some Windows 11 screenshots have been leaked. Microsoft is holding a special Windows event to reveal its next OS on June 24th. The event starts at 11AM ET, and the event invite includes a window that creates a shadow with an outline that looks like the number 11.
One company claims to have created an internal combustion engine that uses hydrogen as fuel instead of gasoline. They claim that their engine does not pollute, is cheaper to manufacture, maintain and operate than hydrogen cells and also weighs only 10 kilograms. It sounds like science fiction but the company that invented it claims that it is real and can radically change the electric vehicle industry.
The Aquarius Engine, they say, has been successfully tested by a third party, the Austrian engine company AVL-Schrick. According to these tests, they assert, their new internal combustion engine can operate exclusively with hydrogen without problems.
The engine is based on the design of a similar internal combustion engine that they created in 2014. That engine runs on gasoline and, according to its inventors, is also in testing. Recently, they say, they have opened offices in Tokyo to make them with Japanese companies TPR and Musashi Seimitsu, a Honda affiliate.
How does it work?
The Aquarius Engine is a linear combustion engine, with a single-piston and a single cylinder. In itself, this design is a radical departure from traditional internal combustion engines whose fundamental mechanism has not changed in decades.
The result, as you can see in the video below these lines, is an extremely simple engine compared to a traditional internal combustion engine. Here there is only one piston that moves on a single axis, alternating the fuel inlet from one side of the piston to the other.
The result is a motor with only 20 fixed parts and a single moving part. By comparison, a traditional engine has hundreds of parts. According to Aquarius Engines, this extreme simplicity results in a much lower manufacturing cost, as well as greater efficiency and ease of maintenance that a traditional engine cannot compete with.
With each movement of the piston, the shaft moves and interacts with magnetic coils at each end of the motor. This is what generates the electricity that powers the car's batteries. The version just announced, the company says, has a similar mechanical structure, but using hydrogen as fuel instead of gasoline.
When will it arrive?
The result, Aquarius Engines argues, is an engine that does not pollute at all. The idea is to integrate these motors to charge the batteries from which the motor of an electric car is powered.
According to the company, it is much simpler, more efficient, and cheaper to manufacture than a hydrogen cell. However, they do not give an estimated price or comparative data to support this claim.
Their power seems to be 16kW, although they claim to have an 80kW solution. At 16kW it would be enough to extend the range of an electric car significantly, reducing the size and weight of the batteries. And with it, the global cost of electric cars. But again, there is no technical data published about it.
Hopefully, all of this isn't bluffing, and that we really are looking at a machine that can help accelerate the adoption of EVs and reduce their toxic footprint at the same time.
On June 24ht, 2021, Microsoft is going to hold an event to see what is next for Windows.
Speculations around the web are saying the WINDOWS 11 is coming
However, the real thing as Microsoft said it is going to be the biggest update in a decade.
Satya Nadella, Microsoft CEO said, “Across all the opportunities I’ve highlighted today, Windows is implicit. It’s never been more important. Windows 10 is used by more than 1.3 billion people to work, learn, connect, and play. And it all starts with Windows as a dev box. windows bring together all of your developer and collaboration tools in one place. It lets you choose the hardware you want, works with Linux and Windows as one, and has a modern Terminal. And soon we will share one of the most significant updates to Windows of the past decade to unlock greater economic opportunity for developers and creators. I’ve been self-hosting it over the past several months, and I’m incredibly excited about the next generation of Windows.”
Samsung Electronics will introduce new models priced under $350 as early as this month.
The Galaxy Book Go and the Galaxy Book Go 5G are the newest additions to the tech giant’s notebook lineup powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon compute platforms.
The latest Galaxy Book Go 5G features the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 2 5G platform, while the LTE version adopts the Qualcomm Snapdragon 7c Gen 2 system.
The company’s PC series boasts a 14-inch display and is foldable, and runs on Microsoft Windows 10.
The Galaxy Book Go series also supports multitasking qualities, allowing users to call and send text messages to others via laptop as the stay-at-home lifestyle persists. The “Quick Share” feature, for example, allows Galaxy users to exchange and convey pictures and files freely among themselves.
According to Samsung, the Galaxy Book Go Wi-Fi version and the LTE model will be launched this month in select markets, starting from $349. The 5G variant model will be available to customers in the latter half of this year, the company added.
With two
agencies in Quito and Guayaquil, Opel has entered the Ecuador market this month
as part of the expansion plan that the German brand has in Latin America.
Opel's
landing is carried out by the Nexumcorp corporation, a group that obtained
representation for Ecuadorian territory and which it had been seeking since
2019. This firm also represents other brands, such as Peugeot and Changan.
The company
has made an initial investment of around $ 3 million to start the
commercialization of vehicles. Until 2023, the firm's plan is to have six
agencies, according to Marcelo Gárate, manager of dealerships.
For this
first year of introduction, Opel plans to sell 500 units in Ecuador, a market
that after a complex year marked by the pandemic is showing signs of recovery.
Esteban
Vergara, distribution manager, says that the five-year goal is to place 3,000
units and be among the five European brands with the highest sales volume.
Opel
belonged to General Motors for decades, but was not marketed in some markets
due to the company's strategy. For this reason, some Opel models, such as the
Corsa, were sold in Ecuador under the Chevrolet brand.
The German
brand was bought by PSA in 2017, and is currently part of the Stellantis Group,
which has designed a plan to expand in Latin America.
Within this
initial plan, Opel has entered Ecuador with five models: Corsa, Crossland,
Grandland X, Combo and Vivaro. Prices range from $ 19,990 to $ 38,490.
Models are
imported from Europe. Nexumcorp hopes to take advantage of the advantages
offered by the agreement with the European Union to offer competitive prices.
Along with
the introduction in Ecuador, Opel began to compete in Colombia and Uruguay in
the first half of 2021.
Bill Mont,
Opel's director of international operations, maintains that they are working
with importing partners so that the brand can reach other markets.
"International growth is a key focus for the brand," he says.