The Cornish people are a Celtic people who have lived in Cornwall, England, for centuries. They have a distinct culture and language, and they have a strong sense of identity. Some people might say that the Cornish people are tribal, but this is a complex issue. Continue reading
Bradley Elliott, University of Westminster
As nightmares go, being trapped in a small box deep underwater is probably high on many peoples’ lists. But one US professor is doing this on purpose. Joe Dituri, a former US navy diver and expert in biomedical engineering has been living in a 55 square meter space 30 feet below the surface of the Florida Keys since March 1, and plans to stay for 100 days. If he manages this, he will break a record for most time spent in a habitat beneath the surface of the ocean.
Sara Imari Walker, Arizona State University
Over the short span of just 300 years, since the invention of modern physics, we have gained a deeper understanding of how our universe works on both small and large scales. Yet, physics is still very young and when it comes to using it to explain life, physicists struggle.
The clean hydrogen market is poised for growth, driven by decarbonization efforts and concerns around energy security. A number of ambitious targets and roadmaps are being set out by different governments and regions. Clean hydrogen can refer to a number of routes for producing hydrogen, but the primary among them are green and blue hydrogen. Blue hydrogen refers to hydrogen produced from natural gas or coal but with carbon emissions captured. Green hydrogen refers to the splitting of water via electrolyzers powered by renewable power sources. IDTechEx forecasts that the water electrolyzer market will grow to over US$120B by 2033. Continue reading
Researchers from the University of Birmingham, U.K., have designed a novel adaptation for existing iron and steel furnaces that could reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from the steelmaking industry by nearly 90%.
This radical reduction is achieved through a ‘closed loop’ carbon recycling system, which could replace 90% of the coke typically used in current blast furnace-basic oxygen furnace systems and produces oxygen as a biproduct. Continue reading
Melvin M. Vopson, University of Portsmouth
Physicists have long struggled to explain why the universe started out with conditions suitable for life to evolve. Why do the physical laws and constants take the very specific values that allow stars, planets and ultimately life to develop? The expansive force of the universe, dark energy, for example, is much weaker than theory suggests it should be – allowing matter to clump together rather than being ripped apart.
Manal Mohammed, University of Westminster
Two new omicron subvariants, BQ.1 and BQ.1.1, are quickly gaining traction in the US, collectively accounting for 27% of infections as of October 29. Both are descendants of BA.5, the omicron variant that has dominated around the world for some months.
Geopolitical turbulence and the fragile and volatile nature of the critical raw-material supply chain could curtail planned expansion in battery production—slowing mainstream electric-vehicle (EV) adoption and the transition to an electrified future. Continue reading
Thin film photovoltaics (PV) currently comprises a relatively small proportion of the total photovoltaics market yet offers extensive opportunities for applying solar power in new applications. The simplicity in design, the ease of manufacturing, and the cost-competitiveness with conventional silicon photovoltaics make it exceptionally well-suited to both high-volume manufacturing and regional manufacturing. The variety of thin film PV technologies, including perovskite, dye-sensitized, organic, cadmium telluride, and copper indium gallium selenide, and their potential for a wide selection of promising applications is assessed in IDTechEx’s latest report, “Thin Film Photovoltaics 2023-2033”. Continue reading
Robert Young, Lancaster University
The 2022 Nobel prize for physics has been awarded to a trio of scientists for pioneering experiments in quantum mechanics, the theory covering the micro-world of atoms and particles.