CROCUS researchers crossed Chicago’s Michigan Avenue as they collected data on how buildings, streets, and greenspaces impact temperature and air quality. (Image by Argonne National Laboratory.) Topics: Civilization, Climate Change, Environment, Global Warming, Thermodynamics CROCUS’s Urban Canyon campaign captured data on heat islands and air quality while also helping scientists understand how to conduct aContinue reading “Urban Climate Science…”
Category Archives: Thermodynamics
Wages of the Thermal Budget…
Topics: Applied Physics, Astrobiology, Astrophysics, Civilization, Climate Change, Existentialism, Exoplanets, SETI, Thermodynamics Well, this firmly puts a kink in the “Fermi Paradox.” The Industrial Revolution started in Britain around 1760 – 1840, and there was a colloquial saying that “the sun did not set on the British Empire.” The former colony, America, cranked up itsContinue reading “Wages of the Thermal Budget…”
Lasers and Plasma…
A researcher holds the scaffolding with tiny copper foils attached. These copper pieces will be struck with lasers, heating them to thousands of degrees Fahrenheit. Credit: Hiroshi Sawada Topics: Applied Physics, Lasers, Materials Science, Plasma, Radiation, Thermodynamics For the first time, researchers monitor the heat progression in laser-created plasma that occurs in only a fewContinue reading “Lasers and Plasma…”
Nano Over Nukes…
Heat trap The proposed nanoparticle warming method. (Courtesy: Aaron M. Geller, Northwestern Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics) Topics: Aerogels, Exoplanets, Mars, Materials Science, Nanomaterials, NASA, Planetary Science. Thermodynamics Suffice it to say, Mr. Musk’s nuking the Martian planet idea is impractical, and a nonstarter, but to show that he’s mature about it,Continue reading “Nano Over Nukes…”
Matrix…
(a) Schematics of the word INFORMATION is written on a material in binary code using magnetic recording. Red denotes magnetization pointing out of the plane and blue is magnetization pointing into the plane. (b)–(d) Time evolution of the digital magnetic recording information states simulated using micromagnetic Monte Carlo. (b) Initial random state. (c) INFORMATION isContinue reading “Matrix…”
Spongy Narks…
Scientists used samples from sclerosponges off the coast of Puerto Rico to calculate ocean surface temperatures going back 300 years. Douglas Rissing/iStockphoto/Getty Images Topics: Climate Change, Existentialism, Global Warming, Research, Thermodynamics CNN — Using sponges collected off the coast of Puerto Rico in the eastern Caribbean, scientists have calculated 300 years of ocean temperatures and concluded the world has already overshot one crucialContinue reading “Spongy Narks…”
Scandium and Superconductors…
Scandium is the only known elemental superconductor to have a critical temperature in the 30 K range. This phase diagram shows the superconducting transition temperature (Tc) and crystal structure versus pressure for scandium. The measured results on all the five samples studied show consistent trends. (Courtesy: Chinese Phys. Lett. 40 107403) Topics: Applied Physics, Chemistry, Condensed Matter Physics,Continue reading “Scandium and Superconductors…”
Cooling Circuitry…
Illustration of a UCLA-developed solid-state thermal transistor using an electric field to control heat movement. Credit: H-Lab/UCLA Topics: Applied Physics, Battery, Chemistry, Electrical Engineering, Energy, Thermodynamics A new thermal transistor can control heat as precisely as an electrical transistor can control electricity. From smartphones to supercomputers, electronics have a heat problem. Modern computer chips suffer from microscopicContinue reading “Cooling Circuitry…”
Bitcoin and Gaia…
“What are the environmental impacts of cryptocurrency?” Written by Paul Kim; edited by Jasmine Suarez Mar 17, 2022, 5:21 PM EDT, Business Insider. Image: Ethereum, the second biggest cryptocurrency on the market, plans on changing to proof of stake mining in the future. Rachel Mendelson/Insider Topics: Applied Physics, Computer Science, Cryptography, Economics, Environment, Star Trek,Continue reading “Bitcoin and Gaia…”
TEG…
The new self-powered thermoelectric generator device uses an ultra-broadband solar absorber (UBSA) to capture sunlight, which heats the generator. Simultaneously, another component called a planar radiative cooling emitter (RCE) cools part of the device by releasing heat. Credit: Haoyuan Cai, Jimei University. Topics: Alternate Energy, Battery, Chemistry, Energy, Materials Science, Thermodynamics Researchers have developed aContinue reading “TEG…”
Physics and Nano 