Science

A ship powered by ABB's Dynafins is expected to be feasible by 2026. A study conducted by ABB together with Ritz Carlton revealed that the propulsion system, which is modeled on the animal kingdom, requires up to 20% less energy a...

All problems would be eliminated in one fell swoop: A newly developed battery technology uses the cheap and widely available sodium, has a practicable energy density and charges with almost no waiting time.

Tiny devices such as contact and temperature sensors or for weather measurement and automation are spreading rapidly. The power supply requires cables or batteries, which a new type of energy cell could change.

With 1.15 billion neurons, the Intel Hala Point is the world's largest neuromorphic system. Taking advantage of the Loihi 2 processor and deployed at Sandia National Laboratories, this system's capacity is similar to that of an ow...

HD Atlas has been retired. But Boston Dynamics is sending a completely new Atlas onto the test field without further ado. It no longer "bleeds" hydraulic fluid and is intended to help Hyundai with its cars.

It is the perfect demonstration of extremely lightweight solar modules with gigantic energy density: a multicopter is fitted with only solar cells, which then supply enough power for the small aircraft to take off as usual.

Can robots bleed? Yes, one could be forgiven for thinking so when watching Boston Dynamics' new farewell video of HD Atlas. Viewers could also be forgiven for also feeling pain upon seeing the many trips, stumbles and falls.

It's about lithium-ion batteries in smartphones and notebooks. A simple change to the charging protocol doubles the possible charging cycles. However, the path to this realization proved difficult.

Solar cells in orbit could permanently supply huge amounts of electricity around the clock, regardless of the weather and without using up land surface. Now it's all about the technical realization and financial feasibility of ele...

It will be the size of a three-room apartment, fits in a shoebox when folded and could speed up future missions enormously. Sailing with solar wind could break several speed records.

A surprising discovery made in the data retrieved by the European Space Agency’s Gaia mission is the BH3 stellar black hole, located just 2,000 light years from Earth. No less than 33 times the size of the sun, BH3 is the largest ...

The James Webb Telescope is the gift that keeps on giving for scientists. Rather than confirming what we already thought we understood about the universe, it is challenging everything at the heart of what is known and accepted as ...

A geostationary satellite at an altitude of 36,000 kilometers (22,000 miles) had the best view of the solar eclipse on April 8. No clouds blocked the view here. On the contrary.

Transistor open or closed, 0 or 1, that's what a microchip is based on. With a newly developed two-dimensional magnet, a completely different circuit enters the playing field, which has a lot to offer, especially in terms of effic...

Photographing a golf ball from 24 kilometers away or searching the universe for dark matter: With over 3 billion pixels, a lot is possible, even if the camera has not become very handy.

This gigantic value was achieved on a normal fiber optic connection, which usually only provides a fraction of this bandwidth. And the technical innovations for performance are also limited.

Wind and solar energy provide a lot of electricity, but never consistently and everywhere. A third renewable energy source - hydrovoltaics - aims to do just that, using surprisingly simple means.

The Chūō Shinkansen will not be able to run in 2027. In some places, construction work has not even begun. Shizuoka Prefecture, which is resisting the construction of the high-speed line, is particularly affected.

Getting rid of CO2 once it has been released is very complex. Even plants have a hard time with it. So why not simply produce useful substances from it?

Thermonuclear explosions hurl sometimes exotic elements into space at high speed. This teaches us a lot about the physics behind them and the universe, except that observing them is difficult.

A third of all CO2 emissions worldwide end up in the oceans. The only problem is that the absorption capacity is decreasing and the water in the oceans is also acidifying. Part of the solution could be CCS from water.

Bioengineer researchers at UCLA have created a self-powered patch that translates laryngeal muscle movements during silent speech into spoken speech using machine learning. This wearable technology can enable people with speaking ...

The length of a day can also be changed by global warming. This has consequences for our now very precise measurement of time, perhaps even in a positive sense.

University of Virginia and NIH researchers have used machine learning models to detect a person’s mood from their word choices on Facebook. Their models work well with White English speakers, but not with Black English speakers. T...

How exactly an AI, the neural network and the large language model behind it work has long been the subject of research. A surprisingly simple discovery helps to better understand the processes.

Almost 2,000 miles in one go is certainly impressive as a test run. This means a world record for the Swiss train, although it was spared a few hurdles.

The nuclear disaster lasted five days with three meltdowns, radioactive fallout and large-scale evacuations. The sequence of events still provides insights for the future.

A team at MIT has shortened the multi-stage processes of well-known AI image generators. This not only reduces the time it takes to produce the finished image. The required computing power and power consumption are also reduced at...

Training on an Nvidia Tesla V100, a data set with 60 gigabytes of weather information and daily updates can save 23,000 lives - every year. The AI used reaches an impressively high level.

YouTube contains billions of recordings of human voices. The health AI HeAR shows that Google can use this to generate more than just advertising revenue and filter bubbles.

They are almost everywhere. Wind turbines, electric cars - also combustors - computers and smartphones all rely on permanent magnets. Extensive cooperation is intended to minimize dependence on rare earths, protect the environment...

By no means paradoxical: the behavior of qubits is simulated in the supercomputer, except that its performance quickly reaches its limits. These have now been expanded at Caltech.

After six months on the high seas, an initial assessment can be made. State-of-the-art, automated sails can save a lot of marine diesel. The test run was very promising and the potential is enormous.

President Biden has established through executive order the White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research. The goal is to address the imbalance in health research and treatment of female health issues such as menopause. Govern...

A shoebox-sized satellite is to investigate what it takes to deflect an asteroid on a collision course. It is ready for take-off to the test area.

The universe could be 27 billion years old if there is no dark matter. Then light would also behave differently than expected, and a few old theories would once again be valid.

A recent study indicates that a ban on combustion engine vehicles in city centres may be part of the best solution to climate change, but a European survey found that policies banning combustion-engine cars were unlikely to be acc...

The seabed is difficult to access, but could provide important information on the state of the oceans and even the atmosphere. Underwater earthquakes could also be detected earlier. High time for sensors in submarine cables.

It is a widespread perception that people earn more in other sectors - with one clear exception. The consequences for actual salaries and entire sectors of the economy are huge.

With a view to compactness and expandability, a new method for controlling ions should enable larger and more efficient quantum computers. In addition, it has been possible to achieve full mobility and control of the spin of a ber...

Ethanol, formic acid and other organic compounds have been detected in a distant nebula. The discovery sharpens our view of the origin of life.

A recent study exposes a gap in the way many US teens think about their smartphones. Around three quarters feel that they are more peaceful without them, while almost half still complain of separation anxiety.

Wind turbine blades must remain stable and resistant for decades. This makes them stubborn waste when it comes to disposal. However, practical solutions are on the horizon.

Elon Musk's latest move in his legendary spat with OpenAI sees xAI's Grok go open-source. The move comes after Musk's repeated criticism of OpenAI for moving away from the company's original mission and prioritising profit.

AI chatbots like ChatGPT-4 can still produce racially prejudiced responses even after safety training, researchers have found. The study highlights the need for greater care and vetting for “covert prejudice” before LLMs are made ...

Consuming electricity when it is generated can be worthwhile. Ideally, the e-car would also charge itself at the same time. If you go one step further, the potential of smart grids becomes apparent.

Three months of testing were successful. A buoy from CorPower was able to generate a surprising amount of electricity with time-delayed movement - and survived monster waves in between.

Rechargeable batteries made from lithium and sulphur could far outperform current batteries, but do not achieve a significant service life. This is set to change radically with a new crystal structure and optimized properties.

New material, new design, powerful results: A magnet that is finally strong enough for a large nuclear fusion reactor was put into operation at MIT - and ran under real conditions.

Methane has 80 times more impact on the greenhouse effect than CO2. Researchers, engineers and Google are searching for it with MethaneSAT - at just the right time.