Swiss company ABB has developed a drone that uses a laser to detect methane leaks while flying at 55 mph at an altitude of 130ft. The system is 1,000 more sensitive than standard methane detection tools.
YouTuber Integza used a 3D printer to build a working turobo jet engine in his attic! Check out his journey of multiple attempts in his video, before reaching a working prototype at the end.
Researchers at Georgia Tech have created a flexible 3D printed multi-directional antenna that can harvest 6 micorwatts of power from a 5G transmitter at up to 180 meters. Harvest wireless energy in this way can replace the use of batteries in IoT and wearable devices.
Nuclear reactor company Natrium, which is backed by Bill Gates' Terrapower, has received a US$80m Department of Energy grant to build a demonstration reactor by the mid 2020s. The 345MWe reactor can power 225,000 homes and uses molten salt as an energy storage and transfer system, which is safer than pressurised water and removes the need for a large amount of concrete shielding.
Researchers from MIT, King’s College London, Queen Mary University London, Utrecht and Leiden used X-ray microtomography scans of a 17th century folder letter locked letter to unfold and read the letter virtually without ever opening it. As amazing as this is, it is even better that the letter contained a complaint! :-)
Researchers have built the fastest random number generator by firing a laser into a translucent semionductor shaped like a bowtie and measuring the fluctuations in the intensity of the resulting scattered beam, at a rate of 250 terahertz.
Using a nanopore sequencer on a USB dongle and new open-source fuzzy logic UNCALLED software, scientists can selectively sequence DNA samples in three days or less without the need for large expensive lab equipment.
Researchers at Oregon State University have demonstracted how to map the ocean floor using whale song! The 190 dB song of fin whales takes the form of second long bursts in the 20Hz range separated by dozens of seconds and typically last for hours.
Dot McCarthy, a farmer from Cronkshaw Fold Farm in Lancashire, has made £50,000 by hiring out her show goats on zoom for £5 per 5 min appearance! The money is being used to keep farm staff employed during the pandemic and convert the farm to newable power to improve its carbon footprint.
