Farewell to metals in industry forever: the material that science fiction predicted and has just been produced

by D. García 04/17/2024 in Technology

https://www.ecoticias.com/en/industry-metal-carbone-nanotubes/1024/

In the relentless quest to counteract the considerable carbon emissions responsible for the greenhouse effect and the tragedies linked to climate change, a growing number of architectural firms and scientists are dedicated to finding innovative solutions. From designing buildings with eco-efficient technologies to integrating materials such as sustainable metals into industry.

This material promises to completely eliminate carbon emissions in industry

Recently, a group of scientists has succeeded in describing an exceptionally strong material that promises to surpass both steel in strength and aluminum in lightness. This breakthrough not only opens the door to technological innovations, but could have a significant impact on reducing carbon dioxide production.

Being lighter, it would allow the construction of more efficient infrastructures in terms of consumption and lighter in various applications, thus contributing to mitigating once and for all the environmental footprint associated with the manufacture of buildings and large architectural projects made with highly polluting materials.

We are talking about Galvorn, a material that has already been approved by the specialized materials development company DexMat, which confirms the above statements, making it clear that this new material could be implemented in industries such as construction, automotive and aviation, due to its multiple benefits.

What makes it different from any other building material?

In this opportunity, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were the ones that took the leading role in this creation, as they have been the subject of intense research since their discovery in 1952 by Russian scientists Radushkevich and Lukyanovich (who you should know from another article).

These tiny cylinders, with a diameter 100,000 times thinner than a human hair, exhibit physical properties that are extremely fascinating and beneficial for implementation in highly complex projects. The structure of NTCs, composed of carbon atoms with a hexagonal base, provides extraordinary strength and electrical conductivity.

NTCs, or negative temperature coefficient thermistors, stand out for their robustness, flexibility, light weight and outstanding electrical conductivity. These properties make them essential components in a variety of areas, from electronics to medicine, energy and construction.

In addition to the above, their resistance to sudden changes in temperature and their ability to adapt to diverse environments position them as fundamental elements in the manufacture of electronic devices, efficient energy systems, precision medical devices and innovative construction applications.

A viable alternative to reduce large carbon emissions

This metal-replacing material is amazing in nature, not only exhibiting its benefits in terms of strength and electrical efficiency, but going beyond that to offer a significant contribution in the midst of the worrisome global climate crises. Its ability to reduce carbon footprint has become a valuable resource in sustainability.

As a key component in eco-friendly technologies and sustainable processes, this innovative material not only meets technical demands, but also stands as an essential ally in promoting environmentally friendly practices. Do you understand where the innovation lies? Rarely do we find alternatives as effective as this one.

Its production process not only uses renewable carbon sources, but also acts as a valuable long-term carbon sequestration agent. “By using methane as a raw material, it prevents this greenhouse gas from being released directly into the atmosphere and, and its production is carried out with renewable energy.

The most important thing about this invention is how they have managed to revolutionize the sector and put an end to metals in the industry. In fact, it could even be used in one of the most polluting industries, the steel industry, although it is not clear whether this will be the case. In any case, it could be used for new vehicles or even for construction, something that was not clear when these new materials were theorized.

Recommend this post and follow

Sputnik's Orbit

thesputniksorbit-blogspot-com/

Space News: NASA chief says 'secretive' China is hiding military projects in space

 

NASA chief says 'secretive' China is hiding military projects in space

NASA administrator Bill Nelson has told a US budget committee it is "incumbent" on the US to get to the moon before China plans to.

By Mickey Carroll, Sky News, Thursday 18th April, 2024

https://news.sky.com/story/nasa-chief-says-secretive-china-is-hiding-military-projects-in-space-13117766

                        Earth orbiting satellites illustration, Stock pic: iStock

China is hiding secret military activity in space, NASA chief Bill Nelson has claimed.

"We believe that a lot of their so-called civilian space programme is a military programme," he told the House Committee on Appropriations on Wednesday.

"China has made extraordinary strides, especially in the last 10 years, but they are very, very secretive," he said.

The NASA administrator was giving evidence during a committee hearing to sign off the US space agency's £20.3bn ($25.4bn) budget request for 2025.

He was asked by the committee's chairman Hal Rogers about China's "very significant investments" in their space programmes and how NASA would maintain its "edge" over China.

"We are in a race," replied Mr Nelson.

"The latest date they've said they're going to land [on the moon] is 2030 but that keeps moving up.

"It is incumbent on us to get there first and to utilise our research efforts for peaceful purposes," said Mr Nelson.

He went on to tell committee members China could claim parts of outer space as its own territory if it were to land on the moon first.

            NASA administrator Bill Nelson. File pic: AP

"My concern would be if China got there first and said, 'This is our territory, you stay out'.

"Obviously you don't want to interfere with each other but don't declare that this whole territory is suddenly yours," he said.

He used China's continued claim of the Spratly Islands, a disputed archipelago in the South China Sea, as an example of the superpower claiming territory.

The Artemis Accords is an agreement that requires space activity to be conducted for peaceful purposes and has been signed by more than 40 countries including the UK.

China has not signed these accords.

"I would hope that the Chinese space programme will come to its senses and understand that civilian space is for peaceful uses but we have not seen that demonstrated," said Mr Nelson.

China now has 499 satellites in orbit, according to the US Defense Intelligence Agency. That's more than double its number in 2019.

It is also developing its spy balloons and hypersonic missiles.

"We've got to be realistic that China is throwing a lot of money at [it's space programme] and they've got a lot of room to grow," said Mr Nelson.

"Their science is good, their engineering is good and the proof is in the pudding. They've now got a space station up there."

China's Tiangong space station is permanently manned and was constructed over three missions in 2021 and 2022. It was completed on 5 November 2022.

Beijing hopes to send a manned mission to the moon and plans to build a base on the lunar surface.

In May last year, a Chinese spacecraft returned to Earth after nearly a full year in orbit, spending 276 days in space.

State media said the uncrewed spacecraft returned to the Jiuquan launch centre in northwest China as scheduled.

It first launched in early August 2022 - however, no details were given on what the spacecraft was, what technologies were tested and how high it flew into space.

THIS PAGE WAS POSTED BY SPUTNIK ONE OF THE SPUTNIKS ORBIT BLOG   HTTPS://DISQUS.COM/HOME/FORUM/THESPUTNIKSORBIT-BLOGSPOT-COM/

3D Magnetic Recording: Unprecedented Hard Drive Storage Density Unlocked

By NAT. INST. FOR MATERIALS SCIENCE, JAPAN, APRIL 14, 2024

https://scitechdaily.com/3d-magnetic-recording-unprecedented-hard-drive-storage-density-unlocked/

A new HDD technology involving three-dimensional magnetic recording could enhance storage capacities and reduce the number of HDDs needed, promising future cost and energy efficiencies. 

Credit: SciTechDaily.com

Possibility of ultra-high density hard disk drives with areal densities exceeding 10 Tbit/in² using multi-level magnetic recording.

Research groups from NIMS, Seagate Technology, and Tohoku University have made a breakthrough in the field of hard disk drives (HDD) by demonstrating the feasibility of multi-level recording using a three-dimensional magnetic recording medium to store digital information. The research groups have shown that this technology can be used to increase the storage capacity of HDDs, which could lead to more efficient and cost-effective data storage solutions in the future.

Enhancing Data Storage Capacity

Data centers are increasingly storing vast amounts of data on hard disk drives (HDDs) that use perpendicular magnetic recording (PMR) to store information at areal densities of around 1.5 Tbit/in². However, to transition to higher areal densities, a high anisotropy magnetic recording medium consisting of FePt grains combined with heat-assisted laser writing is required. This method, known as heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR), is capable of sustaining areal recording densities of up to 10 Tbit/in². Furthermore, densities of larger than 10 Tbit/in² are possible based on a new principle demonstrated by storing multiple recording levels of 3 or 4 compared with the binary level used in HDD technology.

Schematic view of (top) currently used HAMR 

and (bottom) three-dimensional magnetic recording systems. 

In the three-dimensional magnetic recording system, the Curie temperature of each recording layer differs by about 100 K and data are written to each layer by adjusting the laser power. 

Credit: Yukiko Takahashi NIMS, Thomas Chang Seagate Technology, Simon Greaves Tohoku University

Innovations in 3D Magnetic Recording

In this study, we succeeded in arranging the FePt recording layers three-dimensionally, by fabricating lattice-matched, FePt/Ru/FePt multilayer films, with Ru as a spacer layer. Measurements of the magnetization show the two FePt layers have different Curie temperatures. This means that three-dimensional recording becomes possible by adjusting the laser power when writing. In addition, we have demonstrated the principle of 3D recording through recording simulations, using a media model that mimics the microstructure and magnetic properties of the fabricated media.

Future Prospects and Implications

The three-dimensional magnetic recording method can increase recording capacity by stacking recording layers in three dimensions. This means that more digital information can be stored with fewer HDDs, leading to energy savings for data centers. In the future, we plan to develop processes to reduce the size of FePt grains, to improve the orientation and magnetic anisotropy, and to stack more FePt layers to realize a media structure suitable for practical use as a high-density HDD.

Recommend this post and follow

Sputnik's Orbit

https://disqus.com/home/forum/thesputniksorbit-blogspot-com/

Defense News: Lockheed chosen to build new homeland missile defense interceptor

 

Lockheed chosen to build new homeland missile defense interceptor

By Jen Judson, Defense News, April 16, 2024

https://www.defensenews.com/pentagon/2024/04/16/lockheed-chosen-to-build-new-homeland-missile-defense-interceptor/

A notional rendering of Lockheed Martin's Next-Generation Interceptor to replace current interceptors in the ground as part of the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense System that protects the homeland against intercontinental ballistic missiles from Iran and North Korea. (Artist rendering courtesy of Lockheed Martin).

Nearly a year prior to a deadline for two competing teams to reach a critical design review phase in the development of a Next-Generation Interceptor for homeland defense, the Missile Defense Agency chose Lockheed Martin to move forward rather than carry both teams through the next phase of technology development.

Lockheed and its Aerojet Rocketdyne partner completed the preliminary design review at the end of September. A Northrop and RTX team passed through the same design review at the end of January.

Both teams received technology development contracts from MDA in 2021.

The critical design review phase was expected to take roughly a year. Now just Lockheed will continue development of the Next-Generation Interceptor, or NGI, through that phase, followed by all-up round qualification, and integration into the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system and into flight testing, according to a April 15 MDA statement.

A production and emplacement contract would follow, according to the agency, which supports an initial operational capability for NGI no later than the fourth quarter of fiscal 2028.

“MDA is confident in this decision based on the technical maturity of the solutions, objective contractor-provided performance data, technical rigor in the design development process and early testing built into the program from the onset,” the agency said in the statement.

“The American defense industry is one of our country’s greatest strengths, and having to decide between the two different design approaches was very difficult,” Lt. Gen. Heath Collins, the agency’s director said. “That said, in our effort to Go Fast and Think Big, we are very confident in our decision to go with Lockheed Martin.”

During the preliminary design review, both teams believed they could move quicker than an emplacement deadline of 2028, indicating they both saw ways to get interceptors into silos by fiscal 2027.

The decision to move forward now with just one team was related to funding. “In the current funding environment, maintaining both NGI teams through CDR would require slowing the pace of development to remain within the overall funding profile. This slowdown would delay flight tests and production decisions, jeopardizing first emplacement by 4QFY2028, MDA spokesperson, Heather Cavaliere, told Defense News in an April 16 statement.

The agency did not offer a direct reason why it decided to end the competition before the end of the critical design review in its statement. But, the previous MDA director, Vice Adm. Jon Hill, indicated that the Defense Department had options on how long to stay in a competitive phase for the NGI program.

Maintaining competition through the PDR and down-selecting after is “a Department of Defense best practice,” the MDA said in the statement, and “allows MDA to focus its resources on a single solution going forward.”

MDA added, “additional risk is mitigated based on the technical maturity of the solutions; the technical rigor and testing built into the upfront design and development process; and the discovery of technical issues earlier on an accelerated schedule with time and funding available to implement remedies/mitigations.”

The GMD system was designed to protect the U.S. homeland from intercontinental ballistic missiles from Iran and North Korea. There are 44 GBIs in the ground with the majority in silos at Fort Greely, Alaska, and the rest at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The current interceptors aren’t equipped to counter a missile that could contain multiple kill vehicles or decoys that make the defeat process more complicated, defense officials have said.

NGI is the result of the Pentagon canceling in August 2019 its Redesigned Kill Vehicle program – which would have upgraded the GBI to be able to pursue more complex threats. That program struggled with insurmountable technical issues resulting in delayed schedules and cost increases. Raytheon, a subcontract for Boeing, was the developer of the RKV program.

Roughly eight months after the cancellation of the RKV program, MDA launched the new interceptor push.

The companies were designing the new interceptor using digital methods meant to speed up the design process, enabling the build of hardware and starting testing earlier in the process. Both also invested in establishing deeper roots in Huntsville, Alabama, to more easily coordinate with MDA on the effort.

Lockheed broke ground in 2022 on a new Missile System Integration Lab in Huntsville exclusively for the development of NGI and will be co-located with the company’s engineering team. The company is spending $16.5 million to build the new 25,000-square-foot facility, which opened in 2023.

Northrop began building two large facilities in Huntsville as well to house the core NGI team. A combined software factory between Northrop and Raytheon as well as systems engineering was housed there in those facilities, which were also up and running in 2023.

Here's the Lockheed Martin Next Generation Interceptor

THIS PAGE WAS POSTED BY SPUTNIK ONE OF THE SPUTNIKS ORBIT BLOG   HTTPS://DISQUS.COM/HOME/FORUM/THESPUTNIKSORBIT-BLOGSPOT-COM/

Drone Tactics in Ukraine

Interceptors And Escorts: Drone Tactics In Ukraine Are Evolving Fast

A Ukrainian FPV intercepts a large Russian fixed-wing attack drone. Detonator wires at the bottom ... [+]

ARGUS DRONE TEAM

With so many drones from both sides at the front it is inevitable that encounters will occur; since 2022 there have been occasional ‘dogfights’ with operators using their unarmed machines to knock opponents out of the sky. Now, however, we are seeing a different pattern. Rather than random encounters, there are deliberate intercepts, with small quadcopters attacking bigger bombers.

This is similar to the pattern in WW1, as early biplanes evolved from scouts to light attack craft and then fighters whose main task was bring down attacking bombers and gain aerial supremacy. This was necessary because the only thing that could effectively take on an aircraft was another aircraft. Almost a hundred years later the same sort of action is playing out in miniature in a struggle to gain control of low-level drone airspace.

Russian Drone Interceptors

Ukraine’s ‘Baba Yaga’ heavy bombers fly by night, dropping multiple bombs with pinpoint accuracy to take out tanks and other vehicles, spreading fear among Russian troops. They can be heard but not seen, and apart from sporadically-effective jamming, the Russians have not found an effective way of downing them. Now videos are emerging of Russian FPVs deliberately seeking out and ramming Baba Yagas.

This is not happening by accident.

“There is now official training at the front with certain battalions where drone on drone combat is incorporated into pilot training courses,” Samuel Bendett, an expert Russian drones and adviser to both the CNA and CNAS, told me, mentioning an article in Russian state media TASS which describes this.

Drone operators have little situational awareness. Their view is generally limited to seeing ahead and downwards. Successful attacks usually come from above and behind to achieve surprise.

As well as FPVs, Russians are also taking on Baba Yagas with standard quadcopters. In this case the preferred tactic is for the unarmed attacker is to drop on to the Baba Yaga from above, so the Baba Yaga’s rotors are broken by contact with the attacking drone’s body. The attacking drone may still be lost, but it is a good trade for one of the larger Ukrainian drones.

Russian quadcopter modified for ramming in air-to-air combat with a cage of metal spokes

VIA TWITTER/X

The Russians are also modifying drones to make them more efficient at air-to-air combat. In March one Russian group displayed a new drone known as “Ram” a quadcopter fitted with metal spokes to damage enemy rotor blades with impunity. This type of modification may be inspired by the annual DroneClash competition held in the Netherlands, a capture-the-flag game in which teams needed to eliminate each others drones in air-to-air combat and drones were fitted with lances, chains and other such weapons.

Ukrainian Drone Tactics

Ukrainian forces are using similar tactics against Russian fixed-wing attack drones. There are no videos of FPVs intercepting Shaheds yet; purpose-made interceptor drones from the U.S. may be having some success Shaheds but no details are being released for security reasons.

There are numerous videos of Ukrainian operators taking down smaller Russian attack drones, such as this one from the celebrated Birds of Magyar and this one downing a twin-boom drone over the Dnipro River.

The logic of these intercepts is obvious: air defence missiles are rare and precious assets costing hundreds of thousands of dollars or more, and are reserved for major threats like cruise missiles. FPV drones costing a few hundred dollars are plentiful and it makes sense to use them wherever possible.

As Ukraine develops bigger, long-ranged FPVs, these too may be used for air defense. This week President Zelensky inspected a new ‘Ukrolancet’ kamikaze drone which in addition to hitting targets on the ground, can also target low-speed air vehicles, specifically Russian Orlan-10 and Shahed drones, with a machine-vision system to aid intercepts.

Drone Wars

Tactics are evolving constantly. Now the Russians have started to intercept Baba Yagas, the Ukrainians are giving their bombers fighter escorts. This Ukrainian video appears to show a Ukrainian quadcopter covering a Baba Yaga and taking out the Russian drone attempting to intercept it, suggesting that drone tactics are already looking more like WWII than WW1.

Sam Bendett mentions Russian reports of Baba Yagas being seen in pairs with a group of FPVs as escort. The escorts are continually refreshed as batteries run low and FPVs return to a battery swap and are replaced by others. The FPVs can act as close-up scouts or attack ground targets as well as providing a defensive screen against enemy drones.

Things have evolved a long way from two years ago when a few Ukrainian drone hobbyists used their quadcopters to scout out Russian positions. There is every reason to expect that the evolution will continue at a similar rate as the number of drones rises to millions, and they increasingly dominate the battlefield.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidhambling/2024/04/16/interceptors-and-escorts-drone-tactics-in-ukraine-are-evolving-fast/?sh=3bbe808f3351

Shahed drone

A devastating fire is seen following a Ukrainian kamikaze drone strike on an oil depot in Klintsy, in Russia's Bryansk region

A long-range UAV is seen moments before it slams into a Russian factory in Tatarstan

A Russian plant  is targeted in a  Ukrainian drone attack on Tatarstan, more than 600 miles from the Russo-Ukrainian border

Footage of the explosive effect of a Ukrainian drone strike on a Russian tank on the front line