A next-generation energy storage system made of cement and an ancient ink has the potential to massively scale-up renewable energy operations by transforming homes and roads into giant batteries, according to the scientists who invented it. A team from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the Wyss Institute in the US unveiled the design on Monday, claiming that supercapacitors made of this material have “great potential” to assist in the world’s transition to clean energy. “The material is fascinating because you have the most-used man made material in the world, cement, that is combined with carbon black, that is a well-known historical material – the Dead Sea Scrolls were written with it,” said MIT professor Admir Masic, who was involved in the research. “You have these at least two-millennia-old materials that when you combine them in a specific manner you come up with a conductive nanocomposite, and that’s when things get really interesting.” The concrete mix of cement and carbon black only requires water, making it a low-cost alternative to other energy storage systems being developed to allow energy networks to remain stable despite fluctuations to renewable energy sources like solar, wind and tidal power. The researchers say their supercapacitor could be used in the concrete foundations of a house to provide an entire day’s worth of energy without adding any additional construction costs. It could even eventually be used on concrete roadways to provide contactless recharging for electric cars as they travel. “There is a huge need for big energy storage,” said MIT professor Franz-Josef Ulm. “That’s where our technology is extremely promising, because cement is ubiquitous... [It] offers a new way of looking toward the future of concrete as part of the energy transition.” Early applications will likely be with isolated homes or buildings equipped with solar panels that do not have access to grid power. The concrete mixture can also be adjusted to serve other uses, the scientists noted, such as heating systems. A paper detailing the research, titled ‘Cement supercapacitors as a scalable energy storage solution’, was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on Monday. Read More Hundreds of years after it was discovered, one material is about to change the world Battery breakthroughs are about to trigger a transport revolution

(This Nov. 13 story has been corrected throughout to remove the reference to Rivian's plans to raise nearly

Scientists have worked out how close a neutron star collision would have to be to threaten all life on Earth, in a not-remotely-terrifying new study. The event, known as a kilonova, is among the most powerful and explosive in the known universe. It’s not quite as bright as a supernova – but we should still keep our distance. Haille Perkins, team leader and a scientist at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, told Space.com: “We found that if a neutron star merger were to occur within around 36 light-years of Earth, the resulting radiation could cause an extinction-level event.” That’s about 212 trillion miles – which seems like quite a large danger zone. But we need not worry, apparently. Kilonovae are extremely rare and difficult to spot, because they happen so quickly. Scientists, including those from the University of Warwick, recently managed to observe one by using the James Webb telescope. The explosion first produces a blast of gamma rays which lasts for just seconds. If we got caught in one of those, it would fry us all rather quickly. That’s pretty unlikely because they go in two thin lines out from the centre of the blast. They also cause an afterglow of X-ray emissions in the surrounding dust and particles. If we’re within 16.3 light years of those, we’d be in trouble. But the worst bit is the cosmic rays (of course!) – energetic charged particles spreading out from the explosion in a bubble. If these hit Earth, they would strip the ozone layer and leave us vulnerable to ultraviolet rays for several thousand years. That would be a bummer because, again, we’d all die. Fortunately, kilonovae are so rare that we’re more likely to get hit by an asteroid, added Perkins. She said: “There are several other more common events like solar flares, asteroid impacts, and supernova explosions that have a better chance of being harmful.” That’s good then. New kilonova discoveries In the most recent kilonova, it was the gamma rays that alerted the astronomers to the fact something big was going down. Then, they got in touch with various telescopes and detectors to ask them to focus on the bit of the sky where the burst had come from, and bingo: kilonova. Here's what it looked like on the JWT's feed. One of the major discoveries from this one is that kilonovae produce an element called tellurium, a relatively rare element on Earth. They also worked out where the two neutron stars came from: a spiral galaxy about 120,000 light years away from the location of the final explosion. That’s about the diameter of the Milky Way, and just a little further away than the mere 36 light year danger zone, then. But it’s food for thought nonetheless, eh? How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel Sign up to our free indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

The electric-vehicle charging company's CFO Rex Jackson explains why people think about the industry's infrastructure all wrong and why they shouldn't compare it to gas stations.

A major leak has seemingly revealed Microsoft’s plans for the future of the Xbox. The company is planning a new version of the Xbox Series X that will be shaped like a cylinder and not include a console, according to internal documents. Codenamed “Brooklyn”, the new console will have the power of the more expensive Xbox, with more storage but without the option to use discs. But that will then be followed by an entirely new kind of console, planned for 2028. That aims to create a “hybrid” experience by streaming games online but combining them with local hardware, to get the best of both. That is according to new documents that were published as part of the legal hearings between the US Federal Trade Commission and Xbox, which were first reported by The Verge. The documents appear to have been uploaded accidentally, and have since been pulled down. There is no guarantee that either of the consoles will actually arrive, and the documents appear to show the internal planning of the hardware. But the new “Brooklin” version of the Xbox Series X appears close to completion, with an estimated 2024 release date. It will also come with a new controller, nicknamed Sebile and planned for later this year. It will include new features such as an accelerometer so that the console can wake up just by being picked up, and a white and black mixed colour scheme, but otherwise keeps the same design as the existing controller. The “next generation” console appears to be more speculative, and comes from a 2022 pitch ahead of a possible 2028 release date. It says that the company is aiming for its cloud gaming platform and physical consoles to achieve “full convergence” through games that would be described as “cloud hybrid”. “Our vision: develop a next generation hybrid game platform capable of leveraging the combined power of the client and cloud to deliver deeper immersion and entirely new classes of game experiences,” the documents read. It suggests for instance that players could buy a small puck that would plug into their television and include some of the processors and other hardware required to play games. But much of the game itself would stream over the internet. The hardware design would begin next year, ahead of kits arriving with developers in 2027, and then the console itself arriving a year later. The first games would start being developed for the hybrid platform from next year, the documents suggest. But it also notes that a range of things are yet to be decided. The company needs to build a “thin” operating system that could play the local parts of the games, for instance. The documents mention “hybrid Windows”, suggesting that similar technology could come to the desktop. Read More Apple explains how the iPhone turned into a camera like none before it BBC reviews Russell Brand’s time at corporation as YouTube demonetises content Google announces huge breakthrough step in finding genes that cause disease

As Myth pulled off an impressive xQc impression at a cafe, his friend began to laugh uncontrollably

By Katie Paul and Anna Tong MENLO PARK, California (Reuters) -Meta Platforms Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg on Wednesday rolled out

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Post Malone and iiTzTimmy called for Pathfinder and R-301 buffs in Apex Legends Season 19 during a stream for the Post Malone x Apex Legends Event.

The Apple iPad doesn't get the credit it deserves for essentially creating the modern tablet

LAGOS, Nigeria & MILPITAS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun 20, 2023--

By Yuvraj Malik (Reuters) -Uber on Tuesday predicted higher adjusted core profit in the holiday quarter on hopes of higher