The three petawatt ZEUS (short for Zettawatt-Equivalent Ultrashort pulse laser System) will be the most powerful laser in the US when it opens for scientists. Located and developed at the University of Michigan, it is available for researchers to conduct experiments and will be primarily used for studies centered on extreme plasmas (explained by psy.org as “a state of matter in which the electrons have enough energy …
Products powered by lithium-ion batteries (like electric vehicles) are in high-demand, but sourcing and mining the element requires unsustainable amounts of water and energy. On top of that, it’s a scarce resource and acquiring it can be dangerous. To find an alternative, engineers from the University of Maryland created a battery using crabs whose exoskeletons are rich in useful chemicals like chitin, a natural polymer …
In a remarkable development for space exploration, NASA’s MOXIE—aka Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment—has successfully converted Martian air (which is predominately carbon dioxide) into oxygen. For now, it generates enough gas to sustain a small dog but the hope is to provide enough for humans and aid in the creation of rocket fuel. The machine is situated within the Perseverance rover and shaped like …
