Digest of sci-fi news for the week, about which we did not write anything

There is growing evidence that dark matter is made up of axions.

Among astronomers’ various assumptions about the nature of dark matter is this: this mysterious cosmic matter is made up of strange particles called “axions”

However, instead of looking directly for axions, a multinational research team led by Keir Rogers at the University of Toronto was looking for something else. They drew attention how matter clumps together on the large scales of the universe and found that cosmic matter is more evenly distributed than expected.

What role do axions play here? Quantum mechanics describes these ultra-light particles as “fuzzy” – they are not just described by a wave function, but their wavelengths can be larger than the diameter of an entire galaxy. Apparently, this fuzziness plays a role in the smoothing of the Universe, influencing the formation and distribution of dark matter. If true, this would go a long way to explaining why matter in space is more evenly distributed than current models suggest. It turns out that axions play a certain role in the distribution of matter in space.

Engineers offer sidewalk markers to help robotic vehicles navigate difficult environments

Electric robotic vehicles still face steep climbs on their way to being reasonably reliable. Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Western Michigan University are collaborating on a solution to this problem that goes beyond the car itself: sensors and data processing built into road infrastructure.

Together with partners, ORNL engineers are placing low-power sensors in reflective embossed road signs, which are already being used to help drivers determine lanes. According to article in IEEE Sensorswritten by ORNL researcher Ali Ekti and lead author Sachin Sharma of WMU, microchips inside the markers relay information about the shape of the road to passing vehicles. They are effective even when car cameras or remote laser sensing called LiDAR are unreliable due to fog, snow, glare or other obstructions.

“We are working to make autonomous driving features accurate and safe in more remote areas,” Ekti said. “And we do this by transforming a fictitious piece of infrastructure into something that has a much greater use.”

Scientists have discovered an unusual material consisting of bosons

Scientists are always on the lookout for new unusual material, and just recently they found another one: the bosonic correlation isolator. It represents both a new material and, in fact, a completely new state of matter.

It is a lattice formed from a layer of tungsten diselenide and a layer of tungsten disulphide, placed on top of each other, but not completely aligned.

This slight shift creates what is known as a moiré pattern, which exhibits some interesting properties.

To understand what is special about this material, you need to understand what bosons and fermions are. At the quantum level, particles are divided into two main types: bosons (carriers of force, such as photons), which can have the same quantum state, and fermions (particles of matter, such as electrons), which cannot. Fermions are usually easier to work with.

“Usually, people spent most of their efforts trying to figure out what happens when you put a lot of fermions together,” says condensed matter physicist Chenghao Jin of the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB). “The main thrust of our work is that we have essentially created new material from interacting bosons.”

GE has resurrected a jet engine for aircraft

GE once believed that super efficient jet engines (SJEs) were the future of air travel, until low fuel prices in the late 1980s pushed fuel consumption into the background. Now she’s bringing them back with CFM Rise, promising 20% ​​fuel savings.

Unducted fans (UDFs), also known as propfans or VFDs, first appeared in the 1970s. To the modern eye, they look a little odd, with sleek nacelles and air intakes on the front, and two sets of fan blades on the back that open out into the open air.

As a rule, there are many blades, they are deflected back and strongly twisted. The rear blades are twisted in the opposite direction compared to the front ones; sometimes they rotate in the opposite direction, sometimes they don’t rotate at all, acting like variable pitch stator blades, helping in restoring airflow.

“The history of aircraft power plants,” says the technical paper GE tells us that all previous efficiency breakthroughs have been achieved through new technologies that have allowed larger fan sizes and improved bypass ratio“. VJDs do both, combining the fuel efficiency of a turboprop with the speed and performance of a turbofan.

Theoretical study demonstrates the potential applicability of tidal power generation

Tidal range schemes are financially viable and could lower energy bills, the researchers say.

Research by the Lancaster University School of Engineering and the UK Center for Ecology and Hydrology combined a tidal power generation model with a cost model to demonstrate the viability of tidal power.

Professor George Aggidis, Chair of Energy Engineering at Lancaster University, said: “The obvious question for the UK, which has one of the best tidal resources in the world, is why don’t we have a tidal dam scheme yet?”

The study, published in the journal Energy, demonstrates the benefits of tidal energy, which does not suffer from unpredictable intermittency, since energy is generated both day and night.

The built tidal dam can operate for 120 years or more to meet future demand and solve energy storage problems.

Professor Aggidis said: “There is an urgent need to start screening and developing schemes across the UK. Tidal energy is a predictable renewable energy derived from the gravitational pull of the Moon and Sun. The environmental and economic benefits are enormous, as dams can protect coastal areas from flooding and rising sea levels. With bidirectional power generation and pumping, reservoirs can support the full range of existing tides to protect and support low-lying tidal zones such as salt marshes and mud flats.”