Insight into thorium dioxide could provide new energy applications

Scilight ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 (45) ◽  
pp. 451102
Author(s):  
Mara Johnson-Groh
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (23) ◽  
pp. eabf7883
Author(s):  
Hiroki Ubukata ◽  
Fumitaka Takeiri ◽  
Kazuki Shitara ◽  
Cédric Tassel ◽  
Takashi Saito ◽  
...  

The introduction of chemical disorder by substitutional chemistry into ionic conductors is the most commonly used strategy to stabilize high-symmetric phases while maintaining ionic conductivity at lower temperatures. In recent years, hydride materials have received much attention owing to their potential for new energy applications, but there remains room for development in ionic conductivity below 300°C. Here, we show that layered anion-ordered Ba2−δH3−2δX (X = Cl, Br, and I) exhibit a remarkable conductivity, reaching 1 mS cm−1 at 200°C, with low activation barriers allowing H− conduction even at room temperature. In contrast to structurally related BaH2 (i.e., Ba2H4), the layered anion order in Ba2−δH3−2δX, along with Schottky defects, likely suppresses a structural transition, rather than the traditional chemical disorder, while retaining a highly symmetric hexagonal lattice. This discovery could open a new direction in electrochemical use of hydrogen in synthetic processes and energy devices.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alla Packevich

The monograph, on the one hand, examines the period of development of the descending cycle of evolution and the associated progressive changes that show the irreversibility of the processes of formation of the planetary system. The end of one cycle and the beginning of another leads to the transformation of the system of life and the expansion of consciousness at a new energy level. On the other hand, the questions of potential opportunities for the development of the ascending phase of evolution, which goes both along the path of complexity of the organization and along the path of diversity, are considered. In the ascending evolutionary stream, what has been differentiated into the corresponding levels in the descending cycle is brought together and thus prepared to enter into new, more perfect forms of unity. It is shown that the development of humanity along its entire path depends on the interaction of energies of various forms and potentials. Understanding the relationships between different types of energy and their use provides insight into many important issues in the evolution of society. The material introduces the modern features of the existence of the male and female sexes from the energy point of view. The idea of a way out of the current conflict situation that has arisen between the sexes at the present stage of evolution is proposed. It will be useful for those interested in the problems of scientific knowledge, architects, philosophers,historians, physicists and methodologists of science, students and students of secondary schools.


Author(s):  
Weijiang Liu ◽  
Mingze Du

Current research on technological progress does not focus on whether there is a biased selection of technological progress based on the resulting pollutant emissions and the emission reduction effect. This paper measures green total factor productivity for 30 provinces in China from 2004–2018 and tests whether technological progress is selectively biased towards the pollutants emitted. The results find a selective bias of technological progress on pollutant emissions, and there is also heterogeneity in the selective bias across regions. The current level of technological progress is on the right side of the inverted U-shaped inflection point for SO2 and PM2.5 and the left side of the inverted U-shaped inflection point for CO2. The improvement of technological progress can reduce the emissions of SO2 and PM2.5. Still, the results indicate that the reduction effect of these two pollutants originates from the treatment process rather than reducing the source of the production side. The inability of technological advancement to reduce CO2 emissions suggests some carbon lock-in in China’s technological advancement. The Chinese government should increase the proportion of new energy applications and reduce the production methods of polluting industries to reduce pollutants effectively.


2001 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 357-368
Author(s):  
Edward L. Vine

As part of the restructuring of the electricity industry in many states, public benefits funding has emerged as a primary mechanism for supporting social benefits such as energy efficiency and research and development (R&D). In California, a Public Interest Energy Research (PIER) Program was established to �conduct public interest energy research that seeks to improve the quality of life for California�s citizens by providing environmentally sound, safe, reliable, and affordable energy services and products. PIER includes the full range of research, development, and demonstration activities that will advance science or technology not adequately provided by competitive and regulated markets.� The PIER Program is comprised of six PIER Program funding areas, including the Energy-Related Environmental Research. The overall mission of the Energy-Related Environmental Research is to �Develop cost-effective approaches to evaluating and resolving environmental effects of energy production, delivery, and use in California, and explore how new energy applications and products can solve environmental problems.� This paper describes the process used in developing these approaches and identifies a set of environmental issues that the State plans to evaluate.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuping Wang ◽  
Weidong Li

New energy vehicles are crucial for low carbon applications of renewable energy and energy storage, while effective fault diagnostics of their rolling bearings is vital to ensure the vehicle’s safe and effective operations. To achieve satisfactory rolling bearing fault diagnosis of the new energy vehicle, a transfer-based deep neural network (DNN-TL) is proposed in this study by combining the benefits of both deep learning (DL) and transfer learning (TL). Specifically, by first constructing the convolutional neural networks (CNNs) and long short-term memory (LSTM) to preprocess vibration signals of new energy vehicles, the fault-related preliminary features could be extracted efficiently. Then, a grid search method called step heapsort is designed to optimize the hyperparameters of the constructed model. Afterward, both feature-based and model-based TLs are developed for the fault condition classifications transfer. Illustrative results show that the proposed DNN-TL method is able to recognize different faults accurately and robustly. Besides, the training time is significantly reduced to only 18s, while the accuracy is still over 95%. Due to the data-driven nature, the proposed DNN-TL could be applied to diagnose faults of new energy vehicles, further benefitting low carbon energy applications.


2021 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 676-681
Author(s):  
John B. Alexander

This self-published book is clearly the product of a frustrated researcher. The subtitle alone provides an accurate insight into Cox’s thinking. That said, anyone who has been around these fields for any length of time can share a sense of frustration. Listening to any number self-anointed experts, and even charlatans, who populate the fields of the paranormal, can be exasperating. Yes, tall tales abound.  Unfortunately, there are no lower limits to crazy that will not attract a following. Such is the nature of studying unexplained phenomena.             The publication does not appear to have been professionally edited, as one finds both grammatical and contextual errors. Cox contracted with a company called Outskirts Press; one that specializes in physically printing self-published books. In checking with them, I found they do offer an editing service. The author would have been better served to have paid for that option, as there are many incomplete sentences and other grammatical errors. As an established author, I believe attempting to edit your own material is fraught with danger. That is the position I believe most frequently published and serious authors would agree with.             Mechanically speaking, The Fall of the Ufology appears to be designed for an e-publication, as opposed to a print format. That is because there are many Internet sites that are listed and that I suspect can be directly accessed in electronically published form. The contextual format changes significantly throughout the book. Some of it is straight nonfiction statements of fact, but that is often followed by side commentary as if one were attending a social gathering.             While the title implies the singular topic is UFOs, it digresses into many other areas. He takes significant liberties in defining, or redefining, terms that have been around for many years, even centuries. Seemingly, Cox does view himself as the arbiter of acceptability of terms. As an example, he proffers “Anomalogy” as a new term which he defines “as a person who studies anomalies,” as opposed to parapsychology or ufology. In many ways, what Cox puts forth many of us would view as a blinding flash of the obvious. The notion of the interrelationship between various fields in the study of phenomena has been addressed for decades. Several authors, including Jacques Valle and myself, have written extensively on this matter.             On a hypocritical note, Cox simultaneously admonishes Ufologists who present outlandish opinions at conferences, and then destroys his own credibility by accepting extreme conspiracy theories. While addressing his own UAP (unidentified aerial phenomena) sightings, he states that he believes the craft as being of man-made origin. That, even though he witnessed events that would be beyond our currently known technical capabilities. Specifically, on page 32 he states, “I believe now that somehow we on earth have been given this technology from ‘Outside Intelligence.’” Here, I am admittedly biased, but have explicitly eliminated that possibility in my own UFO writings. The notion that the US government has reverse-engineered a crashed UFO is not new. But as I have pointed out, if such technology existed, making small craft that flit about would be trivial compared to the fundamental understanding of an entirely new energy source. Such a capability would undeniably alter our strategic interests and geopolitical landscape forever.


Science ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 369 (6500) ◽  
pp. 184-188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. Wu ◽  
B. Zhu ◽  
M. Huang ◽  
L. Liu ◽  
Q. Shi ◽  
...  

Tuning a semiconductor to function as a fast proton conductor is an emerging strategy in the rapidly developing field of proton ceramic fuel cells (PCFCs). The key challenge for PCFC researchers is to formulate the proton-conducting electrolyte with conductivity above 0.1 siemens per centimeter at low temperatures (300 to 600°C). Here we present a methodology to design an enhanced proton conductor by means of a NaxCoO2/CeO2 semiconductor heterostructure, in which a field-induced metallic state at the interface accelerates proton transport. We developed a PCFC with an ionic conductivity of 0.30 siemens per centimeter and a power output of 1 watt per square centimeter at 520°C. Through our semiconductor heterostructure approach, our results provide insight into the proton transport mechanism, which may also improve ionic transport in other energy applications.


Author(s):  
Tong Wu ◽  
Mingzi Sun ◽  
Bolong Huang

Demands of clean and sustainable energy have promoted the rapid development of novel materials for various new energy applications. Graphdiyne (GDY), a carbon allotrope with unique carbon hybridization states, electronic...


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saif Ullah ◽  
Haleema Sadia ◽  
Faizan Ullah ◽  
Tabish Jadoon

Abstract The development of smart sensing devices for toxic analytes detection especially lung irritants is much essential. The cyclic conducting polymers having infinite 𝜋-conjugation are proved to be highly sensitive for toxic analytes. Herein, by using the DFT approach, we investigated the sensing mechanism of cyclotetrapyrole (CTPy) for accurate detection of phosgene, diphosgene, chloropicrin and chlorine at the B3LYP-D3/6-31+ G (d, p) level. The calculated interaction energies show the physisorption of lungs irritants over the CTPy surface. Natural bond orbital (NBO) and charge decomposition (CDA) analyses predict charge transfer interactions in the complexes. The reduced density gradient (RDG) approach reveals that charge transfer electrostatic hydrogen bonding interactions dominate in the complexes. The sensitivity of CTPy towards lung irritants is further illustrated by the reduction in HOMO-LUMO energy gaps, red shifting of \({{\lambda }}_{\text{m}\text{a}\text{x}}\) in UV–Visible specta. Density of state (DOS) analysis affirm that enhanced conductivity upon complexation is due to the origination of new energy states in occupied and virtual orbitals nearer to the Fermi level. Moreover, PDOS spectra show that CTPy primarily contributes to the energy of HOMO. The outcome of the current study depicts appreciable sensitivity of CTPy towards lung irritants. We believe that the upshot of the current findings and their forecasts will provide useful guidelines for an experimentalist to design highly sensitive sensors for toxic analytes using CTPy.


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