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While Chinese manufacturers have burst out in front of the pack with semi-solid-state battery achievements, other manufacturers around the world are working hard to get their own cells developed and validated. Based in Massachusetts, Factorial Energy has been working on its lithium-metal quasi-solid-state technology for over a decade, attracting backing and collaboration from major automakers like Stellantis, Mercedes-Benz and Hyundai. It's aiming for a long-range, energy-dense battery that costs the equivalent of lithium-ion units and rolls off the same production lines. This month, it sent out its first round of B-samples to Mercedes-Benz for further testing and development. Factorial first...

Credit: NASA/Dana Berry Here in our own Solar System, a single star anchors the system, where inner, rocky planets, an intermediate-distance asteroid belt, and then more distant gas giant planets eventually give way to the Kuiper belt and Oort cloud. This configuration is not universal among stellar and planetary systems, which means our Solar System possesses many properties that are not necessarily common among exoplanetary systems KEY TAKEAWAYS Earth doesn’t have the most water in the Solar System, the farthest planet from the Sun isn’t the coldest, and the only planet made mostly of metal isn’t the densest. Forget...

Researchers created a strong, plastic-free, eco-friendly leather alternative from pineapple leaf fiber and natural rubber, outperforming other plant-based leathers and even mushroom leather in strength and sustainability. In a significant breakthrough in sustainable materials science, researchers have developed a plant-based leather alternative using pineapple leaf fiber (PALF) and natural rubber (NR). This eco-friendly material promises to revolutionize the leather industry with its impressive strength and sustainability. The process begins with the extraction of pineapple leaf fiber from waste pineapple leaves through a mechanical method, showcasing a clever use of agricultural waste. The extracted fibers are then divided into two categories:...

(Credit: Dr. Kenneth O, UT Dallas) After twenty years of research, a team from the University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) says they have perfected a customized imaging chip that can let your mobile device “see” through walls. Designed using technology similar to package security scanners employed by airline personnel, the chip is small enough to fit into nearly all mobile devices, turning your everyday cell phone into a Superman-inspired X-ray-style scanner. “This technology is like Superman’s X-ray vision,” said Dr. Kenneth K. O, director of the Texas Analog Center of Excellence (TxACE) and the Texas Instruments Distinguished University Chair...

A massive, yearslong study shows the overwhelming majority of young people who identify as transgender will grow out of the diagnosis within five years. A similar supermajority of trans-identifying people suffered from at least one other psychological condition, found researchers, who tracked all children and young adults diagnosed with gender dysphoria over a nine-year period. The Central Institute for Statutory Health Insurance in Germany reviewed all the medical billing records from the nation’s health care providers for insured people between the ages of 5 and 24 diagnosed with gender identity disorders from 2013 to 2022. Researchers then combed through the...

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Flag Day is a national holiday in the United States that commemorates the adoption of the flag of the United States on June 14, 1777. It is not a federal holiday, but is still widely observed and celebrated across the country. History of Flag Day The idea to set aside a day to honor the national flag came from several sources. Bernard J. Cigrand, a Wisconsin schoolteacher, in 1885 urged his students to observe June 14 as “Flag Birthday.” He later wrote an essay published in a Chicago newspaper that urged Americans to proclaim this date as the day to...

A state-of-the-art new gravitational wave detector could mark the beginning of a new era in astrophysics with the development of the Einstein Telescope. The telescope, currently still in the planning stages, will employ advanced laser technology to measure gravitational waves and help scientists peer even more deeply at phenomena associated with some of the universe’s greatest secrets. Construction could begin in Europe, and the project could revolutionize our understanding of cosmic events, including the collisions of neutron stars and black holes. The Einstein Telescope will build on the 2015 discovery of gravitational waves and observations in 2017 produced by the...

The US supreme court has struck down a federal ban on “bump stocks”, the devices which can vamp up semi-automatic firearms to discharge ammunition almost as rapidly as machine guns and that have been behind some of the most devastating mass shootings in recent history. The top court’s ruling in Garland v Cargill nullifies the Trump administration’s 2018 regulation from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) which ordered anyone who owned a bump stock to destroy it or hand it over to federal agents. The rule was passed in the after the devastating 2017 mass shooting at...

ARMY BIRTHDAY Every year on June 14 we celebrate the birthday of the United States Army. Let's tip our hats and raise a glass to the military branch that was born in 1775. #ArmyBirthday Formed from amateur troops of volunteer soldiers defending colonies against British tyranny, the oldest military force in the United States began before the U.S. formally existed. Their forces consisted of mostly inexperienced militiamen commanded by independent colonial armies. According to battlefields.org, there were never more than 48,000 Continental soldiers at one time. Today, the United States Army consists of over 1 million active-duty service members and...

Q has reminded us repeatedly that together, we are strong. As the false "narrative" is destroyed and the divisive machinery put in place by the Deep State fails, the fact that patriotism has no skin color or political party is exposed for all to see. 3038 Mar 12, 2019 2:55:14 PM EDTQ !!mG7VJxZNCI ID: 4fe510 No. 5643022>Decide for yourself (be free from outside opinion).>Decide for yourself (be objective in your conclusions).>Decide for yourself (be true in your own beliefs).>Decide for yourself (be open to following the facts).>Decide for yourself (be strong in defending your beliefs).>Decide for yourself (be resistant to...

It used to be that lasers were big bulky expensive things that required a laboratory to run and an entire factory to build. I remember the first He-Ne laser I saw two decades ago, the size of a small telescope and probably not more powerful than the laser pointer I carry on the keychain nowadays. Well, not anymore. It's pretty easy to build a laser today, on the kitchen table or in the garage, for a surprisingly small investment. The goal is to make a laser capable of burning small objects, such as a piece of paper, a balloon, etc,...

Starliner teams detected a helium leak before launch, two more after liftoff, and now a fourth and fifth leak with the vehicle docked at the ISS. Oh my. The Starliner spacecraft approaching the International Space Station. Photo: NASA ************************************************************** Following an iffy docking at the International Space Station last week, Boeing managed to deliver a pair of NASA astronauts to the orbital lab. The stressful Starliner saga continues as the crew capsule developed more leaks in its service module. NASA is currently evaluating its ability to return the duo back to Earth. In an update shared on Monday, NASA revealed...

Across the U.S., thieves have been targeting electric-vehicle charging stations, intent on stealing the cables, which contain copper wiring DETROIT -- Just before 2 a.m. on a chilly April night in Seattle, a Chevrolet Silverado pickup stopped at an electric vehicle charging station on the edge of a shopping center parking lot. Two men, one with a light strapped to his head, got out. A security camera recorded them pulling out bolt cutters. One man snipped several charging cables; the other loaded them into the truck. In under 2½ minutes, they were gone. The scene that night has become part...

Researchers have found that the marine fungus Parengyodontium album can break down polyethylene in the ocean when exposed to UV light, suggesting the presence of more plastic-degrading fungi in deeper waters. A plastic particle (red) is colonized by the marine fungus Parengyodontium album. Credit: Annika Vaksmaa/NIOZ Researchers found that the fungus Parengyodontium album degrades UV-exposed polyethylene in the ocean, suggesting that similar fungi might also break down plastics in deeper waters. Researchers, including those from NIOZ, have discovered that a marine fungus can decompose the plastic polyethylene after it has been exposed to UV radiation from sunlight. Their findings, published...

Eric Oltedal snapped a photo of this alligator that was spotted near the jetties at Huntington Beach State Park in Murrells Inlet on Sunday. This is the second day an alligator was spotted on the beach. Another alligator was seen in Surfside Beach. South Carolina Department of Natural Resources removed both gators. Eric Oltedal ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Two alligators were spotted on beaches along the Grand Strand this weekend. Beachgoers saw an alligator at Surfside Beach Saturday and then another one at Huntington Beach State Park in Murrells Inlet on Sunday. VIDEO AT LINK.............. The alligator at Surfside Beach was removed by...

As some entities identify new (or at least overlooked) sources to meet the growing demand for rare earth materials, others are looking toward new tools. UK deep-tech company Materials Nexus announced on Tuesday that it has designed a new rare-earth-free permanent magnet with the help of its AI platform. It says the AI-driven discovery and development process was 200 times faster than the resource-intensive manual route, bringing new hope to an electrifying world with a growing appetite for powerful magnets. With the world moving away from internal combustion engines and gradually embracing electric mobility, the demand for compact, high-power motors...

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has quietly launched an ambitious new initiative to develop technologies to detect and observe underwater human-made neutrinos, or “ghost particles.” Dubbed the Experimental Neutrino Detector program, DARPA has not revealed how it intends to use a novel subsurface neutrino detection system in line with the Department of Defense’s (DoD) usual secrecy regarding underwater naval technologies. However, solicitation documents obtained and reviewed by The Debrief show the program will be focused on detecting accelerator-sourced neutrinos. These types of neutrinos are human-generated using a particle accelerator to collide an accelerated beam of protons against a...

NATIONAL JERKY DAY National Jerky Day on June 12 celebrates the rich history, immense popularity, and nutritional benefits of dried meat snacks known as jerky. On this food holiday, we are going to share some information for you to chew on. #NationalJerkyDay This nutrient-dense meat is made lightweight by drying. A pound of meat or poultry will weigh only about four ounces after transforming it into jerky. Properly prepared jerky can be stored for months without refrigeration because the drying process removes most of the moisture. Salt added to the meat before the drying process begins helps to prevent bacteria...

An innovative new combustion engine eliminates half the guts of a traditional engine, and uses a fascinating internally-rotating piston and sleeve arrangement, making it lighter, simpler and more efficient while still making strong power and torque. Michael Arsenaeu designed the Avadi engine 20 years ago in the hopes of creating an entirely new engine design to be efficient as well as reduce emissions. In 2015, Avadi began the build and development. Rotary might be a good name for this sort of engine, if the name wasn't already taken. Everything inside the crankcase rotates, but unlike a Wankel-style rotary engine, this...