Posted on 03/19/2019 8:24:37 AM PDT by BenLurkin
Researchers in China and at UC Davis have measured high conductivity in very thin layers of niobium arsenide, a type of material called a Weyl semimetal. The material has about three times the conductivity of copper at room temperature, said Sergey Savrasov, professor of physics at UC Davis. Savrasov is a coauthor on the paper published March 18 in Nature Materials.
The Chinese team were able to fabricate and test small pieces, called nanobelts, of niobium arsenide, confirming the predictions of theory. The nanobelts are so thin they are essentially two-dimensional.
If you think of electrons flowing through material, imagine them bouncing off or scattering from impurities. At the quantum level, a conductive material has a Fermi surface which describes all the quantum energy states that electrons can occupy. This Fermi surface affects conductivity of the material.
The nanobelts tested in these experiments had a limited Fermi surface or Fermi arc, meaning that electrons could only be scattered to a limited range of quantum states.
Materials that are highly conductive at very small scales could be useful as engineers strive to build smaller and smaller circuits. Less electrical resistance means that less heat is generated as current passes through
(Excerpt) Read more at phys.org ...
There is science and then there’s an engineering
Scientist get paid millions of dollars to sit and ivory towers and blow government money on research and produce papers
Engineers have to try to take things discovered in scientific experiments and turn it into real world products that people will buy fabricate produce and construct
That is why after a few weeks of working for NREL the national renewable energy laboratory and seeing what this government scene was like I had to get the hell out
Let’s look at this particular study OK so you have some goofy semimetal That conducts
and you say it’s better than copper
how expensive is it ? how hard is it to get ? how toxic is it ?
copper is pretty darn easy to get
Now in many old homes they used aluminum wires aluminum is not nearly as good as copper but is cheaper
And on another note the solar industry uses silver for its conductors
Just be very aware of all these headlines that you see in the news if you’re not classically trained in the sciences
I’m still running into Folls that were scammed by the” nano solar” charlatan idiots at least 10 years ago who said they could produce solar panels out of carbon
Let the truth be known, that Semimetal’s are completely safe. They are derived from the brain stems of the human fetus.
“There is science and then there’s an engineering”
And then there’s outright fantasy.
I have a well meaning but daft friend on Facebook that posts every harebrained, revolutionary dumb ass unworkable idea he sees and demands the government implement it. Of of them was highways that doubled as solar panels. I suggested that the surface could be a Fresnel lense that could redirect the headlights into the panel and recovery some of the wasted energy. He thought it was a wonderful idea!
copper is pretty darn easy to get
~~~
But microprocessor’s have stagnated due to the inability to dissipate heat in microarchitecture, so a conductor that is 3x more conductive should theoretically produce significantly less heat and require less energy. Cost analysis will be required, but you can sell high end processors for a lot more
copper is pretty darn easy to get
~~~
But microprocessor’s have stagnated due to the inability to dissipate heat in microarchitecture, so a conductor that is 3x more conductive should theoretically produce significantly less heat and require less energy. Cost analysis will be required, but you can sell high end processors for a lot more
I met a guy who thought putting pinwheel type generators on car tops was a great idea.
I’ve known a number of high conductors throughout my career. The orchestras usually held together during symphony performances anyway.
That “pinwheel” electricity is not free. The wind resistance lowers mpg a small amount. What does the electricity cost? And being generated out on the road, how do you harness it any more efficiently than what the onboard alternator already does? A whizbang idea not practical to use.
I think we should have pinwheel type generators mounted to hats and used to charge your cellphone.
See post 10. Not only would this lower the power needs of the ‘grid’, people would lose weight burning calories from that wind resistance.
Just what I was thinking. Superhigh frequency CPUs need connective circuitry either with very short leads or very high conductive leads. One solution we wewrew working back in the ‘90s was multilayer circutry, to make the distace between resistive and capacitive elements intefacing with the CPU as short as possible. I hope these “semimetals” are practical.
I thought that would be obvious to all. Other than that guy of course.
I thought it was a nice prank. Seemed obvious to me.
Yep. Precious and semi-precious metals are so because they do certain things exceptionally well: conduction, ductility. And they are naturally available.
My father was once described as “a rocket scientist” in newspapers and on teevee (The Today Show). He was not; he was a mechanical engineer.
He took things postulated by rocket scientists and... designed rockets.
LOL! Not too far fetched! Next there will be scientists reporting on reptilians in the fourth dimension harvesting human fetus brain stems with metallic rods. These scientists will have the breakthrough method man has sought for teleportation. The abortion industry will be sending their financial support.
Hey Ben!
Kitco currently gives $2.93/lb for copper
Niobium is about $41.50 per Kilogram. For home wiring, copper is the thing. Sounds like Niobium does things in micro circuitry beyond what copper can, and you don’t need much Niobium for a CPU.
More info regarding non electrical applications!
http://www.cradleresources.com.au/projects/what-is-niobium/
Niobium is a boutique metal with one dominant producer (CBMM), the pricing is stable. Annual demand is between 90,000 and 100,000t FeNb per year. Publicly reported price data indicates that the Nb price (per Kg contained in FeNb) has averaged around US$41.50 for the last five years, with an annual price of over US$40 achieved in 2015.
Uses:
The majority of niobium (>80% world production) is used in the manufacture of high-strength, low alloy steel (HSLA). Niobium acts to refine the steel grains (micro-alloying) by forming niobium carbide and niobium nitride; these compounds improve the grain refining, retardation of recrystallization, and precipitation hardening of the steel. Added to steel, niobium will increase mechanical strength, toughness, high-temperature strength and also corrosive resistance. Microalloyed stainless steel has a niobium content of less than 0.1%.
Niobium steels are used on pipelines, transportation (cars) and structural applications (bridges and buildings). According to the World Steel Association, $9 of niobium used in car manufacturing will reduce the mass by 100kg, and introduce a 5% fuel efficiency; 300grams used in a mid-sized car reduces the weight by 200kg (CBMM). The addition of 0.02% (200g) Nb to a tonne of steel can increase its strength by up to 30%.
Niobium super-alloys (>20% Nb, e.g. NbTi, NbZr, NbTaZr and NbHfTi) are also used for high-temperature applications in jet engines, gas turbines, rocket subassemblies, turbocharger systems and combustion equipment. Thousands of kilograms of niobium were used in the advanced airframe systems of the Gemini space program.”
Pretty bad ass for a bouique alloy!
A company called Niocorp is currently in process of opening and developing a Rare Earth Mine in Elk Falls NE. China has no natural source of Niobium.
Later!
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