Good morning. It's Tuesday, Feb. 10, and welcome to this week's Science & Technology newsletter. First time reading? Sign up here or click here to share with friends. |
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Among the various technologies we use on a daily basis, batteries likely rank near the top of the list of those we depend on most. You may even be reading this email on a device that is running on a battery right now, making it a great time to break down these sources of electricity. In honor of the 10-year anniversary of the reported detection of gravitational waves, we're also exploring LIGO, the experiment behind the discovery, before wrapping up with a look at X, formerly Twitter.
Let us know what you think! Whether it's feedback on our email format, a comment on this week's topics, suggestions for future coverage, or something else, we're happy to hear from readers. You can get in touch by simply replying to this email.
—Marco Daniel Machado, 1440 Science & Technology Section Editor |
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Electrochemical Energy Storage |
Batteries, explained
Batteries are devices that provide electrical energy stored in the form of chemical energy. The first electrochemical cell was invented in 1799 by Alessandro Volta, who generated electricity after stacking plates of copper and zinc separated by saltwater-soaked cloth (learn more). In his honor, electrical potential is measured in volts, the units seen on the billions of batteries sold each year for consumer electronics, electric vehicles, renewable energy systems, and more.
Every battery consists of three components: an anode, a cathode, and an electrolyte barrier separating them (see diagram). When the cathode and anode are connected in a circuit, chemical reactions produce energetic electrons that flow from the anode (negative end of the battery) to the cathode (positive end). This flow is the electricity that powers devices connected to the circuit.
To offset the buildup of charge from the displaced electrons, ions produced in the reactions move between the anode and cathode through the electrolyte (see diagram). The electrical current continues until there is insufficient material left in the anode to undergo a chemical reaction. If a battery is rechargeable, an external voltage can reverse the flows and restore the chemical reservoirs.
Despite battery management software in many devices, several factors reduce battery capacity with each charge cycle. All batteries eventually deplete too quickly and must be replaced, but the diversity of elements they incorporate and their nonuniform designs have made their widespread recycling challenging (learn how to recycle batteries).
Learn even more by exploring all our findings on batteries here.
Here's a sample of what we found ...
> Sony's repurposed videotape production equipment to make batteries, giving them their cylindrical shape. (Read)
> The first lithium-ion battery was invented at ExxonMobil. (Watch)
> Tour a manufacturing gigafactory to see how EV batteries are made. (Watch)
> What you can do to delay the loss of capacity in your batteries. (Read) |
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Detecting Ripples in Space |
What is LIGO?
The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory consists of two detectors in Hanford, Washington, and Livingston, Louisiana, built to observe gravitational waves produced by astronomical phenomena. Like ripples created by objects traveling along water, gravitational waves are ripples produced by objects moving through spacetime (watch explainer). Unlike light, which can be blocked by matter, gravitational waves travel at the speed of light unimpeded, allowing scientists to use LIGO to study otherwise invisible cosmic events (e.g., black holes).
Each detector has two 4-kilometer (2.5-mile) tunnels called arms, which form an "L" shape (see diagram). During each experimental run, a continuous laser beam is split at the point where the arms connect, with each half sent down an arm. The beams reflect off mirrors—one at the end of the arm and one near where they connect—about 300 times before recombining. A passing gravitational wave will cause the recombined beam to produce a specific pattern, which is compared to those made in simulations to determine the characteristics of the cosmic event that created the waves (watch explainer).
Requiring extensive flat land, minimal seismic activity, and enough space between them to rule out false positives from the local environment, LIGO detectors were built 3,002 kilometers (1,865 miles) apart. Since going online in 2015 after a series of upgrades, LIGO has detected mergers involving black holes and neutron stars and validated predictions made by Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking.
Learn even more by exploring all our findings on LIGO here.
Here's a sample of what we found ...
> In 1974, a pair of neutron stars provided the first evidence of gravitational waves. (Read)
> Listen to the first gravitational wave signal ever detected by LIGO. (Watch)
> How a quantum property helps LIGO improve its signal sensitivity. (Watch)
> Try to catch the "sound" of black holes in gravitational wave detector data. (Explore) |
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X, 101
X, formerly Twitter, is a digital microblogging platform where users can post, read, and exchange short messages. First launched in 2006, it has evolved from a text-based service emphasizing brevity into a full-featured, ad-supported social media platform boasting over 557 million monthly active users, approximately 4 billion monthly visits, and an estimated 500 million tweets sent daily (see the most followed accounts).
From the outset, Twitter's defining feature was its 140-character limit, inspired by the space constraints of text messaging. Twitter's publicly available stream of tweets from millions of users helped shape culture and political discourse through real-time user interactions (relive the dress color debate). In 2010, the platform began to monetize through promoted tweets, accounts, and trends.
SpaceX and Tesla cofounder Elon Musk acquired Twitter in October 2022 for $44B. Under Musk, Twitter underwent significant changes, including layoffs of thousands of workers, the introduction of a paid subscription model, and a rebranding as X (learn more). Content moderation has become a considerable challenge for the site, and the ease of creating multiple accounts has enabled automated accounts—known as bots—to falsely legitimize specific profiles, perspectives, or ideas (learn more).
Learn even more by exploring all our findings on X here.
Here's a sample of what we found ...
> The first-ever tweet was sent on March 21, 2006. (View)
> X's bird logo cost just $15 and wasn't added until four years after launch. (Watch)
> See the major historical events that popularized hashtags. (View)
> Why Bluesky has attracted users disillusioned by X. (Watch) |
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Like all great scientists, we love spending time researching the latest scientific breakthroughs, tech releases, engaging explainers, and the connections between science and society that are making headlines. Here's what we found this week.
> Algae engineered to help collect and remove microplastics from wastewater
University of Missouri | Brian Consiglio. Genetic engineering was used to create a new type of algae that produces a natural oil, making it water-repellent. Similarly, repellent microplastics stick to this algae like magnets, forming clumps that sink to the bottom and form a solid biomass layer that can be easily collected. (Read) | Learn about microplastics by exploring our write-up and findings here.
> Google's AlphaGenome may help uncover the secrets of human genetics
Smithsonian Magazine | Sara Hashemi. Scientists at Google DeepMind—the company’s AI research arm—have developed a freely available computer model trained on public databases of human and mouse genetic information. The model can simultaneously analyze DNA sequences up to 1 million letters long. (Read) | Learn about DNA by exploring our write-up and findings here.
> Developing a phase-change material for thermal energy storage
The University of Texas at Dallas| Kim Horner. Able to collect heat as it melts and release it as it solidifies, the newly created composite, which incorporates wood into its structure to prevent leakage and degradation, can be utilized in drywall, flooring, or roofing to help maintain building temperatures without using electricity. (Read)
> A chip-sized amplifier that can make light 100 times more intense
Stanford Report | Sara Zaske. The compact device recycles energy to keep its power consumption low while maintaining performance, making it feasible for use in battery-powered mobile devices. The amplifier may help improve future fiber optic networks, light-based communications systems, and biosensing technology. (Read) | Learn about light by exploring our write-up and findings here.
> Simulations suggest the Milky Way is embedded in a sheet of dark matter
Netherlands Research School for Astronomy | Staff. To successfully reproduce the masses, positions, and velocities of the Milky Way and Andromeda Galaxies, and the positions and velocities of 31 other nearby galaxies, astronomers found that the local environment must be surrounded by a flat dark matter distribution. (Read) | Learn about the dark universe by exploring our write-up and findings here. |
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The world's largest lemon battery was made from nearly 3,000 lemons, providing an electric potential of 2,307.8 volts. |
Watch the Guinness World Record be set here. |
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