Outdoor lighting using wind-solar hybrid renewable energy sources

 

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The Eco-GreenergyTM Wind-Solar Outdoor Lighting System.

As an outcome from the continuous hybrid renewable energy research, an innovative outdoor lighting system powered by a shroud-augmented wind turbine and a solar panel was installed in the Kuala Lumpur campus of University of Malaya (UM).

As an outcome from the continuous hybrid renewable energy research, an innovative outdoor lighting system powered by a shroud-augmented wind turbine and a solar panel was installed in the KL campus of University of Malaya (UM). This hybrid green energy system is a compact design that harmoniously integrates a vertical-axis-wind-turbine (VAWT) with the novel omni-direction-guide-vane (ODGV), solar panel and LED lighting system. Consisting of several guide vanes, the ODGV is carefully designed and placed to surround the VAWT for wind power augmentation where the oncoming wind is guided through the ODGV. This will create a venturi effect that increases the wind speed before the wind-stream interacts with the turbine blades. Furthermore, the unique design of the ODGV that shrouds the wind turbine rotor provides a safer and more secure environment for maintenance workers and the public.

Ultimately, the ODGV overcomes the low wind speed challenge in the tropics by guiding and increasing the speed of the wind from all directions radially through the guide-vanes before entering the VAWT at center portion. To harness power from the sun, a photovoltaic panel is mounted on the top surface of the ODGV for solar energy generation. The green energy generated from this wind-solar hybrid system is utilized to power the outdoor lighting system.

The team led by Dr. Chong Wen Tong was awarded a Pre-commercialized Prototype Fund to develop and install the product at suitable locations in the campus. The fund was provided by UM via UM Center of Innovation and Commercialization (UMCIC). The first unit was installed next to the outdoor gymnasium, opposite 1st Residential College. This unit will serve as the first full-scale trial and as a showcase unit of the product. Improvements on the design and features will be included in the next units. For the commercialization of this product, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between UM and a private company, Master Shanghai Turnparts Sdn. Bhd. (MSTSB). MSTSB has provided great assistance in enhancing the product. The second unit of the product is currently in the final stages of fabrication and testing.

The product is protected by three intellectual properties and a trademark, all of which is owned by UM. It also has won several awards in local and international exhibitions. With a motto 'Lighting-up UM', the team aims to provide a sustainable solution for energy efficient and quality lighting powered by wind-solar hybrid renewable energy sources.

Summary of the product

The product is a part of an UMRG project led by Dr. Chong Wen Tong. The product is called "Eco-GreenergyTM Wind-Solar Outdoor Lighting System" and it is self-sustained, i.e. powered by the shrouded vertical-axis-wind-turbine generator and solar PV panel. The novelty of the product is achieved through the wind power augmentation of the guide-vanes assembly known as the omni-direction-guide-vane (ODGV). The guide-vanes can be made from clear and translucent material to act as light-plates. Moreover, logos or symbols can be engraved on these plates for showcasing purposes. The solar PV is positioned at the top portion of the ODGV to avoid interference resulting from shadow. The batteries and the controller are stored at the top of the pole and below the ODGV to avoid vandalism or flash floods. The overall "clean" impression of the product compared to other conventional wind-solar lamp posts serves as an added advantage for this product.

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Story Source:

The above story is based on materials provided by University of Malaya. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

Cost-effective filtration system to efficiently combat indoor air pollution

 

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Prof Obbard, holding a particulate monitor, with the AiRazor filtration system.

A team of researchers from the National University of Singapore's (NUS) Faculty of Engineering has developed a cost-effective solution for the control of indoor air pollution, especially from the haze. The new system is easy to use and ideal for use in a range of indoor environments.

Led by Associate Professor Jeff Obbard from the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, the team at NUS invented a filtration system that is designed for use with a domestic ventilation fan to remove particulate matter measuring less than 2.5 microns in diameter (PM2.5) from indoor air. The NUS system is also able to reduce levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that are typically associated with the odour from haze pollution.

The development of this system by NUS researchers is timely in light of the World Health Organization's (WHO) recent news on the risks of PM2.5 inhalation, which has been linked to a range of cardiovascular and respiratory ailments, including cancer.

Assoc Prof Obbard said: "In Singapore, we typically spend about 90 per cent of our time indoors, and we have successfully commercialised this research discovery so that everyone can benefit from a cost-efficient way of swiftly and effectively reducing PM2.5 pollutants in indoor air."

Assoc Prof Obbard explained that people are constantly exposed to PM2.5 indoors as a result of pollutants generated from household activities, such as cleaning and cooking, as well as from pets and smoking. Indoor air quality is also affected by PM2.5 f that seeps into homes and offices from the haze, traffic fumes and industrial emissions.

"This new system is designed to filter out particulates down to at least 0.3 microns in size -- almost 10 times smaller than the PM2.5 WHO standard. It will also help to reduce the burning smell associated with the haze," he said.

How the system works

The NUS filtration system has been specifically designed to fit onto standing, floor and wall fans that are widely used in Singapore and other parts of Asia. The system delivers an optimal airflow to quickly clear the air of PM2.5, and also suppresses new PM2.5 that is constantly being generated. Contaminated air passes through the system many times each hour, which then scrubs the air of PM2.5 and VOCs.

"It is important for any system to cover every corner of the room" said Assoc Prof Obbard, "We reduce PM2.5 where it matters most -- in the air that we breathe, not just at the filter itself."

Typically, the system reduces PM2.5 concentrations in a room by up to 85 per cent in 30 to 60 minutes.

The system can be used effectively in both semi-naturally ventilated and air-conditioned spaces. Assoc Prof Obbard noted that he had been surprised to discover from his research that air conditioning units did not always provide adequate protection against PM2.5, and could even be a source of PM2.5 if not well maintained.

Air purifiers on the market today can cost several hundred dollars each, which means that many families could, at best, afford only a single unit, if at all. This would be insufficient for the entire home.

"Our goal is to provide everyone in Singapore with affordable protection against PM2.5 exposure at a fraction of the price of a regular air purifier" said Assoc Prof Obbard, "We wouldn't think of drinking a cloudy glass of water, and equally we should all breathe the cleanest air possible."

The new system comprises a special filter and a cover that fits snugly over the fan, quickly converting it into an air purifier. The simple, but efficient system is designed for cost-effective use in hospitals, care homes and community centres, and is competitively priced.

More effective than a standard air purifier

The NUS filtration system has been scientifically tested in a range of indoor environments including homes, offices, hotels and student hostels. Independent tests found that the NUS filtration system was about twice as effective as a branded air purifier in removing and suppressing PM2.5 in a large indoor space because of its superior air flow.

The system has also been tested in severe haze conditions. Assoc Prof Obbard took the system to Pekanbaru in Riau Province in February this year when there were over 1,000 hotspots in Sumatra. The Pollutant Standard Index (PSI) there was above 750. He conducted tests in a Pekanbaru school classroom where the PM2.5 level nine times over the 'safe limit', as defined by the WHO. Even though the classroom was naturally ventilated, the system achieved a dramatic reduction in PM2.5 levels within a short time span. In a separate test, the system also successfully reduced PM2.5 concentrations in a house in Pekanbaru to safe levels.

The technology has been licensed exclusively to AiRazor Technologies for commercialization by the NUS Industry Liaison Office, which is part of NUS Enterprise. AiRazor was founded by Assoc Prof Obbard, Mr Andrew Yap, and Mr K. J. Tan.

AiRazor's haze control system, and other related products, will be available in Singapore by mid-June. AiRazor is also launching its product range in Taiwan, and other Asian markets.

New perspectives to the design of molecular cages

 

Researchers from the University of Jyväskylä report a new method of building molecular cages. The method involves the exploitation of intermolecular steric effects to control the outcome of a self-assembly reaction.

Molecular cages are composed of organic molecules (ligands) which are bound to metal ions during a self-assembly process. Depending on the prevailing conditions, self-assembly processes urge to maximize the symmetry of the system and thus occupy every required metal binding site. The research group led by docent Manu Lahtinen (University of Jyväskylä, Department of Chemistry) developed a method in which sterically hindered ligands are used to seemingly disrupt the self-assembly process. This new strategy allows a ligand to occupy only two of the four potential binding sites of the metal. The created molecular cage presents a low symmetric tetrahedral intermediate product in a reaction that would generally yield a higher symmetric octahedral cage.

The reported results provide new insights on how self-assembly processes of metal-organic systems can be controlled. However, the most significant feature of the proposed method is the new way of building molecular cages with vacant metal binding sites. This creates an opportunity to modify the properties and behavior of pre-assembled cages by incorporating functionally significant molecules to partially exposed metal ions. The presented strategy provides a new concept to build more complex molecular cages.

Molecular cages are the materials of tomorrow

Molecular cages and capsules are hollow nano-sized (1 x 10-9 m) compounds that consist of organic molecules or ions and, in most cases, metal ions. They share many structural features with, for example, viruses whose shells (capsids) are composed of organized proteins. One of the most significant feature of molecular cages is their ability to bind and release guest molecules depending on the prevailing conditions. Hence, some of their most important potential applications include biomedicinal uses (transport of drugs), storing of unstable and/or reactive molecules and recovery of hazardous compounds from aquatic environment.

The present study was published in the journal Chemical Communications and is part of M.Sc. Anssi Peuronen's doctoral thesis that focuses on the study of structural chemistry of cationic ammonium compounds and is supervised by Docent Manu Lahtinen. The third member of the research group is M.Sc. student Samu Forsblom.

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Story Source:

The above story is based on materials provided by Suomen Akatemia (Academy of Finland). Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

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Journal Reference:

1. Anssi Peuronen, Samu Forsblom, Manu Lahtinen. Sterically controlled self-assembly of tetrahedral M6L4 cages via cationic N-donor ligands. Chemical Communications, 2014; 50 (41): 5469 DOI: 10.1039/C3CC49663E

Molecules do the triple twist

 

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An international research team led by Academy Professor Kari Rissanen of the University of Jyväskylä (Finland) and Professor Rainer Herges of the University of Kiel (Germany) has managed to make a triple-Möbius annulene, the most twisted fully conjugated molecule to date, as reported in Nature Chemistry.

An everyday analogue of a single twisted Möbius molecule is a Möbius strip. It can be made easily by twisting one end of a paper strip by 180 degrees and then joining the two ends. A triple twisted Möbius molecule is more difficult to visualize, but its graphical representation resembles the well-known recycling logo, this time with three twisted corners.

However, it has turned out to be extremely difficult to twist molecules to a Möbius surface that has only one side. Up to now, only the simplest Möbius molecules have been prepared. Now Dr. Gaston Schaller and Professor Rainer Herges from the University of Kiel and M.Sc. Filip Topić and Academy Professor Kari Rissanen from the University of Jyväskylä, together with Professor Yoshio Okamoto (Osaka, Japan) and Jun Shen (Harbin, China), have succeeded in preparing and characterizing a triple twisted annulene -- a more complex Möbius molecule which has three twists but only one surface.

Currently these chiral one-sided compounds are merely scientifically intriguing topological objects and far from practical application, but they exhibit a high potential in future applications in molecular electronics and optoelectronics.

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Story Source:

The above story is based on materials provided by Suomen Akatemia (Academy of Finland). Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

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Journal Reference:

1. Gaston R. Schaller, Filip Topić, Kari Rissanen, Yoshio Okamoto, Jun Shen, Rainer Herges. Design and synthesis of the first triply twisted Möbius annulene. Nature Chemistry, 2014; DOI: 10.1038/nchem.1955

Robot warriors pose ethical dilemma

 

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With the increasing use of drones in military operations, it is perhaps only a matter of time before robots replace soldiers. Whether fully automated war is on the immediate horizon, one researcher says it's not too early to start examining the ethical issues that robot armies raise.

In her recent thesis on the ethics of automation in war, Linda Johansson, a researcher in robot ethics at Sweden's KTH Royal Institute of Technology, suggests that it is necessary to reconsider the international laws of war, and to begin examining whether advanced robots should be held accountable for their actions.

The use of drones -- or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) -- is increasing, and more money is being poured into developing them, clearly changing the context of conflict and raising new questions.

"It's not too early to start discussing these kinds of issues … given the speed of development," Johansson says.

According to a UN survey, civilians have been killed in 33 separate drone attacks around the world. In Pakistan, an estimated 2,200 to 3,300 people have been killed by drone attacks since 2004, 400 of whom were civilians. According to the latest figures from the Pakistani Ministry of Defense, 67 civilians have been killed in drone attacks in the country since 2008.

"Soldiers may kill other soldiers in a war -- would it be permissible for someone on the other side of the earth to attack the operators who control the drones?" Johansson asks.

She also questions the ethics of assigning drone operators the task of tracking a targeted person from a safe distance for days, perhaps even a week, before striking. "This is different from ordinary combat soldiers who face their opponents directly," she says. "The post-traumatic stress syndrome that affects an operator may be just as severe as for a regular soldier."

Currently drones are still operated remotely by a human being, but technological advancement is so rapid that full automation is more than just a grim science fiction fantasy.

Johansson sketches out a scenario to show how reaching that point presents other ethical questions:

"Soon we may be facing a situation where an operator controls two drones instead of one, on account of cost reasons," Johansson says. "Add to that the human tendency to rely on technology. Now imagine a situation where very quick decisions must be made. It becomes easy to step out of the decision loop and hand over control to the robot or computer.

"Man becomes the weakest link."

It could also be argued that robots are not entitled to defend themselves, since under the rules of war they are not in danger of losing their lives. "Does it mean that they have lost the right to kill human soldiers?" she asks.

Robots, especially drones, can also facilitate the conduct of "secret war," with low transparency and minimal involvement of troops.

Linda Johansson's research has resulted in a compilation of seven articles. In addition to autonomous systems in the war, she studied other aspects of robots. One of the articles is about care-giver robots and the ethics around them. Two of her articles focus on the so-called "agent landscape" -- or if and when advanced robots can be held responsible for their actions.

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Story Source:

The above story is based on materials provided by KTH The Royal Institute of Technology. The original article was written by Peter Larsson/David Callahan. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

Adhesive bonding with pre-applied adhesives

 

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In industrial production, bonding plays an increasingly important role. Researchers have now succeeded in separating the processes of applying the adhesive and the actual joining, which opens up a new world of applications.

Adhesive bonding technology is an effective and inexpensive means of seamlessly joining two parts, even two made of different materials. Especially in lightweight construction, adhesive bonding is the preferred technique because many of the materials used can hardly be joined otherwise. However, since liquid adhesives need time to cure, they cannot be applied in every production step. In hopes of finding a way to eliminate the need for regularly applying liquid adhesive while joining fasteners, the automotive supplier STANLEY Engineered Fastening -- Tucker GmbH in Gießen turned to the researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Advanced Materials IFAM in Bremen. Their solution was a two-step process in which adhesive is initially deposited on one of the parts and then dried to form a non-sticky layer. During a subsequent production step, the adhesive is hardened and the two parts are bonded together.

Although two-step bonding techniques aren't new -- early postage stamps were coated with an adhesive that would only stick to envelopes once moistened -- using them for industry is. Fraunhofer IFAM researchers have successfully developed the technique to allow for a high-strength adhesive bond suitable for industrial use -- no easy task, since the adhesives must fulfill different and sometimes contradictory requirements. "Once the adhesive is applied, it can't be tacky and it has to withstand long storage times," explains chemical engineer Andreas Lühring from Fraunhofer IFAM. But the adhesive has to do more than that. "The adhesive also has to be very reactive and harden quickly during joining." The researchers' concept combines resins and hardening agents that melt at different temperatures. "We use micro-dispersion to finely distribute hardening agents with considerably higher melting points throughout the resin base," adds Professor Andreas Hartwig.

The resulting reactive, hot melt adhesive is used in the manufacture of fastening bolts, for instance. First the material is heated and then applied onto the fastener. After it cools, it solidifies again. The fastener can then be transported and stored without difficulty. To harden the actual adhesive, it must be heated to more than 150 degrees Celcius in a controlled way. "Only then is the actual hardening agent melted and the adhesive activated," explains Lühring. In this way, two parts can be bonded to each other within seconds.

"There is one disadvantage to reactive adhesives like these -- they can be stored for a long time, but not indefinitely," says Dr. Matthias Popp, group manager at Fraunhofer IFAM. That's why the researchers had added an additional, visual means of monitoring the adhesive -- if the substance has lost its functionality, it changes color.

These pre-applicable structural adhesives (PASA®) are also suitable for other applications, including a variable "construction kit" that offers adhesives based on different materials and hardening principles. The IFAM experts have altered the composition of the adhesives so that they yield the best possible productivity and characteristics for a wide variety of applications. For this development, Andreas Lühring, Andreas Hartwig and Matthias Popp received one of this year's Joseph von Fraunhofer prizes.

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Story Source:

The above story is based on materials provided by Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

Call Us Scientific Home Journal

 

By Ricki Rusting | August 28, 2013

The views expressed are those of the author and are not necessarily those of Scientific American.

 

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Credit: Scientific American

I love Scientific American‘s archive not only for its record of scientific discovery but also for the surprises I invariably find there. Who knew that beyond covering cutting-edge research, Scientific American of the 1800s offered household hints and even recipes?

A department called “Notes and Queries” offered tips and answers to readers’ questions. Among the useful hints: tin roofs need to be kept well painted; “Ladies may render their gauzy dresses somewhat incombustible by mixing a little pulverized alum in the starch when they are ‘done up’”; artesian well water is healthy for bathing.

One of my favorite finds, though, is “One Hundred Choice Household Receipts,” published February 22, 1879 in Supplement No. 164. The article presents ”practical and economical” recipes, several “published for the first time.” The recipes run the gamut from bread to side dishes to condiments and sauces, but the lion’s share give directions for making sweets.  Naturally, I had to try one.

For modern-day cooks, the recipes pose multiple challenges. They leave out the preferred size and shape of baking pans and the length of time to keep concoction in the oven. They also sometimes measure sugar and milk and such in terms of “teacups,” and mete out butter “the size of an egg” –terms apparently not uncommon at the time.

Directions for “Sally Lunn,” for instance, read:

“One quart of flour, 3 tablespoons yeast, 3 eggs, 1 saltspoon salt, butter the size of an egg. Make up with new milk into a tolerably stiff batter; set it to rise, and when light pour into a mould, and set to rise again as light bread. Bake quickly.”

And for “Plum Pudding”:

“One teacup molasses, one cup of sweet milk, one teaspoon soda, one tablespoon butter, one pint raisins, chopped; flour enough to make as thick as soft gingerbread, one teaspoon of all kinds of spices. Sauce.–One cup powdered sugar, half cup butter, two eggs well beaten; just before served, one tumbler [1/2 pint] boiling currant wine.”

A quick look at Google reveals conflicting measures for a teacup—but it seems to refer to about four or six ounces. Butter-the-size-of-an-egg equals ¼ cup, some sources say. A saltspoon is ¼ teaspoon.

Being a fan of both coffee and cake, I tried my hand at “Coffee Cake”:

“One cup sugar, one cup molasses, one cup butter, one cup strong coffee, one teaspoon cinnamon, a grated nutmeg, one cup seeded raisins, two small teaspoons soda; stir in flour until the mixture will drop from the spoon. This receipt will make two cakes.”

I hit some bumps pretty quickly. I didn’t know how much nutmeg was being called for exactly (I guessed two or three teaspoons). Other unknowns: whether to use sweet or salted butter and what it meant to say “the mixture will drop from the spoon.” The goop seemed to “drop from the spoon” even before I added any flour. Also, what kind of pan was I to use and how long was I to bake the cake and at what temperature?

Meanwhile, I did not want to use a pound of butter, so I halved the recipe. And my tin of nutmeg was probably as old as the article, so I substituted fresher “cake spice”–containing cinnamon, anise, nutmeg, allspice, ginger and cloves–in place of the cinnamon and nutmeg (1½ teaspoons). I also chose salted butter over sweet and mixed in 1½ cups of flour. I stirred the batter until it resembled whipped cake frosting. I poured it into a greased 8- by 8-inch square pan and baked it at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

The cake sank in the middle. Credit: Ricki Rusting

The square pan was a bad idea; the cake sunk in the middle. A tube pan would probably have been better.

The cake tasted good to me, but my husband declared it too strongly spiced. The top had a pleasant sweet crunch to it, but the rest of the cake, outside of the sunken part, was dry and crumbly; I must have used too much flour, or maybe I baked the cake for too long, or both. A tester came out clean at 30 minutes, but I was hoping that longer baking would induce the center to rise. It didn’t.

I would love to hear from anyone else who tries the recipe. What works, what doesn’t? Please comment.

Perhaps the most delightful recipe I’ve come across is for lobster salad; the instructions, published in the August 23, 1862 issue, take the form of a poem (below). The editors credit the Rev. Mr. Barham, author of “The Ingolds by Legends,” for the recipe, which they claim works better without the onion and with a little bit of sugar. They also suggest starting with a lobster weighing two pounds in its shell and a large head of lettuce.

Lobster Salad

Credit: Wikimedia Commons

“Two large potatoes, passed through kitchen sieve,
Unwonted softness to the salad give;
Of ardent mustard add a single spoon,
Distrust the condiment which bites too soon;
But deem it not, though man of herbs, a fault
To add a double quantity of salt;
Three times the spoon with oil of Lucca crown;
And once with vinegar procured from town;
True flavor needs it, and your poet begs
The powdered yellow of two well-boiled eggs;
Let onion atoms lurk within the bowl,
And scarce suspected, animate the whole;
And lastly, on the flavored compound toss
A magic teaspoon of anchovy sauce;
Then, though green turtle fail, though venisons tough,
And ham and turkey are not boiled enough,
Serenly full the epicure may say,
‘Fate cannot harm me, I have dined to-day.’”

Is All the Universe from Nothing?

 

By Richard Yonck | May 22, 2014 |  

The views expressed are those of the author and are not necessarily those of Scientific American.

 

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In March, a team of researchers based in Antarctica announced they’d detected gravitational waves, faint echoes from the first moments of the Big Bang. This discovery has enormous implications for cosmology, the world of physics and even our understanding of the future of our universe. My recent blog post about the BICEP2 project explored some of these, as does my upcoming article about cosmic inflation in the July-August issue of The Futurist.

The expansion of the universe. (Source: NASA)

These writings gave me a lot to think about regarding the origins of our universe. Invariably, when explaining the early evolution of the cosmos, one particular question always comes up: where did the singularity that started the Big Bang come from? For some time, many physicists and cosmologists have said it could be possible for our universe to have actually started from nothing – as wild and counterintuitive as that sounds. But without proof this seems like a statement of faith, impossible to prove or disprove and therefore outside the purview of true scientific discussion. Ever since Popper, we’ve said that falsifiability is the demarcation between what is scientific and what is not. It felt like this might be the point where the scientific method would have to give way to the origin stories of myth.

Or perhaps not.

Last month saw the publication of a paper that may be as important to our understanding of the Big Bang as was the detection of gravitational waves. A team from the Wuhan Institute of Physics and Mathematics in China has made the first rigorous mathematical proof that the Big Bang could have spontaneously generated from nothing. The Wuhan team, led by Qing-yu Cai, developed new solutions to the Wheeler-DeWitt equation, which sought to combine quantum mechanics and general relativity in the mid-20^th century.

A map of cosmic microwave background radiation. (Source: NASA)

According to Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle, quantum fluctuations in the metastable false vacuum – a state absent of space, time or matter – can give rise to virtual particle pairs. Ordinarily these pairs self-annihilate almost instantly, but if these virtual particles separate immediately, they can avoid annihilation, creating a true vacuum bubble. The Wuhan team’s equations show that such a bubble has the potential to expand exponentially, causing a new universe to appear. All of this begins from quantum behavior and leads to the creation of a tremendous amount of matter and energy during the inflation stage. (Note that as stated in this paper, the metastable false vacuum has “neither matter nor space or time,” but is a form of wavefunction referred to as “quantum potential.” While most of us wouldn’t be inclined to call this “nothing,” physicists do refer to it as such.)

This description of exponential growth of a true vacuum bubble corresponds directly to the period of cosmic inflation resulting from the Big Bang. According to this proof, the bubble even stops expanding – or else it may continue to expand at a constant velocity – once it reaches a certain size. Nevertheless, this is a very different version of inflation than those proposed by Guth, Linde and others, in that it doesn’t rely on scalar fields, only quantum effects. Still, this work dovetails well with that of the BICEP2 team, both discoveries having significant implications for our understanding of the universe and our future should they stand up to further inquiry.

A map of cosmic microwave background radiation. (Source: European Space Agency)

Given the quantum behavior of virtual particles in a vacuum as put forth in this paper, it’s reasonable to assume this hasn’t happened only this once, but rather many or potentially even an infinite number of times. The idea of a multitude of multiverses being generated by processes similar to those that gave rise to our own universe is not new. But this is the first time we’ve actually identified the mechanisms that may have been involved. In discussing this with one of the authors, Qing-yu Cai said he thinks their work “supports the multiverse concept.” Whether this process would result in the exact same physical laws that we see in our own universe remains to be determined, since according to these equations only limited conditions could result in an exponentially expanding true vacuum bubble.

Another idea that’s been discussed in the past is whether or not we could ever create new universes ourselves, perhaps using something like the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). However, as Qing-yu Cai observed, “space-time of our universe is a whole, it cannot be divided into small parts arbitrarily, even at LHC.” Therefore, “it seems impossible to create new universes ourselves.”

Ultimately, this mathematical proof needs to be checked out by others and ideally put to some yet-to-be-determined tests. In the end, the work may or may not be accepted. That is, after all, how the scientific method operates. But if this proof should stand up to scrutiny, it will most certainly give us considerable new insights into the mechanisms that gave birth to our cosmos. The news of this past month demonstrates that the field of cosmology remains vibrant, with new ideas and discoveries regularly being made. Our universe and the physics at its foundation are incredibly complex and will continue to yield new knowledge about our past, present and future for a long time to come. Perhaps until the end of time.

Sources and Further Reading:

Spontaneous creation of the universe from nothing. Dongshan He, Dongfeng Gao, Qing-yu Cai. Apr 4, 2014.

A Window on the Universe’s Distant Past and Future. Yonck, Richard. Mar 17, 2014.

The Origin of the Universe (text). Hawking, Stephen. Berkley lecture, Mar 13, 2007.

Inflation in Cosmology. Wikipedia.

1915 Warning: Beware of Used-Car Salesmen

 

By Ricki Rusting | December 30, 2013   

The views expressed are those of the author and are not necessarily those of Scientific American.

 

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Credit: Scientific American

Suspicion of used-car dealers has a long history in the U.S. if an article in a 1915 supplement to Scientific American is any guide. The story, “Buying a Second-Hand Automobile,” by Victor W. Pagé, runs for more than 3,000 words, recalling one horror story in detail and giving loads of advice on how to avoid being swindled.

“Unfortunately,” Pagé notes, “there are a number of dealers who do not hesitate to palm off any car they may have on hand without making any repairs of a permanent nature. These gentry also are prone to making misleading statements regarding the date of manufacture, power and condition. As they sell on a commission they cannot afford to make repairs, but as false testaments are cheap, plenty of claims are made that will not be supported by the performance of the machine.”

In his star example, Pagé recalls a car whose engine began malfunctioning within a week of the vehicle’s purchase. When he removed the cylinders, he found “that two of these had been badly scored by running the pistons at some time or other without adequate lubrication. In order to compensate for the lost compression, due to the scratches, a metal plate about ¼ inch thick had been riveted on each piston working in the defective cylinders.”

Credit: Scientific American

And that was just part of the car’s woes and the tricks the dealer had used to make it salable.

“The transmission system,” Pagé recounts, “was but little better.” After removing a thick grease, impregnated with what appeared to be wood fibers, from the gearset, it was seen that the intermediate and slow speed gears were so badly worn and burned that new ones had to be obtained. In addition to this, the badly worn cone clutch facing had been made to hold by driving in rubber bands between the cone and friction material at all points between the rivets where the leather could be pied up for their insertion.”

When taking the car out for a spin, moreover, “the driver had avoided using the gears as much as possible, doing all the driving on the direct drive or high speed which did not call for rotation of any gears except the constant mesh members, which seldom wear enough to cause noise because they are not clashed into engagement as the shifting members are.”

Among the tips Pagé offers: Examine the engine for superficial defects, and, after inspecting many other things, have the seller take you for drive. “Before going out, insist on having the full number of passengers the car is supposed to carry. Occupy a seat convenient to the driver so you can watch the way the car is controlled.” Also, “pick your own route for a demonstration, taking a variety of roads,” and have a demonstration of at least 50 miles.”

Finally, “do not buy a big car because it is cheap and appears to be a lot for the money.” And “do not buy some millionaire’s discarded plaything unless you have enough to maintain it, in which case you will not need to be a second-hand car.”

Police Methods For Destroying Drug Evidence Vary

 

by The Associated Press

May 25 / 2014 12:43 PM ET

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Cardboard boxes and paper envelopes packed with marijuana, cocaine and other drugs line warehouse-style shelves at the State Highway Patrol's Ohio crime laboratory, where seizures large and small are stored for safekeeping for sometimes years until they're no longer needed as evidence.

Then comes a tricky task: How do you destroy it all?

Most often by incineration, but where and how varies, according to police spokesmen and officers who oversee evidence. Arranging evidence burns can be tricky because rules are different everywhere, allowing more leeway in some places than others.

Police have used crematories, foundries, hospital incinerators or specialized businesses — and even torched drugs in 55-gallon drums.

Troopers in Ohio used to destroy thousands of pounds of seized drugs — for free — at factories where they could be vaporized in molten steel. But the companies worried about it potentially affecting the quality of their product and producing emissions: the kind that create environmental concerns and the kind that could skew employee drug tests, said Capt. David Dicken, a director at the crime lab.

"If we're throwing 940 pounds of marijuana into the vat, you know, it flares up," he said.

To maintain a dedicated drug destroyer, the agency switched last year to a paid contract with a federally permitted company that handles hazardous materials.

Federal standards regulate waste incinerators that burn pharmaceuticals, but those used only for contraband are exempt from those rules, said Dina Pierce, a spokeswoman for the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.

Various local environmental and safety rules can apply, creating a complicated regulatory picture for evidence-management officers sorting out what destruction methods are allowed, said Joseph Latta, an instructor and executive director at the Burbank, California-based nonprofit International Association for Property and Evidence Inc.

"During the class, we say, 'Here are the ways that we've heard of. Here are the legal ways. Here are some maybe unorthodox ways that we've had to do," Latta said.

U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, which seizes millions of pounds of illegal narcotics, pays contractors to destroy the drugs or turns them over to other agencies, such as the Drug Enforcement Agency, said Jaime Ruiz, a CBP spokesman.

DEA destroys marijuana at EPA-approved incinerators because those seizures are generally bulkier, and it burns other contraband drugs at its labs, said Special Agent Rich Isaacson, spokesman for the agency's Detroit division.

In California, where environmental regulations tend to be stricter, the legal option is usually limited to EPA-approved energy-plant incinerators that operate under emissions and security standards, Latta said. But reaching those sites could be impractical for smaller, more rural law enforcement agencies that take in lesser amounts of drugs, he said, acknowledging some "have probably taken shortcuts."

It can be a dilemma for officers who must either arrange for destruction or allow drug evidence to accumulate, which risks making the storage area a potential theft target, Latta said.

Other jurisdictions have more choices: State police in the Detroit area use a metal forging plant's high-temperature furnace, but smaller posts use burn barrels. Indiana State Police have similar options. Pennsylvania State Police handle drug destruction internally, such as with a small incinerator. New York State Police use an outside contractor they won't disclose.

In West Virginia, some authorities may use fire pits, state police Capt. Joe White said.

Drug destruction arrangements with steel facilities still work for some agencies, including Columbus, Ohio, police and the FBI's Cleveland division. Cincinnati police are using that option for the first time this year because the university facility they used in the past stopped providing the service, department spokeswoman Sgt. Julian Johnson said.

Especially when drug-destruction work is pro bono, police tend to be tight-lipped about details to protect security, the businesses involved and sometimes the arrangements themselves.

"The word gets out there that this facility does it, then 50 other agencies want to go there ... and that gets to be too much for that place to handle, and then you lose that place. And then you've got to go find another one," said Sgt. Jeff Yaney, who oversees evidence for Dayton, Ohio, police.

Yaney wouldn't divulge where the department destroys drugs. It used to take advantage of the incinerator that burned classified materials at nearby Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, but the base replaced it with a shredder rather than paying for changes to meet environmental rules a few years ago.

Representatives for two federally permitted hazardous waste incinerators in Ohio, Ross Environmental Services Inc. near Elyria and the patrol's vendor, Heritage Environmental Services in East Liverpool, said they provide a more controlled, secure destruction process with environmental protections and benefits not necessarily found at other types of facilities.

For that, though, agencies generally must pay. Heritage has destroyed about 10,000 pounds of drugs and paraphernalia since July for the patrol, at a cost of roughly $22,000, said Lt. Craig Cvetan, a patrol spokesman. The funding came from seized drug money, which is also used for drug enforcement and drug-abuse prevention programs.

Associated Press writers Marc Levy in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Ed White in Detroit and Michael Virtanen in Albany, New York, contributed to this report.