Technology Updates

tahanson43206 · 2021-06-03 11:54:17

For SpaceNut .... this item might be of interest to Louis ???

https://currently.att.yahoo.com/att/fir … 00002.html

Floating solar power involves installing solar panels on floating structures on a body of water, such as a lake, fjord or ocean, or in a hydropower reservoir. Each unit consists of a floating ring and a thin membrane. Combined with the cooling of the panels from the water below, it is this membrane and the large area that makes this concept unique. The technology is developed by Ocean Sun and although the membrane is only a few millimeters thick, it can easily withstand the weight of the solar panels and of personnel carrying out installation or maintenance tasks.

The text ** seems ** (to me at least) to imply the structure is ** not ** using traditional floats.

(th)

Calliban · 2021-06-03 17:20:47

Tahanson, that is an interesting technology. There are parts of the North Sea, where floating panels could be combined with underwater CAES, providing efficient energy storage, over a period of hours. The undersea air bags, would provide constant pressure compressed air as they discharge. That is a very valuable attribute, because the compressed air can then supply gas turbines burning natural gas, hydrogen and biogas, with zero (or at least greatly reduced) compressor work at constant compression ratio. Something like half to two-thirds of gas turbine work output is consumed by the axial compressor feeding the combustion chamber. If intermittent electricity can be stored in compressed air and used to supply air to a gas turbine combustion chamber, then we effectively double the efficiency of the gas turbine.

The problem that floating solar faces, in addition to high embodied energy that is endemic to PV, is the same thing that has hindered the development of wave power. The system must be engineered to withstand storms, with wave energy measured in MW/m.

Last edited by Calliban (2021-06-03 17:24:49)

tahanson43206 · 2021-06-06 19:26:19

This report is about light collection for underground spaces. It might seem a good fit for Mars, or any location away from Earth where thick layers of radiation protection are needed to protect living creatures.

https://scitechdaily.com/illuminating-d … _TrendMD_0

A team of Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) researchers has designed a ‘smart’ device to harvest daylight and relay it to underground spaces, reducing the need to draw on traditional energy sources for lighting.
In Singapore, authorities are looking at the feasibility of digging deeper underground to create new space for infrastructure, storage, and utilities. Demand for round-the-clock underground lighting is therefore expected to rise in the future.
To develop a daylight harvesting device that can sustainably meet this need, the NTU team drew inspiration from the magnifying glass, which can be used to focus sunlight into one point.

This device most definitely would seem highly desirable for Mars habitats!

A needed refinement is a means of repelling dust particles so they don't adhere to the light admitting surface in the first place.

(th)

tahanson43206 · 2021-06-08 12:56:20

This snippet is from a tech journal .... it hints at developments we may see in robotics in years ahead ...

Touch has positive effect on robot-human interaction
Interpersonal touch between humans is known to have positive effects, including reduced stress and improved immune system function. A team of researchers wondered, could touch also have a positive effect on human-robot relationships?

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tahanson43206 · 2021-06-14 17:22:59

https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/micheli … 00691.html

Michelin says the nifty new system can be used on every maritime shipping route and also features a retractable telescopic mast to ensure the bigger boats can enter harbors and pass under bridges without issue. It’s also fully automated and can adjust itself to catch the most amount of wind or retract should conditions become too stormy. The company says it will test the sails on a merchant ship in 2022 before heading into full-scale production.

The Mars connection is this:

The idea of inflatable sails has NOT appeared in any literature I have seen, in the context of laser beam assisted flight between Solar system bodies.

In a recent post, kbd512 has reminded forum readers of the benefits of ion propulsion for vessels moving between Earth and Mars, with chemical propulsion in the mix where appropriate.

This forum has considered laser sail operations for deep space flight, and primarily in the context of very low mass probes intended to fly by nearby star systems. At that time Void was still in one of his creative moods, and I (vaguely at this point) seem to recall mention of laser powered flight assistance within the Solar System for currently feasible space craft.

A logical place for a laser beam generator for the Earth-Mars transit would be the Earth Moon.

An inflatable solar sail would have the advantage of holding shape, just as the proposal for Earth sailing craft would seem to require.

(th)

kbd512 · 2021-06-15 02:53:32

tahanson43206,

Have you not heard of Mini-Magnetosphere Plasma Propulsion (M2P2)?

Since the "sail" is plasma-based, it doesn't require building gigantic ultra-lightweight structures, or rather, it uses the ionized solar wind to push on the neutral gas injected into the magnetic field that automatically "inflates", dependent upon how far the powered craft is from the Sun, so thrust output remains constant per unit of input power into the electromagnet, no matter how near or far you are from El Sol (in theory). According to lab scale experimentation, it can do substantially better than traditional ion engines, but it does expend propellant (the injected gas), so there's a definite specific impulse associated with using the technology.

While this propulsion concept doesn't use lasers, as cool (hot?) as that would be, it could potentially be a considerably more efficient replacement for traditional ion engines such that a much smaller solar array is required to supply the input power (1N/kW of input power for M2P2, versus ~50mN/kW for ion engines). That thrust level has actually been demonstrated in a vacuum chamber here on Earth, so the concept is worthy of further development. Only 1.3 years of travel time to Jupiter. Much like ion engines, M2P2 is best used to reach more distant celestial objects on a budget.

tahanson43206 · 2021-06-15 07:33:42

For kbd512 re #381

Thank you for the reminder of theoretical study of (possibly) harnessing solar wind ....

Those are worth while studies and well worth reading and considering for some far distant future when they might be practical.

The post #380 was about design of shapes suitable for capturing energy from moving air molecules. Humans have been using shapes made of cloth for many centuries, and that design for sail on Earth remains popular and widely used to this day.

The distinctive "new" feature of the sails described in the article is their structure based upon internal stiffening due to air pressure.

Traditional cloth based sails depend upon a sturdy wooden or metal pole (often called a mast) which provides the strength needed to hold the cloth shape that is optimum for the purpose.

Forum member Quaoar went to quite a bit of trouble to try to persuade forum readers of the practicality of laser based propulsion systems for interstellar missions. I found myself far more interested in the potential of laser based propulsion for the Earth/Mars circuit, which is why I picked up on the potential of the inflatable shape to provide the great size and needed durability for a space application.

Because you are (apparently) supporting the plasma concept, I propose a friendly race to see which concept is achieved first, and which has the greater impact on the shipping business of future years.

After re-reading your post, I can see that is has significant potential for missions that can operate on the light but constant flows of the Solar wind.

What I'm interested in is a robust propulsion system operating from the Earth Moon, and delivering tons of force to large vessels in the Earth/Mars trade.

(th)

tahanson43206 · 2021-06-24 11:10:51

For all, with emphasis on:

kbd512 re refined Carbon
Calliban re nuclear fission
RobertDyck re Canada

https://www.yahoo.com/news/climate-chan … 25231.html

What a massive missed opportunity!

The output of this plant could be fed into a splitting operation to make pure Carbon for nanotechnology, and pure Oxygen for all the myriad uses of Oxygen on Earth today.

Instead, it appears this group of incredibly short sighted individuals is thinking of storing CO2 under the sea.

The company with the technology appears to be headquarted in Canada.

The site of the proposed plant is Scotland.

This waste could be avoided with the judicious use of nuclear fission power to the mix.

Nuclear fission power could deliver steady non-fossil power to operate the plant and to deliver very high value products.

The proposed plant would remove up to one million tonnes of CO2 every year - the same amount taken up by around 40 million trees.
The extracted gas could be stored permanently deep under the seabed off the Scottish coast.

What a profound waste!

(th)

Calliban · 2021-06-24 11:37:22

Air extraction of CO2 is a foolish waste of energy. Why not instead liquefy the much more concentrated CO2 that comes out of a gas turbine exhaust? Also, it is not necessary to store CO2 under the sea bed. Liquid CO2 discharged at a depth of 300m would remain liquid. It would settle on the ocean bottom and either dissolve into the deep ocean water, where it would react with dissolved minerals to form stable carbonates, or sink into the sediments at the ocean bottom, eventually forming carbonates.

Splitting CO2 into O2 and carbon, would require as much energy as was released by burning coal in the first place. So this is not an energetically favourable way of disposing of CO2.

One option for liquefaction of CO2 could take advantage of cryogenic energy storage.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryogen … gy_storage

The idea is use excess electricity to cool and liquefy air, which is partially separated into liquid O2 and mixed O2 and N2 and stored in underground tanks. Both liquid O2 and N2 expand to several hundred times their liquid volumes when returned to normal temperatures. The liquid O2 is injected into a gas turbine, along with methane and liquid CO2, which reduces flames temperatures to avoid melting the turbine blades. The combustion products are a mixture of CO2 and water vapour. These pass through a waste heat boiler, powering a steam plant, cooling them to about 30°C. The CO2 rich gas then passes into a second heat exchanger, which is used to evaporate the liquid N2/O2 mixture, passing it through a turbine to generate mechanical power. The water vapour condenses and is removed. The cold CO2 gas, is compressed and cooled until it forms a liquid at a pressure of about 15 bar and temperature -23°C. Some of the liquid CO2 is recycled back into the gas turbine combustion chamber. The remainder is pumped into a steel pipe that drains by gravity into the deep ocean.

This concept achieves a number of wins: (1) It allows efficient energy storage using liquid air, by using low quality waste heat, that would otherwise be dumped, to produce mechanical power by reexpanding the air; (2) By eliminating the compressor work of the gas turbine, the amount of energy extracted by the gas turbine is increased by something like 60% and pressure ratio and power density are vastly improved over a conventional gas turbine; (3) The heat of condensation of the CO2 as it turns into liquid, provides heat of evapouration for the liquid air in its expansion cycle; (4) The low temperatures allowed by using the CO2 waste gas to boil the liquid air, allows the CO2 to be liquefied using very little compressor work; (5) Liquid CO2 has a density of 1100kg.m-3, so small amounts of power could be extracted from its gravitational potential energy as it drains into the ocean trench, maybe enough to run the liquefaction compressor; (6) Cold, liquid CO2 would be useful in aiding advanced oil and gas recovery.

The final point is especially pertinent, as in the years ahead, we must take every opportunity to squeeze the last remaining oil out of conventional reservoirs. We need to flatten the decline curve of oil as much as possible, to allow time for energy transition.

Last edited by Calliban (2021-06-24 12:18:56)

tahanson43206 · 2021-06-24 13:09:30

For Calliban re #384

Thank you for taking a look at the proposal to build a CO2 capture facility in Scotland ...

In reading your post, I realized it is not clear from the article if the entrepreneurs are thinking of pulling CO2 from the air. The article refers to favorable circumstances of Scotland, (or words to that effect) and I am wondering if that might be an indirect reference to working with the exhaust of existing plants?

However, in ** this ** post, I'd like to call attention to this snippet ...

Splitting CO2 into O2 and carbon, would require as much energy as was released by burning coal in the first place. So this is not an energetically favourable way of disposing of CO2.

Yes. Indeed. That is ** precisely ** what I am suggesting.

Pure Carbon suitable for nanomanufacturing is a valuable resource.

Pure Oxygen suitable for life support, for manufacturing, and for space launches is ** also ** a valuable material.

What I'm suggesting is that making ** those ** useful materials from CO2 (however it is captured) is an ** excellent ** use of nuclear power.

The products are long lasting and storable, and they do not lose value if they ** are ** stored.

That is the definition of commercial enterprise in a nut shell.

Your expertise (I'm assuming) is in harnessing nuclear fission to do something useful.

Making long lasting high value "merchandise" is a good use of nuclear fission, and it doesn't ** have ** to be done anywhere near were people are.

(th)

tahanson43206 · 2021-06-26 12:13:49

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/nano … 47039.html

"We show the material can absorb a lot of energy because of this shock compaction mechanism of struts at the nanoscale versus something that's fully dense and monolithic, not nanoarchitected," said Portela in a news release describing the discovery. "The same amount of mass of our material would be much more efficient at stopping a projectile than the same amount of mass of Kevlar."

This would appear to be of interest for a space suit outer garment.

(th)

tahanson43206 · 2021-06-26 17:59:25

I'll put this in Technology Updates ....

https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/maps

I wasn't able to find the display after capturing the URL above ... The one I thought might be interesting to forum members who reside in the North American continent shows the heat readings around the continent, and wind arrows that are in motion.

It is (to my way of thinking) a remarkable demonstration of advanced technology ...

It is similar in content to the display that Mars_B4_Moon found recently, showing thousands of satellites and junk pieces moving in orbit around the Earth.

(th)

kbd512 · 2021-06-26 19:49:40

tahanson43206,

We need to figure out how to use molecular assembly technology to produce near-perfect CNT and BNNT fibers that achieve some substantial portion of their theoretical strength. This new discovery is interesting, but the underlying technology needs to be used to produce a fabric Carbon and Boron based fabrics that were already known to have far superior ballistic qualities to those of Kevlar, even without nano-scale engineering of the material.

tahanson43206 · 2021-06-27 06:56:58

For kbd512 re #388 and nanoscale manufacturing ...

Thanks for noting this research, and for (apparently) encouraging more of it.

This is a very early stage demonstration, but it hints at what may be possible. This could be a field of concentration for students embarking upon their educations, with long careers ahead as the demonstration evolves into global industry.

An application I find interesting is development of a sponge-like mass that could absorb CO2 molecules as a spacecraft enters the atmosphere of Mars from orbital velocity. Current designs for dealing with the presence of mass in front of a traveling object do not attempt to prevent bouncing of molecules, with the notable exception of the British Skylon effort, which attempts to use liquid Hydrogen to absorb thermal energy from air molecules collected by the scoop of their vehicle.

I am interested in the possibility of capturing CO2 molecules in tiny mitts, so they do not bounce around, and instead, smoothly accept acceleration to whatever the velocity of the vehicle might be at the moment of encounter. The material described in the article may be close to the right dimensions to permit a mass to be constructed.

(th)

kbd512 · 2021-06-27 18:24:10

tahanson43206,

The molecules of spacecraft striking the molecules of atmosphere at hypersonic speeds is what transfers heat (any speed to be clear, but at hypersonic speeds the result becomes a thermal management problem for the spacecraft), not the fact that the atmosphere wasn't trapped in some nano-scale "catcher's mitt". If the molecules are permitted to rebound away, then some of that thermal energy is also transmitted in other directions, not simply directly into the heat shield (radiative cooling). If anything, I would think that trapping the atmospheric molecules would also trap most of the thermal energy transfer generated during the interaction. We're far better off entraining a thin layer of water between the oncoming flow and the surface of the heat shield. The water can then carry the thermal energy away from the spacecraft with it.

SpaceNut · 2021-06-27 18:32:40

The British Skylon are trying to super cool the air for its oxygen which is needed for the direction of travel.
Mars transpiring heat shield requires having a coolant onboard to sacrifice during peak heating...
Mars is different for capture as in that mass added on acceleration to the planet is a bad thing as it makes the impact to the surface even higher which requires more fuel for that final burn to slow the ship down....

tahanson43206 · 2021-06-27 19:45:08

For SpaceNut ... re #391

Thanks for commenting upon and thinking about the pro's and con's for various designs.

The idea I have described would ** prevent ** heating, by capturing molecules and accelerating them smoothly to the velocity of the vehicle. Heating occurs because molecules are allowed to bounce against each other as they are accelerated. The result of the uncontrolled bouncing is development of thermal energy in the material. This heating is manifest as higher and higher temperatures.

The ideal front end for an arriving space vehicle would capture the molecules in narrow tubes so that they do not bounce around, and thus experience smooth acceleration in the direction of travel instead of unlimited acceleration in every possible direction which is observed in heat shields today.

As I understand it, it is a characteristic of particles that make up our (visible) Universe, that they release radiation when they are accelerated.

It should be possible to know the radiation emitted by a particle that is accelerated from zero to orbital velocity in a short time.

It is the unrestrained bouncing of particles in every imaginable direction, and thus the emission of radiation with each new acceleration, that results in the heating that can be observed when objects enter the atmosphere at orbital velocity.

(th)

tahanson43206 · 2021-06-30 10:01:42

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/mars … 00679.html

Mars First Logistics Looks Very Cool
Luke Plunkett
Tue, June 29, 2021 8:10 PM
Mars First Logistics is an upcoming game by Australian developer Ian MacLarty. The first thing you’ll probably notice is how nice it looks with that crisp, clean art style.
Now watch the trailer below and get to the very familair-looking part where you get to build your own little robot trucks. And notice the wobbly cargo and vehicle physics that makes me think—and I’m sorry but I have to be reductive like this—Death Stranding x LEGO.
Read more

Nice to see this new offering!

(th)

Mars_B4_Moon · 2021-07-14 08:18:08

How Do SpaceX's Starlink Satellites Actually Work?
https://www.discovermagazine.com/techno … ually-work

Laser Communications Demo
https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/20 … pacecraft/

A Space-Internet? interplanetary internet this can connect Earth, spacecraft, space stations eventually connect with the planet Mars

https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/heo/s … networking

tahanson43206 · 2021-07-14 18:36:19

This report discusses using high temperatures to increase efficiency of electrolysis to make hydrogen.

https://currently.att.yahoo.com/att/blo … 00925.html

Enabling and Empowering the Global Hydrogen Economy
Bloom Energy’s technology dates to the 1980s, when the co-founders first developed electrolyzers to support the military and later NASA’s Mars exploration programs. In the early 2000s, 19 patents were awarded to Bloom Energy for its electrolyzer technology. With reduced renewable energy costs and the global movement to decarbonize, Bloom Energy believes this is the right moment to commercialize its hydrogen technology. Collaborating with industry-leading organizations, Bloom Energy celebrated several milestones over the past year:
First announced electrolyzer pilot: In November 2020, Bloom Energy announced it will supply its electrolyzers to an industrial complex in Changwon, Korea in collaboration with its Korean partner, SK EcoPlant. Supporting the Changwon RE100 initiative to create renewable ecosystems, the new project paves the way for South Korea to reach carbon neutrality by 2050. The units will ship to Changwon in mid-2022.
Harnessing excess nuclear energy: In May 2021, Bloom Energy announced

(th)

tahanson43206 · 2021-08-02 18:12:50

it's been two weeks since this topic received an update ....

Here is a report on progress by a venture to create a battery that appears to be competitive ...

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/this … 25284.html

QantumScape was founded in 2010 by Singh and backed early by Microsoft founder Bill Gates and auto giant Volkswagen. Both continue to be investors in QuantumScape.
In early December, Singh publicly revealed test results for QuantumScape’s solid state battery. QuantumScape’s data showed its battery cell could charge up to 80% of capacity in 15 minutes. Further, it retains more than 80% of its capacity after 800 charging cycles, is non-combustable and boasts nearly double the energy density of high-end commercial lithium batteries.

I can't tell from the article what the underlying technology may be, but with any luck, perhaps better Internet sleuths can find out.

(th)

Calliban · 2021-08-03 04:38:49

Fast charging electric batteries are huge load on the electric grid. If you are charging a 90kWh battery in 15 minutes, then you are drawing 360kW from the grid. If 1 million electric cars were to suck that much power simultaneously, the additional load on the grid would be 360GW - about 2/3rds of the existing US grid. If there were to be 150 million fast charging EVs on the grid and even 10% of them were to charge simultaneously, then the resulting power load would be 10 times existing US power generating capacity. That isn't affordable or sustainable. The only way these things stand a chance of working at a systems level is by allowing them to charge slowly over several hours. Even if battery charge time were to be smoothed over 24 hours, the US would still need to roughly double its existing electricity generation, to accommodate 150m EVs (0.4 per person). That is a dubious proposition at best and not one that will be easy to afford.

My own suspicion is that the electric revolution would do better focusing on trains, trams and buses, that can draw power from the grid as it is generated, rather than attempt to store it in batteries.

Last edited by Calliban (2021-08-03 04:44:17)

tahanson43206 · 2021-08-03 07:10:34

For Calliban re #397 .... it is rare for Louis and Calliban to find common cause, but I definitely see an opportunity in this situation!

Louis has recently supported the air/iron battery concept that has been developing slowly since 1970, when (I understand) it was first investigated by NASA.

If I understand the situation correctly, an air/iron battery could collect energy all day long from the grid and from renewable sources when they are available, and then deliver power to vehicles as needed. The flow into the battery from the grid would be regulated so it is distributed evenly over 24 hours.

Once again, in advocating for large transportation systems, and missing the desire of the individual customer to be a player, you are looking to serve a dictator in one of the many countries where such people are in charge. If you want to serve one of the few remaining nations where citizens still have a small amount of influence, you would (I would think) want to support giving the individual the best possible service you could think of.

The Texans (represented by two active forum members) are showing the way forward, by entrusting more and more power to individuals. Whether that is a good idea will become clear in coming years, but it is undeniably happening. It seems to me Texans would be likely to support a proposal to let them lease 1 megawatt systems for 10 year terms, and work out the economic flows arising from that concept for themselves.

(th)

tahanson43206 · 2021-08-10 19:59:40

https://ohmnilabs.com/products/ohmnirobot/

Now we're getting somewhere!

Ohmni® Telepresence Robot
Be Anywhere, From Anywhere
Our flagship product, the Ohmni® Robot, is an award-winning telepresence robot that transforms how people connect, from their homes, businesses, classrooms, to hospitals. Be there in just one click.
Proudly designed and built in Silicon Valley, CA.
TALK TO A HUMAN
SCHEDULE A TEST DRIVE

Forget video conferencing. Now collaborate better with an in-person presence.
Designed & built in the USA
SEE SPECS & FAQ

4K HD WIDE ANGLE CAMERA
See better with the best camera ever on a telepresence robot.

HIGH-CAPACITY BATTERY
Enjoy 5+ hours of continuous call time before charging again.

AUTODOCKING TECHNOLOGY
Advanced vision-based algorithm for easy docking and charging.

FAR-FIELD MIC AND SPEAKER
Hear and be heard clearly across the room.

ULTRA-RESPONSIVE TILTING NECK
Ensures maximum emotiveness and wider field of view.

CUSTOMIZE TO EXPRESS YOURSELF
Choose your own colors and customize the base cover.

LIGHTWEIGHT AND PORTABLE
4’8” tall and folds for easy transport. Only 20 lbs.

(th)

tahanson43206 · 2021-08-17 12:30:06

The monthly tech newsletter arrived ... here are a couple of items that seemed (to me at least) of possible interest to NewMars equipment designers...

Metal 3D printing vs casting
<company name>
The ability to produce complex metal parts easily and affordably without any tooling makes metal 3D printing very attractive. Watch this webinar to learn specifically about how metal 3D printing compares to casting; comparing material properties, part economics, and throughput will all be discussed.

Pumps designed not to fail.
Like all rotating machinery, pumps can fail. But they don’t have to fail quickly, and they don’t have to be designed for failure.
Based on the technology of over 200 patents, <company>'s product lines are both a design engineer's and MRO supervisor's go-to pump designed not to fail. Learn how...

(th)

New Mars Forums

Announcement

#376 2021-06-03 11:54:17

Re: Technology Updates

#377 2021-06-03 17:20:47

Re: Technology Updates

#378 2021-06-06 19:26:19

Re: Technology Updates

#379 2021-06-08 12:56:20

Re: Technology Updates

#380 2021-06-14 17:22:59

Re: Technology Updates

#381 2021-06-15 02:53:32

Re: Technology Updates

#382 2021-06-15 07:33:42

Re: Technology Updates

#383 2021-06-24 11:10:51

Re: Technology Updates

#384 2021-06-24 11:37:22

Re: Technology Updates

#385 2021-06-24 13:09:30

Re: Technology Updates

#386 2021-06-26 12:13:49

Re: Technology Updates

#387 2021-06-26 17:59:25

Re: Technology Updates

#388 2021-06-26 19:49:40

Re: Technology Updates

#389 2021-06-27 06:56:58

Re: Technology Updates

#390 2021-06-27 18:24:10

Re: Technology Updates

#391 2021-06-27 18:32:40

Re: Technology Updates

#392 2021-06-27 19:45:08

Re: Technology Updates

#393 2021-06-30 10:01:42

Re: Technology Updates

#394 2021-07-14 08:18:08

Re: Technology Updates

#395 2021-07-14 18:36:19

Re: Technology Updates

#396 2021-08-02 18:12:50

Re: Technology Updates

#397 2021-08-03 04:38:49

Re: Technology Updates

#398 2021-08-03 07:10:34

Re: Technology Updates

#399 2021-08-10 19:59:40

Re: Technology Updates

#400 2021-08-17 12:30:06

Re: Technology Updates

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