Welcome to our latest science and technology news roundup. We’ve picked our favourite stories from the news over the last few weeks to share with you.
Congratulations go out to our partners at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory for successfully repeating their fusion ignition breakthrough earlier this month and this leads to our first story of a UK start-up inspired to construct a fusion rocket aimed to cut space travel time in half. Discussion has been generated over a room temperature superconductor claim, generating hope and scepticism and Goodfellow’s Technical Specialist, Qian Yang, shares his thoughts. Plus, stories on the ‘miracle’ material changing the future of renewable energy, a new strong material development made of glass and DNA, researchers turning flies into bioplastics, and rounding off your week with an electrifying cement breakthrough. What better way to launch into the weekend than watching the highlights from Dawn Aerospace's Space Plane's first rocket powered flight.
A fusion rocket designed to travel 500,000 mph is under construction
The sky’s the limit for potential fusion applications following Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory successfully repeating their nuclear fusion ignition breakthrough, bringing us another step closer to clean, limitless energy. But for one UK based startup, Pulsar Fusion, who are working on a fusion rocket which will
slash the time of space travel in half, the sky is only the beginning.
Goodfellow, proud to support LLNL's fusion breakthrough.
The materials science behind the reported room temperature semiconductor
The possibility of a room temperature superconductor predicted almost 60 years ago may have been realised, although there is a lot of scepticism surrounding the claim.
“The original paper, though still under review and yet to be published, shared an elegantly simple and practical approach to realizing room-temperature superconductors. While we await actual scientific replication, numerous attempts have at the least suggested the copper-doped lead apatite material design is a promising direction with potential huge advancement. If this holds true, we shall soon embrace the next decade of tech revolution”, comments Qian Yang, Technical Specialist, Goodfellow."
Let’s take a look at the materials science behind this reported breakthrough.
Hundreds of years after it was discovered, one material is about to change the world
The ‘miracle’ material revolutionising renewable energy is in the process of commercialisation. Its remarkable properties could potentially be applied across many industries and applications. Find out more about the ‘wonder’ material, perovskite.
Barium Titanate Powder - a perovskite from Goodfellow
Scientists develop strong, lightweight material by combining DNA and glass
Inspired by science fiction, researchers have developed a new novel nanolattice material made from DNA and coated in glass. Now science fact, the flawless material is five times lighter and four times stronger than steel.
Browse Goodfellow's Glass Products
Transforming flies into degradable plastics
Have you heard the buzz around a new source of polymers? Soldier flies, specifically discarded adult fly remains – a waste product from soldier fly farming – could be transformed into useful bioplastics, which would in turn become food for the insects, in a sustainable circular economy concept.
Shop Goodfellow's Biopolymer Range
Electrified cement could turn houses and roads into nearly limitless batteries
What if your home could power itself? What if you could charge your electric car while driving? And I mean full electric, not hybrid! This electrifying breakthrough could see your house, driveway and roads transform into nearly limitless batteries. Researchers have developed a cost-effective cement supercapacitor, with the potential to store renewable energy.
Shop Now: Goodfellow's Carbon Range
WATCH NOW: Highlights of Dawn Aerospace's Suborbital Space Plane's First Rocket Powered Flight
PODCAST: Innovation Discussed Episode 4 - The Nuts and Bolts of the Business
Goodfellow's Account Manager James Taylor stands in for Nic Pecheur in this episode to talk about a little known range in the Goodfellow porfolio: nuts and bolts. Goodfellow supply in all shapes, sizes and materials, and the conversation turns culinary when 'cheeseheads' are brought up. Meanwhile, Aphrodite muses that, in the future, behind every good scientist is artificial intelligence.
