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Liquid metal flux accumulator

28.07.2018

At Stanford, our way is to make batteries cheaper while improving their performance - in particular, by increasing the energy density. The scientists used the concept of a flux battery, which uses a stream of conductive liquid to store charge.

Solar or wind power plants produce electricity unevenly, and batteries to compensate for unevenness are very expensive, which increases the payback period for environmentally attractive power plants.

Researchers at Stanford University are our way to make batteries cheaper while also improving their performance - in particular, by increasing energy density. The scientists used the concept of a flux battery, which uses a stream of conductive liquid to store charge.

Unlike previous approaches, when liquids with a relatively low energy intensity were used, moreover, they required high temperatures or consisted of expensive and toxic components, this choice fell on the "liquid metal" of sodium and potassium. This material remains fluid at room temperature, is harmless and inexpensive. At the same time, it is theoretically capable of storing 10 times more energy per unit mass than other candidates tested in this capacity. A ceramic membrane is used to separate the positive and negative parts of the battery.

The prototype exceeded twice the "conventional flux batteries" in maximum voltage, retaining its properties after thousands of hours of operation. There is still a lot of work ahead, including those related to the choice of materials, so the researchers are not yet talking about the commercialization of the development.

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The brain of a bird coordinates the coherence of singing in a forest choir 25.06.2021

Neuroscientists and ornithologists from leading research centers in the United States have joined forces to understand what mechanisms regulate the coordination of birds during singing. Duet vocalists, ensemble musicians - they are all so coordinated that they seem to form a single whole.

A new study has shown that while singing, the brain of one songbird interacts with the brain of another. Therefore, the song sounds harmonious. Eric Fortune, co-author of the study, a neuroscientist at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, noted that the brains of birds that hear each other combine to act in unison.

The study took place in the laboratory of the Yanayaku biological station in Ecuador, at the foot of the Antisana volcano. The team was interested in what happens in the brains of male and female brown-tailed bushwren Pheugopedius euophrys when they sing a duet. This species lives in the bamboo thickets of South America. Brown-tailed bush wrens were chosen because their singing is very rhythmic, technical and coordinated.

The researchers recorded the brain activity of birds during duets using electrodes that are much thinner than a hair, said Eric Fortune. The team observed that when the bird sings, the neurons fire, and when the bird hears its partner singing, the neurons calm down.

The duet members follow each other. At the same time, there are no pauses between the introductions of the vocalists. It seems that the song is sung by one bird.

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Learning more about how songbirds synchronize their singing can shed light on the mechanism of coordination in humans. This is a complex phenomenon that involves the exchange of information of various types.

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