New Solar Technology

UIC engineers developed a method to produce hydrogen from water using solar power and agricultural waste, cutting energy needs by 600%. This process uses biochar to lower electricity requirements, achieving high efficiency and offering potential net-zero emissions.

UIC engineers have introduced a groundbreaking method for producing hydrogen gas using solar power and agricultural waste, drastically reducing energy consumption and enabling net-zero greenhouse emissions.

Engineers from the University of Illinois Chicago have developed a novel method to produce hydrogen gas from water using solely solar power and agricultural byproducts like manure and husks. This technique slashes the energy required to extract hydrogen from water by 600%, paving the way for more sustainable and environmentally friendly chemical manufacturing.

Hydrogen-based fuels are one of the most promising sources of clean energy. But producing pure hydrogen gas is an energy-intensive process that often requires coal or natural gas and large amounts of electricity.         READ MORE...

Swiss Cheese Bubble Created by Supernovas

 

Artist's illustration of the Local Bubble with the sun's location in the center and star formation occurring on the bubble's surface. (Image credit: Leah Hustak (STScI))

In the new study, published online Jan. 12 in the journal Nature, researchers accurately mapped the star-forming regions surrounding the Local Bubble and, in doing so, calculated how fast the superbubble is expanding. 

This allowed the team to work out exactly how many supernovas were needed to carve out the gigantic cosmic void and better understand how star-forming regions are created across the Milky Way.Earth is slap bang in the middle of a 1,000 light-year-wide bubble with a dense surface birthing thousands of baby stars. Researchers have long wondered what created this "superbubble." Now, a new study suggests that at least 15 powerful star explosions inflated this cosmic bubble.

Astronomers in the 1970s first discovered the gigantic void, known as the Local Bubble, after realizing that no stars had formed inside the blob for around 14 million years. The only stars inside the bubble either existed before the bubble emerged or formed outside the void and are now passing through; the sun is one such trespasser. 

This setup had suggested that several supernovas were responsible for this void. Those stellar explosions, the researchers said, would have blasted the materials needed to make new stars, such as hydrogen gas, to the edge of a huge area in space, leaving behind the Local Bubble that's surrounded by a frenzy of star births.  READ MORE...