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| “The magic of 8 and 24” |
Professor of number theory Maryna Viazovska has solved a mathematical problem that has stumped researchers for centuries. Using a creative approach and the knowledge gained in her dissertation work, she demonstrates how spheres can be optimally and symmetrically packed into multidimensional space in a manner that fills all available space. For this achievement she has been awarded the Fields Medal, which is something like a “Nobel Prize for Mathematics”.
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Wood: a wild card for the energy transition
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Wood is trump in terms of energy transition because it is very versatile and easy to store. Compared to today, up to a third more energy could be obtained from wood, not only in the form of heat, but also in the form of electricity and fuels. However, current use is not efficient enough, Swiss bioenergy researchers from WSL and PSI have shown in a new report.
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Delicate, diligent, transient
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Their task is to monitor the condition of ecosystems, for instance in the forest floor – and crumble to dust when their work is done: bio-gliders modeled on the Java cucumber, which sails its seeds dozens of meters through the air. Empa researchers have developed these sustainable flying sensors from potato starch and wood waste.
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A key experiment for the LIFE space mission
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With a constellation of five satellites, the international LIFE initiative led by ETH Zurich hopes to one day detect traces of life on exoplanets. A laboratory experiment in the Department of Physics is now set to demonstrate the planned measurement method.
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Methane as an energy store
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One important question regarding the planned energy transition is: how can we store energy for times when wind turbines and photovoltaic systems are not supplying electricity? Researchers at PSI and the start-up AlphaSYNT offer one possible answer. With a new approach to “power-to-methane” conversion, they are promoting a technology for storing energy in the form of methane gas that is ready for industrial use.
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