@mattbernst
Matt Ernst
Brutal Bloc Postcards | FUELBrutal concrete hotels, futurist TV towers, heroic statues of workers—this collection of Soviet-era postcards documents the uncompromising landscape of the Eastern Bloc through its buildings and monuments. These are interspersed with quotes from prominent figures of the time, which both support and confound the ideologies presented in the images.
1Efficient light conversion with perovskite nanocrystalsPerovskites are a family of crystals that show promising properties for applications in nanotechnology. However, a property called carrier multiplication, an effect that makes materials much more efficient in converting light into electricity, has not been observed in perovskites. New research, led by UvA-IoP physicists Dr. Chris de Weerd and Dr. Leyre Gomez from the group of Prof. Tom Gregorkiewicz, now reports that certain perovskites do have this desirable property.
1Modern Video Games Are Giving Kids Unrealistic Standards For How Many Swords They Can Carry At One TimeSome people would tell you we’re in a golden age of video gaming. Between incredible advances in graphics, a booming indie scene, and virtual reality just over the horizon, I am almost inclined to believe them. But while video games might be improving, nobody seems to be paying attention to what ...
1Intelligence Setback: The CIA Is In Crisis Mode After ISIS Made Its Instagram PrivateAmerica’s intelligence community suffered a massive setback today that experts say will have massive ramifications throughout the world of counterterrorism: The CIA has gone into full-on crisis mode after ISIS set its Instagram account to private.
2Innolith launches non-flammable battery with 50,000 charging cyclesInorganic electrolytes will do the trick the company says. For multi-MW grid-scale applications the company says its technology can boost battery life to 50,000 cycles and is non-flammable. It adds that the costs of the product are competitive with conventional battery systems. Innolith is taking over the baton from Alevo, including chief executive and engineers. Alevo, however, went bankrupt last year, making the same promises.
1Process Advantages of Direct CO2 to Methanol SynthesisDeveloping a laboratory scale or pilot scale chemical process into industrial scale is not trivial. The direct conversion of CO2 to methanol, and concomitant production of hydrogen from water electrolysis on large scale, are no exception. However, when successful, there are certain benefits to this process over the conventional process for producing methanol, both economic and environmental. In this article, we highlight some aspects that are unique to the process of converting pure CO2 to methanol. Starting from pure CO2 and a separate pure source of H2, rather than a mixture of CO, CO2 and H2 as is the case with syngas, simplifies the chemistry, and therefore also changes the reaction and purification processes from conventional methanol producing industrial plants. At the core of the advantages is that the reaction impurities are essentially limited to only water and dissolved CO2 in the crude methanol. In this paper we focus on several aspects of the process that direct conversion of CO2 to methanol enjoys over existing methods from conventional syngas. In particular, we discuss processes for removing CO2 from a methanol synthesis intermediate product stream by way of a stripper unit in an overhead stream of a distillation column, as well as aspects of a split tower design for the distillation column with an integrated vapo-condenser and optionally also featuring mechanical vapor re-compression. Lastly, we highlight some differences in reactor design for the present sy...
1Report: Majority Of Money Donated At Church Doesn't Make It To GodWASHINGTON—A shocking report released Monday by the Internal Revenue Service revealed that more than 65 percent of the money donated at churches across the world never reaches God. "Unfortunately, almost half of all collections go toward administrative expenses such as management, utilities, and clerical costs," said Virginia Raeburn, a spokesperson for the Lord Almighty, adding that another 25 percent of heavenly funding is needed just to cover payroll for the angelic hierarchy. "People always assume God is filthy rich, but they'd be surprised to learn His net worth is only around $8 million—and most of that is tied up in real estate." According to Raeburn, God currently has enough money saved to live comfortably throughout all eternity, but He may be forced to shutter a number of† under-performing religions.
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