C. Janith is a Jadetimes news reporter covering science and geopolitics.
They could store 15,000 times more energy than steel springs and three times more energy than lithium.
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Lithium-ion is the king of portable energy, but many competing ideas that are cheaper and more efficient are aiming to dethrone its privileged position.
One of those ideas is carbon nanotubes - the wonder material stronger than steel that also happens to store three times more energy per unit mass than lithium.
According to the researchers behind a new study, this could make ropes of twisted single-walled carbon nanotubes particularly attractive for medical devices, as the wires could harvest energy from the body’s movements.
Large swaths of the technology industry - whether they make smartphones, renewable energy storage, or electric vehicles - owe a pretty big debt of gratitude to the creation of the lithium-ion battery. Without it, the modern information age would’ve been severely curtailed in its ability to go mobile and store an impressive amount of energy on the go. But, as is true with all technologies, what was once cutting edge eventually wears out its welcome. And lithium-ion batteries are tiptoeing into this category.
Of course, lithium-ion batteries remain immensely important - lithium is even often referred to as “white gold”, but scientists are realizing that some kind of replacement is likely necessary if we want to achieve our clean energy dreams. Lithium-ion batteries don’t work well in extreme temperatures on either end of the scale and have a non-zero chance of exploding (search “Tesla on fire” and you’ll get the picture), and lithium extraction has devastating consequences on the environment and human health.
These issues and others like them have led experts to propose things like iron-air batteries, proton batteries, and sodium batteries as possible replacements (or supplements) for humanity’s pervasive use of lithium. Now, a new battery is entering the chat - carbon nanotubes. A new study from an international team of scientists revealed that twisted coils of carbon nanotubes, with each thread being only one-atom thick (also known as single-walled) - could store 15,000 times more energy than steel springs and three times more energy per unit mass than lithium. The authors published the results of the findings in the journal Nature Nanotechnology.
To create these ropes of nanotubes, the researchers first crafted the threads from commercially available materials. Luckily for us, carbon nanotubes are relatively easy to manufacture and they’re 100 times stronger than steel. Once these atom-thick threads had been created, the researchers wove them into a “rope” and coated that rope with a number of substances to increase its strength and flexibility. Compared to lithium, these carbon nanotubes are also more robust with regards to extreme temperatures, and can operate from -76ºF (-60ºC) to 212°F (100°C).
Although carbon nanotubes likely won’t power your smartphone any time soon, the researchers think the technology could be a game-changer for health implants, as the batteries could harvest energy from the body’s movements to power wearables and implants.
“Humans have long stored energy in mechanical coil springs to power devices such as watches and toys,” Sanjeev Kumar Ujjain, a co-lead author of the study from the University of Maryland Baltimore County’s, said in a press statement. “This research shows twisted carbon nanotubes have great potential for mechanical energy storage.”
C. Janith is a Jadetimes news reporter covering science and geopolitics.
Disunity, mutual distrust, betrayal, the naivety of a significant portion of the population, and the inability to analyse past and present events – these are just a few characteristics of today’s Arab world. Of course, these traits existed before, but it seems that the Arab world is still unable to learn from its mistakes.
Image Source: (Sam Al-Sabri/Wikimédia)
Current events in the Middle East, particularly in Syria, have at least provided updated insights into the true state of the so-called Arab world. This happens at a time when much of Eurasia, Africa, and Latin America are focused on fully integrating into a multipolar world order. Meanwhile, the Western global minority is split between those who remain convinced of the “superiority” of their insular world over the rest of humanity and those who are passive or even supportive of the multipolar world. Against this backdrop, the Arab world presents a unique case.
Illusions continue
In reality, the events of the “Arab Spring” have taught the populations of many Arab states very little. Firstly, a large portion of youth and civil society still clings to a simplistic view – “revolution” against “tyranny”. Such narratives are easily amplified by social media. Secondly, there is a division between “good” and “bad” based on religious identity. Shia Muslims (a minority within the Arab Muslim world but a majority among Iran’s Persians) are often labelled as “bad” and seen as a “threat” to the Sunni majority of the Arab world.
Christians, Alawites, and other religious minorities – who have lived in the region since ancient times – are often grouped with the “bad” Shias. Unsurprisingly, manipulated citizens of Arab states frequently support extremist Salafist groups, whom they perceive as “their own,” despite the vast ideological chasm between these sects and traditional Sunni Islam, even in their interpretation of Islam itself.
Perhaps the most striking aspect of this is the celebration of the “overthrow” of the so-called “Alawite tyrant”, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, by Al-Qaeda terrorists, among whom many are ISIS members. This jubilation within the Arab world often overshadows the ongoing tragedy in Palestine, where the majority of civilian casualties are Sunni Muslims. This is a paradox of the modern Arab world. Equally paradoxical is the indifference of this enthusiasm to Israel’s occupation of new Syrian territories amidst the chaos, while pseudo-devout Salafist “Muslims” show no interest in opposing Israeli aggression. Their focus remains on defeating the Shias – a victory they celebrate with zeal.
It becomes evident that the tragedies of Iraq or Libya have taught many Arab citizens and youth nothing. Ultimately, it is their right to experiment with new alliances under British, American, Israeli, Turkish, or Qatari influence.
External Players and Essential Lessons for Advocates of a Multipolar World
A notable paradox emerges here. While many citizens of Arab countries celebrate the fall of Syrian President Assad’s government, along with several media outlets in the Arab world, some mukhabarat (intelligence agents) from these countries are in a state of shock. They fully understand the potential consequences for their own nations. In almost every Arab country, there are dormant cells of Al-Qaeda and ISIS terrorists. These cells are ready to adopt the Syrian model, especially with Qatar financing these groups and Turkey under Erdoğan pursuing neo-Ottoman ambitions.
This paradox also explains why some Arab citizens are so quick to accept Qatari funding, given the evident economic and social challenges in their countries. What these citizens fail to comprehend is that Qatar, while capable of financing certain extremist groups for its own ambitions, will never undertake the resolution of the widespread socio-economic problems in many Arab nations. Qatar simply lacks the financial resources or the willingness to address such issues. Furthermore, many Arab citizens living under illusions will not experience Qatar’s financial prosperity. This is due to the obvious demographic and other structural realities of their countries, even if they possess certain natural resources.
Neither will Erdogan’s Turkey, Western or Israeli regimes help them solve their own problems. Speaking of Erdoğan’s Turkey, despite illusions of victory in Syria, its troubles are just beginning. The Kurdish issue is bound to escalate in the Middle East, supported by Western and Israeli backers. Additionally, Turkey’s perceived ability to control several extremist groups is entirely illusory. Sooner or later, the genie will escape the lamp — this is an undeniable truth. Even Qatar, as a microstate, will eventually face the repercussions of its regional and international policies.
The Western planetary minority, despite their assumptions to the contrary, will also encounter increasing challenges. The Pandora’s box opened in Syria and the Middle East as a whole will bring many unpleasant surprises to the principal instigators of global chaos – including the Israeli regime.
How Should Advocates of a Multipolar World Respond? At this stage, the primary approach should be one of cautious observation. It has become clearer than ever that neither Russia, nor China, nor even Iran should attempt to solve the massive problems of the Middle East. This also applies to Lebanon’s Hezbollah, which fought for the dignity of the Arab and Muslim worlds as a whole, not merely for the interests of Shia Muslims, as some mistakenly believe.
The Palestinian question, or rather tragedy, could have been resolved long ago by the Arab states that are now rejoicing at the apparent end (at least for now) of President Assad’s rule in Syria. This resolution could have been achieved not only militarily but also economically – if there had been the will to act. However, there is no such will. If those directly affected by this issue are not striving to resolve it, there is no reason for advocates of a multipolar world to take on this responsibility on behalf of the Arab states.
C. Janith is a Jadetimes news reporter covering science and geopolitics.
This latest clue about the architecture of consciousness supports a Nobel Prize winner's theory about how quantum physics works in your brain.
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A recent groundbreaking experiment in which anesthesia was administered to rats has convinced some scientists that tiny structures in the rodents’ brains are responsible for the experience of consciousness. To pull it off, microscopic hollow tube structures called “microtubules” perform some advanced physics; the experts believe microtubules perform incredible operations in the quantum realm. Citing the work of earlier researchers, the study infers that the same kinds of quantum operations are likely happening in the human brain.
During their rat brain experiments, scientists at Wellesley College in Massachusetts gave the rodents isoflurane, a type of inhaled general anesthetic used to induce and maintain unconsciousness for medical procedures. One group of drugged rats also received microtubule-stabilizing drugs, while the other did not. The researchers discovered that the microtubule-stabilizing molecules kept the rats conscious for longer than the nonstabilized rats, which more quickly lost their “righting reflex,” or the ability to restore normal posture, according to the group’s findings, which were published in the peer-reviewed journal eNeuro in August 2024.
The Wellesley study is significant because the physical source of consciousness has been a mystery for decades. It’s a major step toward verifying a theory that our brains perform quantum operations, and that this ability generates our consciousness - an idea that’s been gaining traction over the past three decades.
The notion that quantum physics must be the underlying mechanism for consciousness first emerged in the 1990s, when Nobel Prize–winning physicist Roger Penrose, PhD, and anesthesiologist Stuart Hameroff, MD, popularized the idea that neural microtubules enable quantum processes in our brain, giving rise to consciousness. Specifically, they postulated in a 1996 paper that consciousness may operate as a quantum wave passing through the brain’s microtubules. This is known as Orch OR theory, referring to the ability of microtubules to perform quantum computations through a mathematical process Penrose calls “objective reduction.”
In quantum physics, a particle does not exist in the way classical physics observes it, with a definite physical location. Instead, it exists as a cloud of probabilities. If it comes into contact with its environment, as when a measuring apparatus observes it, then the particle loses its “superposition” of multiple states. It collapses into a definite, measurable state, the state in which it was observed. Penrose hypothesized that “each time a quantum-wave function collapses in this way in the brain, it gives rise to a moment of conscious experience.”
If this quantum theory of consciousness tied to microtubules turns out to be correct, it could revolutionize our understanding of consciousness and even strengthen the trailblazing theory that consciousness, on a quantum level, is capable of being in all places at the same time. In other words, it can exist everywhere simultaneously, suggesting that your own consciousness can hypothetically connect with quantum particles beyond your brain, maybe entangling with consciousness all across the universe.
Many scientists disregard the Orch OR theory because quantum effects have only been produced in the lab under extremely cold conditions. For example, our technology now includes quantum computers, but their operations rely on temperatures near absolute zero (around minus 273 degrees Celsius) to maintain their quantum states. The warm brain falls well outside those limits, at about 32 to 40 degrees Celsius (about 90 to 104 degrees Fahrenheit) in the deepest regions of the brain, according to a 2022 study. Yet scientists have collected a promising set of data over the years indicating that certain quantum-level operations in animals and plants may actually be responsible for life’s functions.
For example, scientists theorize that plants, which live at temperatures far warmer than absolute zero, probably use quantum processes to efficiently convert light into energy. First, plants transform photons, or light particles, into a form of matter called excitons, transporting them to the plant’s chloroplasts to start photosynthesis. During this journey, the excitons must navigate around other internal plant structures - fast enough to preserve their energy all the way to their destination. Scientists suggest that plants must use the quantum property of superposition in order to try all possible paths simultaneously. That way, excitons can arrive at their destination in the most efficient way possible.
Similarly, it may make sense for the billions of neurons firing simultaneously in the human brain to work under the “action over a distance” property of quantum entanglement - the potential for two particles that are very far away from each other to be connected. Scientists have observed this phenomenon in atomic particles before. When they studied one particle, another very distant particle changed its properties as well, even though the two were not apparently connected in any way. An August 2024 study in the journal Physics Review E proposes that a fatty material called myelin, which sheathes the brain cell’s axon, provides the ideal environment for this entanglement. Since the brain appears to be capable of performing quantum operations to facilitate our thoughts, some scientists surmise that this process gives rise to our consciousness.
Two earlier landmark studies also support a quantum perspective on consciousness. Both involved experiments shining light particles into microtubules and observing that the signal did not degrade. In fact, according to these studies, the experiments demonstrated that quantum states in microtubule signaling can and probably do exist.
One of the studies, an experiment by physicist and oncology professor Jack Tuszyński, PhD, used ultraviolet photons to create quantum reactions for up to five nanoseconds. This quantum coherence lasted thousands of times longer than researchers had expected in a microtubule. Similarly, at the University of Central Florida, researchers shined visible light into one end of microtubules and measured how long the microtubules took to emit that light. They observed re-emission of this light over hundreds of milliseconds to seconds, more than enough time for the brain to perform all of its functions.
This observation provides concrete evidence that neurons are able to work at speeds that allow quantum operations. It brings us another step closer to understanding exactly how our brain - and perhaps our very consciousness - is linked to a quantum universe.
The mind “as a quantum phenomenon” would “shape our thinking about a wide variety of related questions, such as whether coma patients or nonhuman animals are conscious,” neuroscientist and Wellesley College professor Mike Wiest, PhD, says in a press release about his team’s recent anesthesia study. In addition to the new work helping us understand more about how to treat brain-related health issues, he says “we will have entered a new era in our understanding of what we are.”
