In this week’s AIP Advances, researchers explore gemstone polishing waste as a possible additive in cement, aiming to keep silicon carbide waste out of landfills and reduce emissions from the cement industry. The team tested chemical reactions at the molecular level, as well as microscale characteristics, such as microcracks and pore size, and macroscale outcomes, such as material strength and thermal and conductive properties. The added gemstone polishing waste enhanced thermal conductivity and reduced electrical resistivity in the modified cement.

Current battery management systems might report a car is 40% charged but drivers have to guess whether they can go 100 kilometers over hills with the heater running. Engineers at the University of California, Riverside want to take the guesswork out of it.

MIT scientists developed a method to predict how plasma in a tokamak fusion machine will behave during a rampdown, when the reactor’s plasma current is shut off. The research could improve the safety and reliability of future fusion power plants. 

Artificial intelligence can solve problems at remarkable speed, but it’s the people developing the algorithms who are truly driving discovery. At The University of Texas at Arlington, data scientists are creating sophisticated formulas that enable AI to interpret massive biological datasets to uncover how diseases start, how the immune system responds, and what treatments might work best.

MIT engineers have developed a recipe for a printable aluminum alloy that can withstand high temperatures and is five times stronger than traditionally manufactured aluminum. 

For years, researchers have puzzled over how the ancient people of Rapa Nui did the seemingly impossible and moved their iconic moai statues. Using a combination of physics, 3D modeling and on-the-ground experiments, a team including faculty at Binghamton University, State University of New York, has confirmed that the statues actually walked – with a little rope and remarkably few people.