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Submission + - Japan renders current conventional submarines obsolete (x.com)

Submitted by schwit1
schwit1 writes: With the Taigei class and its lithium-ion batteries, Tokyo already set a new benchmark: up to three weeks submerged without ever raising a snorkel. That, however, was merely the opening act.

Today, Toyota and Panasonic are leading the global race in solid-state batteries, with prototypes arriving in 2027–2028, mass production after 2030, and Japan’s next submarine class will be the first to use them, either in pure battery form or as a hybrid with a small reactor for onboard recharging. This hybrid would be similar to what the Chinese are developing.

The leap is staggering. A 4,000 ton conventional submarine will patrol for 40 to 60 days without surfacing, sprint well above 20 knots for hours on end, and do it all more quietly than many nuclear subs, thanks to being significantly lighter and running solely on battery power.

Solid-state cells weigh roughly one-third as much, generate 40% less heat, and eliminate half the cooling systems. The result is a faster, stealthier hull that can travel thousands of kilometers without ever breaking the surface.

Those hundreds of saved tons translate directly into more powerful electric motors, extra torpedoes and missiles, cutting-edge sensors, or greater crew comfort. The same hull now carries twice the energy or twice the weapons.

It appears there are also plans to equip the system with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries’ micro nuclear reactor. Its design has no moving parts, which gives it excellent quietness. It’s essentially like a battery that can run for 20 years.

Comment This is the future of agriculture (Score 1) 30

by 0xG (#65848899) Attached to: RoboCrop: Teaching Robots How To Pick Tomatoes

Imagine when each tomato is picked only at the time of optimum ripeness. The robot will be back every day to check the plant.
Imagine wine made from grapes that are individually picked at optimum sweetness and acidity.
Imageine pest control being mechanically done with robots individually crunching each pest; no pesticides.
Cotton being picked such that every single strand is harvested.
Orchard fruit being automatically inspected and sorted for composting, juicing, or retailing. Perhaps with radar or sonar.
Seeds being planted at exactly the right depth and time, depending on soil conditions within each square metre (yard).

Cheap robotics will be the biggest revolution yet for agriculture.

Submission + - Cats Meow More Than Twice as Much at Men, And We Can Only Guess Why (sciencealert.com) 1

Submitted by alternative_right
alternative_right writes: "Our results showed that cats vocalized more frequently toward male caregivers, while no other demographic factor had a discernible effect on the frequency or duration of greetings," write the researchers in their published paper.

A total of 22 different behavior types were looked at by the researchers, including yawning (often a sign of cat stress) and food-related behaviors (including heading to their food bowl). The vocalizations were the only behaviors that changed based on the owners' sex.

Submission + - Fish-inspired filter removes 99% of microplastics from washing machine wastewate (techxplore.com)

Submitted by schwit1
schwit1 writes: Some fish feed by means of filtration; these include, for example, mackerel, sardines, and anchovies. They swim through the water with their mouths open and sift out the plankton with their gill arch system. "We took a closer look at the construction of this system and used it as the model for developing a filter that can be used in washing machines," says Blanke, who is a member of the transdisciplinary research areas Life & Health and Sustainable Futures at the University of Bonn.

During their evolution, these fish have developed a technique similar to cross-flow filtration. Their gill arch system is shaped like a funnel that is widest at the fish's mouth and tapers towards their gullet. The walls of the funnel are shaped by the branchial arches. These feature comb-like structures, the arches, which are themselves covered in small teeth. This creates a kind of mesh that is stretched by the branchial arches.

The filter element in the center imitates the gill arch system of the fish. The filter housing enables periodic cleaning and installation in washing machines.

"During food intake, the water flows through the permeable funnel wall, is filtered, and the particle-free water is then released back into the environment via the gills," explains Blanke. "However, the plankton is too big for this; it is held back by the natural sieve structure. Thanks to the funnel shape, it then rolls toward the gullet, where it is collected until the fish swallows, which empties and cleans the system."

This principle prevents the filter from being blocked—instead of hitting the filter head-on, the fibers roll along it toward the gullet. The process is also highly effective, as it removes almost all of the plankton from the water. Both are aspects that a microplastic filter must also be able to deliver. The researchers thus replicated the gill arch system. In doing so, they varied both the mesh size of the sieve structure and the opening angle of the funnel.

"We have thus found a combination of parameters that enable our filter to separate more than 99% of the microplastics out of the water but not become blocked," says Hamann. To achieve this, the team used not only experiments but also computer simulations. The filter modeled on nature does not contain any elaborate mechanics and should thus be very inexpensive to manufacture.

The microplastics that it filters out of the washing water collect in the filter outlet and are then suctioned away several times a minute. According to the researcher, who has now moved to the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada, they could then, for example, be pressed in the machine to remove the remaining water. The plastic pellet created in this manner could then be removed every few dozen washes and disposed of with general waste.

Submission + - Oracle's credit status under pressure (latimes.com)

Submitted by Bruce66423
Bruce66423 writes: 'A gauge of risk on Oracle Corp.’s debt reached a three-year high in November, and things are only going to get worse in 2026 unless the database giant is able to assuage investor anxiety about a massive artificial intelligence spending spree, according to Morgan Stanley.'

First sign of the boom's inevitable collapsing?

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