Behold diamonds, famed for their hardness and thermal conductivity yet historically unable to conduct electricity. Now, Chinese researchers appear to have crafted electrically conductive diamonds. 

Their method involves temperatures between 2,372-2,732 degrees Fahrenheit (1,300 and 1,500 degrees Celsius) and a pressure of 12 gigapascals. For more on the details of how the diamonds are made, check out today's Must Read.

👀 Have you signed up for one of our latest newsletters, AI Logs? For your essential updates on artificial intelligence delivered every Wednesday, Subscribe now.

🔥Today’s job of the day as featured on jobs.interestingengineering.com:

> Electrical Engineer III - New Shepard
> Cyber Security Analyst ($112,000 - $179,000)

Reading Time: 4 mins

Did a friend forward this e-mail to you? Subscribe here.

MUST READ

💎 Chinese researchers turn diamonds into good conductors of electricity

A collaboration of researchers has successfully developed diamonds that are capable of conducting electricity. The composite structure of these new diamonds also retains the toughness of diamonds, making them ideal for use in demanding environments such as air and spacecraft engines.

Using nanodiamonds, the researchers synthesized ultrafine diamond grains interconnected with graphene layers. The process was carried out under a moderate temperature range of 2,372-2,732 degrees Fahrenheit (1,300 and 1,500 degrees Celsius) and pressure conditions of 12 gigapascals.

Since the material is also durable, it could be deployed in the electrocatalysis step of sewage treatment. Alternatively, highly acidic or alkaline environments that are extremely hot to operate in could allow the new diamond to show its prowess.

🕵️ Scientists study blood patterns in microgravity to solve space crimes

In a first-of-its-kind experiment, scientists sought to study bloodstain patterns in microgravity on a Zero Gravity Corporation-modified Boeing 727 parabolic aircraft. These types of tests may aid in investigating extraterrestrial crimes and accidents that could happen in a space station or shuttle. This emerging new field is known as astroforensics.

The researchers reconstructed the angle of impact from bloodstains, indicating that in microgravity, blood droplets spread at a slower rate and have distinctive forms and sizes not observed on Earth.

With the growth in missions aiming to establish a long-term human presence in space, including NASA's Artemis program and numerous private ventures, this new study represents a broader effort by scientists exploring how crime beyond Earth will be investigated.

👨‍✈️ Indonesian airline pilots sleep 28 minutes midair, flight goes off path

An Airbus A320 aircraft carrying 153 passengers and four flight attendants faced some nervous moments when the two pilots slept for 28 minutes during the flight simultaneously. The flight veered off its original path and had to correct course before it could be landed safely.

The 28-year-old second-in-command (SIC) had previously informed the pilot-in-command that he had not had sufficient rest the previous day and had already taken rest for about 30 minutes. The SIC pilot took over the aircraft’s controls but, about 90 minutes into the flight, also fell asleep during the flight.

According to the country’s National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT) report, the SIC pilot fell asleep during the flight because he had to wake up several times the previous night to help his wife take care of their one-month-old twins.

IE+ Love what you're reading? Join our vibrant online community, explore fascinating scientific breakthroughs, get special discounts and stay in the know with our exclusive weekly premium newsletter. Upgrade to IE+ for quality reporting beyond the headlines – plus, enjoy an Ad-Free experience. Try IE+ today for just $1 in the first month. Subscribe here

A MESSAGE FROM OUR SPONSOR

What you need for better GenAI applications

Learn more from Pinecone Research on how Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) using Pinecone serverless increases relevant answers from GPT-4 by 50%.

- The larger the search data, the more “faithful” the results.

- RAG with massive on-demand data outperforms GPT-4 (without RAG) by 50%, even with the data it was explicitly trained on.

- RAG, with a lot of data, ensures state of the art performance no matter the LLM you choose, encouraging the use of different LLMs (e.g., open-source or private LLMs).

HOT TOPICS OF THE DAY

SCIENCE

> According to James Hansen, a former NASA scientist, the year 2023 will be remembered as the juncture where governments’ inadequacies in tackling climate change were laid bare. (More)

> It’s the positive environmental news we all need to hear: efforts to heal the natural world can be successful. Why? A project led by scientists in the UK and Indonesia has successfully regrown damaged coral reefs in just four years. (More)

> A rare celestial visitor is making its way back to the inner reaches of the Sun – comet 12P/Pons-Brooks. This comet follows a long orbit, completing its journey around the Sun every 71.3 years. This makes it a once-in-a-lifetime celestial experience for many people. (More)

ENERGY

> The UK government has said that while it will continue to move forward with its net-zero targets and a focus on renewables, gas was needed as a "backup." (More)

> A new hybrid energy storage technology combines electric fields (physics) and conventional chemical storage (chemistry). The system already has the ability to significantly outperform lead-acid batteries. (More)

> The developer of a £16 billion ($20.6 billion) project to export renewable power from Morocco has added an option that could transmit the electricity to Germany instead of the UK. (More)

INNOVATION

> Scientists have developed a new type of optical disc that can increase information storage capacity to the "petabit" level — 125 terabytes of data, or the combined storage capacity of about 15,000 DVDs. (More)

> Using solar power, machine learning, and her family’s patio umbrella, 18-year-old Selina Zhang created a synthetic tree that lures the destructive species. (More)

> A robot that has been dubbed the "world's first" pothole-fixing bot has successfully completed its first field test in the United Kingdom. The robot recently passed the test with flying colors. (More)

VIDEO

> Picture cooking ribeye steaks and pizza in 3 minutes, 10 times faster than usual. In this video, we’ll be taking a look at Perfecta’s AI-powered grill that uses NeuralFire™ tech, smart sensors, and dual infrared burners reaching 1652ºF (900°C). (More)

> One innovation that has revolutionized the way we interact with our vehicles is the adaptive suspension system. Learn how those seemingly mysterious ‘Sport’ and ‘Comfort’ buttons found in your car do much more than meet the eye. (More)

> Explore the barcode’s incredible journey and ponder its future in retail tech! These simple yet ingenious codes have streamlined product information retrieval during checkout and revolutionized the way we interact with products. (More)

IE QUIZ: THE RESULTS

Hey there! Yesterday, we threw out a brain teaser on our socials: “Will the box open or close?”

The answer is: Open

Ready for more brainy challenges? Gear up for future IE quizzes by following us on Instagram and Facebook! 

FROM THE WEB

> Airbnb is banning indoor security cameras inside its listings

> Boeing whistleblower found dead in US

> Florida middle-schoolers charged with making deepfake nudes of classmates

> A decades-old mystery has been solved with the help of newfound bee species

> Mars's gravitational pull may be strong enough to stir Earth's oceans

> Scientists use spent brewer's yeast to filter out metal from waste streams

Need help with advertising? Reach 150,000 engineering and tech professionals. Contact us