Living in a material world

The usual suspects for reducing our carbon footprint are reducing air travel or becoming vegan. However, we often forget a hidden energy user: the large scale facilities storing and processing our digital data. Datacentres are already responsible for 1% of the total energy use on earth and their share is expected to only increase. Computers based on superconductors - materials that lack electrical resistance - might offer a solution. In this Pint of Science talk, I will provide an insight from physics and show that superconducting and magnetic ellipses can be used to store information.

Many of our technological advances are enabled by satellites whizzing around our planet. Our curiosity has pushed us to go even further. We’ve been to the moon and have send probes to mars, other planets and the edges of our solar system. All these endeavours require electricity.
Solar energy is already the cheapest way to generate electricity on earth. In space, solar energy is next to the only option. Let’s explore together, how solar cells work, what challenges solar cells face in space and how we are working to improve this technology.

Plasma transfusion is a life-saving treatment used to replace clotting factors and volume in times of trauma, such as an injured soldier on the battlefield. Currently, plasma is transported as a frozen product requiring time to thaw before transfusion leading to delays in treatment. NHSBT, alongside the MoD and Velico Medical, are working on a project to create UK sourced powdered plasma, which on the addition of sterile water can be given to a patient within minutes. This new technology has the potential to save many soldiers’ as well as civilians lives.