Study uses three-dimensional simulations to understand how flying insects navigate their terrain
Research based news stories & highlights in science, engineering, technology & humanities in India.
Study uses three-dimensional simulations to understand how flying insects navigate their terrain
This article is a tribute to Phillip Anderson, who passed away on March 29, 2020. Besides his pioneering works in condensed-matter physics, he also wrote extensively on the theme of reductionism and multiscale physics.
Modern science reveals that matter is made of atoms and molecules. Molecules in liquids and gases move randomly; there is an average distance between two nearest molecules. This distance is used to model the properties of the gas. However, there are certain problems, like turbulence, that cannot be solved using just the distance, which is a single scale. We need to consider all scales from large to small. Such systems are called multiscale systems.
Research Matters is happy to bring you this article as part of the series on Mathematical Modeling and Data Analysis by the Mathematical Modeling team of Indian Scientists' Response to Covid-19 (ISRC). The first part of this series is on Explaining Models of Epidemic Spreading.
Why do we need Mathematical Models for CoVID-19?
New theoretical work demonstrates how sequentially captured images of electrons can be used to show the evolution of electron movement
To understand an extensive, complex physical system, thinkers break it up into smaller components and try to understand the properties of the most minor microscopic components. This method helps us understand many complicated things around us, and has helped us solve a lot of real-world problems. But it does not help us understand certain phenomena, such as turbulence in fluids. A different way of thinking, a method that considers the physical system as a whole is needed in such cases. This method is called the multiscale analysis.
Humans communicate a lot non-verbally, thanks to the ability of our brain to understand tone. Would computers be able to do this? Currently capable of understanding plain text, they are struggling to learn the emotions behind the words, conveyed through tone. But these machines are catching up fast. Digital audio processing tools equip computers to understand various information in sound, including emotions.Prof Preeti Rao of the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay is an expert in sound processing—an approach that helps us do various useful things, one of which is removing unwanted sounds (or noise) from an audio clip. With her team at the Digital Audio Processing Lab, Prof Rao attempts to understand the nature of sound, reveal the information it may hold, and use it for, say, identifying tracks, melodies or the raga of a song.
Scientists around the world have been actively looking for eco-friendly alternatives to conventional chemical-based batteries. In one such effort, researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT Bombay) have designed a micro-combustor that is efficient and environment-friendly. The study, funded by the Science and Engineering Board (SERB) and Department of Science and Technology (DST), has been published in various journals including Applied Physics Letters, Energy Conversion and Management, and Applied Energy.
New design in thermoelectric devices can increase both output power and efficiency
A significant problem in electronic devices is the generation of heat during their operation. This phenomenon not only leads to the wastage of electric power but can also damage the device. Thermoelectric materials, which convert heat to electricity and vice versa, can be used to turn the generated heat back into electricity, thereby saving power and avoiding overheating of the device.
