Latest news with #JinanUniversity
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
China develops new fibre-optic gyroscope that can withstand a range of temperatures
A team of Chinese scientists has reportedly developed a new fibre-optic gyroscope that is stable across a wide range of temperatures. The development could prove crucial for military, deep-sea, or space navigation, where satellite signals can be blocked or are unreliable. Gyroscopes are critical pieces of equipment used in navigation of planes, ships, submarines, and oil rigs. A gyroscope measures orientation and rotation. Simply put, it tells you which way you're pointing, moving or how you're turning without the need for GPS or satellites. To this end, you can think of it like an extremely accurate internal compass and turn tracker. Modern high-precision gyroscopes use solid optical fibers that bend light to measure movement. However, these fibers are easily affected by heat, radiation, and magnetic fields, especially in extreme environments. Unlike traditional gyroscopes that use spinning mechanical parts, fibre-optic gyroscopes detect movement by tracking changes in how light travels through optical fibres. One widely used type, the interferometric fibre-optic gyroscope (IFOG), offers a simple design with high precision, making it popular in military and civilian applications. However, progress on IFOGs has been limited due to the fibres' physical attributes. To address the issue, a joint research team from Tianjin Navigation Instruments Research Institute and Jinan University in Guangzhou replaced the solid fibers with hollow air-core fibers, where light travels primarily through air instead of glass. According to the team, the switch to hollow optical fibers makes the gyroscope 10x less sensitive to temperature changes. According to the team, the new hollow fibre-optic gyroscope is also less susceptible to magnetic fields and radiation, making it better suited for harsh environments like space or deep-sea drilling. "We present a groundbreaking navigation-grade interferometric air-core fibre-optic gyroscope," the researchers wrote in the study published last month. This is "the first instance of navigation-grade performance in air-core [fibre-optic gyroscopes]," the team added. A report in the South China Morning Post (SCMP) cited the scientific team which claimed that the hollow-fiber gyroscope achieved a record accuracy. However, the instrument is not yet as precise as the best-performing traditional gyroscopes. Although it is getting close and has shown far better resistance to environmental issues. "We have achieved the world record measurement accuracy in air-core fibre gyroscopes, entered the ranks of 'high-precision fibre gyroscopes', and pointed out the direction for further optimisation," said corresponding author Ding Wei, a professor at the Jinan University College of Physics and Optoelectronic Engineering, in an interview to SCMP. Navigation systems that work without GPS are vital for military, aerospace, and underwater operations. This new tech could lead to smaller, cheaper, and more energy-efficient navigation systems that don't need bulky protective parts. The team notes that the creation is a step closer to next-gen inertial navigation systems that can function in space, inside mountains, or deep under the sea—places GPS doesn't reach. "These results represent a significant step towards long-standing promise of high-precision inertial navigation applications with superior environmental adaptability," the researchers stated in their paper. The study has been published in the journal Nature Communications.
South China Morning Post
18-05-2025
- Science
- South China Morning Post
Chinese gyroscope could make navigation more stable for aircraft, ships and oil rigs
Chinese researchers say they have developed a 'groundbreaking' fibre-optic gyroscope that is stable across a large temperature range and can be used for navigation. According to the team from the Tianjin Navigation Instruments Research Institute and Jinan University, the gyroscope could offer a more stable way to measure navigation for aircraft, ships and oil rigs. Gyroscopes are devices that can sense orientation and the rate at which a moving object is turning, so they play an important role in inertial navigation systems. Those navigation systems allow for the measurement of vehicles without the need for external signals like satellites. That makes them immune to interference, which is vital for military and security applications. Traditional gyroscopes rely on moving mechanical components, but fibre-optic gyroscopes use the changing movement of light in optical fibres to operate. Due to their simple structure and high resolution, a common type – known as an interferometric fibre-optic gyroscope, or IFOG – has been used in both military and civilian settings ranging from aerospace to weapons systems, oil platforms and autonomous vehicles.
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
There's a Surprisingly Simple Way to Remove Microplastics From Drinking Water
Tiny fragments of microplastics are making their way deep inside our bodies in concerning quantities, significantly through our food and drink. In 2024, scientists found a simple and effective means of removing them from water. A team from Guangzhou Medical University and Jinan University in China ran tests on both soft water and hard tap water (which is richer in minerals). "Tap water nano/microplastics (NMPs) escaping from centralized water treatment systems are of increasing global concern, because they pose potential health risk to humans via water consumption," write the researchers in their paper. They added in nanoplastics and microplastics before boiling the liquid and then filtering out any precipitates. In some cases, up to 90 percent of the NMPs were removed by the boiling and filtering process, though the effectiveness varied based on the type of water. Of course the big benefit is that most people can do it using what they already have in their kitchen. "This simple boiling water strategy can 'decontaminate' NMPs from household tap water and has the potential for harmlessly alleviating human intake of NMPs through water consumption," write biomedical engineer Zimin Yu from Guangzhou Medical University and colleagues. A greater concentration of NMPs was removed from samples of hard tap water, which naturally forms a build-up of limescale (or calcium carbonate) as it is heated. Commonly seen inside kitchen kettles, the chalky substance forms on the plastic's surface as changes in temperature force the calcium carbonate out of solution, effectively trapping the plastic fragments in a crust. "Our results showed that nanoplastic precipitation efficiency increased with increasing water hardness upon boiling," the team writes. "For example, from 34 percent at 80 mg L−1 to 84 percent and 90 percent at 180 and 300 mg L−1 of calcium carbonate, respectively." Even in soft water, where less calcium carbonate is dissolved, roughly a quarter of the NMPs were snagged from the water. Any bits of lime-encrusted plastic could then be removed through a simple filter like the stainless steel mesh used to strain tea, the researchers say. Past studies have measured fragments of polystyrene, polyethylene, polypropylene, and polyethylene terephthalate in potable tap water, which we're consuming daily in varying quantities. To put the strategy to the ultimate test, the researchers added even more nanoplastic particles, which were effectively reduced in number. "Drinking boiled water apparently is a viable long-term strategy for reducing global exposure to NMPs," write the researchers. "Drinking boiled water, however, is often regarded as a local tradition and prevails only in a few regions." The research team hopes that drinking boiled water might become a more widespread practice as plastics continue to take over the world. While it's still not certain exactly how damaging this plastic is to our bodies, it's clearly not the healthiest of snacks. Plastics have already been linked to changes in the gut microbiome and the body's antibiotic resistance. The team behind this latest study wants to see more research into how boiled water could keep artificial materials out of our bodies – and perhaps counter some of the alarming effects of microplastics that are emerging. "Our results have ratified a highly feasible strategy to reduce human NMP exposure and established the foundation for further investigations with a much larger number of samples," write the authors. The research has been published in Environmental Science & Technology Letters. An earlier version of this article was published in March 2024. 'Wild Swimming' Does Something Amazing to Your Mind, Study Reveals A Simple Mistake Might Have Encouraged Sick People to Eat The Dead Men And Women May Respond Differently to Latest Alzheimer's Drugs
South China Morning Post
20-02-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Taiwan bans academic exchanges with 3 mainland Chinese universities
Published: 8:49pm, 20 Feb 2025 Taiwan has barred the island's universities from collaborating with mainland Chinese institutions affiliated with Beijing's United Front Work Department – the ruling Communist Party's overseas arm. Taipei also said it would not recognise degrees from those institutions to discourage Taiwanese from attending them, in the latest move to counter what it sees as Beijing's efforts to influence Taiwanese. The move has sparked a backlash against the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party government, with critics saying it is further restricting the type of exchanges considered crucial for improving mutual understanding between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait. Education Minister Cheng Ying-yao announced the new restrictions on Thursday, citing the UFWD's political agenda. 'Chinese universities affiliated with the UFWD serve a political purpose rather than a purely academic one,' Cheng said. 'To prevent political influence operations we must halt cooperation and exchanges.' Jinan University in Guangzhou is one of three institutions targeted by the ban. Photo: He Huifeng The ban specifically targets three mainland institutions: Jinan University in Guangzhou, Huaqiao University in Xiamen and Quanzhou, and Beijing Chinese Language and Culture College.
