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Warm Water, Energy from Rain, A Virtual Fly, and Black Hole Corrections
This week’s science bits from SWTG
Sabine Hossenfelder
April 30, 2025
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Oceans Warm Faster Than Expected
Image: The cooling system of the Zuchongzhi quantum computer. Credits: USTC
A recent analysis of data from multiple satellites revealed that sea surface temperatures (global average) have been rising 4.5 times faster since 2019 than they were at the end of the 1980s. The researchers warn that policymakers should not base decisions on linear extrapolations of the past, as the pace of warming is significantly accelerating. Press release here. Paper here.
This week’s episode of Science News is about a new paper whose authors have supposedly "corrected" Einstein’s theory of general relativity, and thereby remedied the problem of black hole singularities. Big if true. But let’s have a look at what the paper is actually about. This week’s video also comes with a quiz, which you can take here.
Speaking of quizzes, you can now create and share your own quizzes on QuizWithIt for free! Each quiz has a unique URL, can be embedded into websites or newsletter, and be shared on social media. Happy quizzing!
Energy from Rain
Image: Ao et al, ACS Cent. Sci. (2025)
Researchers from the National University of Singapore have discovered a new way to generate renewable electricity by letting water flow through plastic tubes. In their experiments, they showed that when water that is interrupted by air falls through a tube of approximately 30 cm length and 2 millimetres in diameter, it creates an electric charge at the tube surface. They claim that this device can convert the gravitational potential energy to electricity with 10% efficiency, ideally producing up to 100 W/m², about half the power density of typical solar panels.
By my own estimate, though, reaching this power would require unrealistically large amounts of rainfall. In realistic conditions, the generated power is probably more in the range of a few mW/m². Still, this idea could be a low-cost, sustainable way to harvest energy from rain or rivers, especially in conditions where solar or wind power is unavailable. Press release here. Paper here.
Virtual Fruit Fly Has Virtual Brain
Image: Vaxenburg et al, Nature (2025)
Scientists from Google DeepMind have created the first detailed physics-based simulation of a fruit fly capable of realistic walking and flight. Using high-resolution imaging and a “physics engine” that simulates the laws of physics, they built an anatomically accurate digital model of a fruit fly. Then, they trained artificial neural networks to control the virtual fly’s movements in response to sensory input. The open-sourced result is an artificially intelligent fly that can navigate its environment, bringing us one step closer to autonomous robots. Paper here, more here.
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