Categories
Technology

Perovskite material with superlattice structure might surpass efficiency of a ‘perfect’ solar cell

Perovskite material with superlattice structure might surpass efficiency of a 'perfect' solar cell

solar panels

Credit: CC0 Public Domain

A perovskite solar cell developed by engineers at the University of California San Diego brings researchers closer to breaking the ceiling on solar cell efficiency, suggests a study published Aug. 10 in Nature.

The new solar cell is a lead-free low-dimensional perovskite material with a superlattice crystal structure—a first in the field. What’s special about this material is that it exhibits efficient carrier dynamics in three dimensions, and its device orientation can be perpendicular to the electrodes. Materials in this particular class of perovskites have so far only exhibited such dynamics in two dimensions—a perpendicularly oriented solar cell has never been reported.

Thanks to its specific structure, this new type of superlattice solar cell reaches an efficiency of 12.36%, which is the highest reported for lead-free low-dimensional perovskite solar cells (the previous record holder’s efficiency is 8.82%). The new solar cell also has an unusual open-circuit voltage of 0.967 V, which is higher than the theoretical limit of 0.802 V. Both results have been independently certified.

The open-circuit voltage is a solar cell property that contributes to its efficiency, so this new solar cell “may have the potential to break the theoretical efficiency limit of current solar cells,” said study senior author Sheng Xu, a professor of nanoengineering at the UC San Diego. “This might one day allow us to achieve higher efficiency with more electricity from existing solar panels, or generate the same amount of electricity from smaller solar panels at lower costs.”

The researchers hypothesize that the material’s improved open-circuit voltage might be attributed to a new physical mechanism that they call intraband carrier relaxation. The material’s unique superlattice structure allows different components of the solar cell to integrate in the vertical direction, which creates an atomic-scale double band structure. Under light, the excited electrons could relax from one component (smaller bandgap region) to another component (larger bandgap region) before equilibrating to alter the fermi levels in the superlattice solar cell. This contributes to a higher open-circuit voltage. This process is verified to be related to the built-in potential in the superlattice solar cell. The researchers also acknowledge that there are other possible mechanisms occurring in the unique superlattice structure that might be contributing to its unusually high open-circuit voltage.

To create the new lead-free low-dimensional perovskite solar cell, the researchers used chemical epitaxy techniques to fabricate a superlattice crystal network. The network’s structure is unique in that it consists of perovskite quantum wells that are vertically aligned and crisscrossed. This crisscrossed structure makes the material’s carrier dynamics—which include electron mobility, lifetime and conduction paths in all three dimensions—more efficient than just having multiple quantum wells. These techniques can potentially be used to create perovskite superlattices of different compositions.

“This perovskite superlattice demonstrates an unprecedented carrier transport performance that many researchers in the field have dreamed about,” said Yusheng Lei, the lead author of this paper, who was a Ph.D. student in Xu’s lab at UC San Diego and is now a postdoctoral researcher at Stanford University.

The superlattice consists of a nanoengineered phase separation between Bi3+ alloyed and intact Sn-I regions in vertically aligned multiple-quantum-wells. This composition creates component variations in the atomic scale, which in turn enables hot carriers to quickly cross the multiple-quantum-wells heterostructural interface before they relax–a feat that is usually impossible to achieve, the researchers explained. Here, it is possible because of the short diffusion length required to cross the heterostructural interface.

“This work opens up a lot of new exciting potential for the class of lead-free low-dimensional perovskite materials,” said Xu. Moving forward, the team will work on optimizing and scaling up the fabrication process to make the superlattice crystals, which is currently still laborious and challenging. Xu hopes to engage partners in the solar cell industry to standardize the process.

New record for solar cell efficiency signals bright future for solar tech

More information:
Yusheng Lei et al, Perovskite superlattices with efficient carrier dynamics, Nature (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-04961-1

Provided by University of California-San Diego

citation: Perovskite material with superlattice structure might surpass efficiency of a ‘perfect’ solar cell (2022, August 11) retrieved 12 August 2022 from https://techxplore.com/news/2022-08-perovskite-material-superlattice-surpass-efficiency .html

This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.

Categories
Australia

Darwin’s main hospital, prison among over 300 buildings potentially non-compliant with NT building standards

The Royal Darwin Hospital building on a sunny day.

The Northern Territory’s anti-corruption watchdog has revealed hundreds of government buildings may not comply with their own occupancy regulations, including Parliament House, Royal Darwin Hospital and the Darwin prison.

In March, the Independent Commissioner Against Corruption, Michael Riches, launched an investigation into the use of Darwin’s main sporting venue, Marrara Stadium, which has not had an occupancy certificate since it was built in the 1990s.

On Friday, Mr Riches said he has now expanded his investigation after obtaining details about other venues across the territory, which also do not have the required certification.

“I have received information suggesting there may be more than 300 other sites, either owned or leased by the Northern Territory Government, with buildings or structures that do not presently comply with occupancy certification requirements under the Building Act 1993 [NT],” he said.

Mr Riches said the affected sites include Parliament House, the prison at Holtze, the Royal Darwin Hospital, the Darwin Entertainment Centre, as well as numerous public schools and police stations.

An exterior photo of Parliament House in Darwin. There are large palm trees out the front.
The seat of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly since 1994, Parliament House is among the buildings deemed non-certified.(ABC News: Michael Franchi)

Investigation to probe how ‘non-compliance’ has occurred

On its website, the government described occupancy certification as a “statement that building work has achieved a particular level of safety, health and amenity and is suitable to occupy”.

Mr Riches said he would conduct a joint investigation with the Ombudsman “to assess the extent of non-compliance and why and how it had occurred”.

“We want to hear from any person, particularly those who work in building, certification and building insurance industries, who might have information relevant to this investigation,” he said.

Aerial view of jail facility at Holtze, near Darwin.
The Darwin Correctional Center at Holtze was opened in 2014.(Supplied)

Government says buildings ‘safe for occupancy’

In response to questions from the ABC, Infrastructure Minister Eva Lawler said preliminary investigations showed the buildings affected were “safe for ongoing occupancy”.

.

Categories
Technology

Meta tries to resurrect Portal devices as secondary monitors

Meta tries to resurrect Portal devices as secondary monitors

In a nutshell: Meta’s Portal displays weren’t successful as standalone video calling devices, but the company isn’t wholly killing them off. Some models can now work as secondary screens for PCs. Their future may depend on their advantages over tablets and traditional PC monitors.

On Wednesday, Meta announced that two of its Portal video calling devices now support an app that can wirelessly connect them to PCs. The new feature may save them from total cancellation as the company attempts to pivot the products from consumers to workplaces.

The ultraportable Portal Go and the premium Portal Plus now support Duet Display, an app for wirelessly connecting tablets to PCs as additional displays. Users can drag windows back and forth between a computer screen and the Portal after downloading the Duet app on both devices. However, the function requires a one-time $15 purchase, a premium monthly $2 subscription, or an enterprise subscription.

Though not particularly cheap compared to a decent PC monitor, a Portal might be more convenient in certain situations. Both models are relatively small, and the Duet connection is wireless, which might make for an easy dual-screen setup on a table or countertop.

However, prospective customers should consider the pros and cons of using a Portal for this functionality versus a standard tablet, as Duet Display already works on other similar devices. Furthermore, those with an iPad and a Mac can use Apple’s Sidecar, which offers similar functionality for free.

Furthermore, at $350, the Portal Pro costs about the same as a standard 9th generation iPad. Both devices feature a 12MP front-facing camera and similar screen resolutions, although the Portal Pro’s screen is 14 inches to the iPad’s 10.2 inches. Meta’s device comes with a robust speaker setup but only a handful of apps versus Apple’s iPadOS. The comparison highlights one of the reasons for the Portal’s initial failure as a video-calling assistant — they seem unnecessary in homes already full of tablets.

In June, reports indicated that Meta planned to stop selling Portals after mediocre sales and reviews while maintaining support for existing users. However, the devices saw an uptick in use during the pandemic, as their functionality provided a good fit for remote work.

Meta’s announcement also mentioned a Mac companion app for all touchscreen Portal models. It lets users control video calls on a Portal with a Mac, share screens between the two devices, and send links between them.

Categories
Australia

Trauma-informed photography course gives abuse survivors a new perspective, boosting self-esteem

Trauma-informed photography course gives abuse survivors a new perspective, boosting self-esteem

Child sexual abuse survivors say a photography course is teaching them to see beauty in the world and help them gain a sense of confidence — all with their smartphones.

After photographer Mitch Dunn taught the six-week course in Ballarat last year, the participants kept in touch, sharing their photos in a private social media group called the Light Seekers.

“The real foundations of photography which support healing are light and perspective, and that can be accessed through any camera,” Dunn said.

“Light is a really beautiful metaphor for healing. When we think about light in terms of photography, when we look at the brightest light source, it creates the darkest shadows.

“When you find yourself in a dark place, when you understand photography, if you turn 180 degrees, you’ll find bright light — it’s also a metaphor for hope.”

wave crashing over a rock
Marita finds joy in taking photos on the Great Ocean Road.(Supplied: Marita)

Dunn also focused on composition.

“It’s about narrowing your frame, so when things are overwhelming or you’re seeing a lot of negativity, if you can compose what you’re seeing in a certain way, there is always beautiful hope and inspiration somewhere around.”

New friendships without expectations

Abuse survivor Marita described the course as a “powerful experience”.

“It was my first step back into being a bit social. I had 15 months off work related to a court case and a breakdown,” she said.

Learning about composition, grid lines, lighting and portrait photography changed her approach to how she takes photos or uses her phone camera.

Close up of a fern.
Martia says she finds photographing nature a great way to feel connected.(Supplied: Marita)

“Mitch was really good at getting us to see things from different perspectives; some of mine turned out quite abstract,” Marita said.

She found new friendships with the other survivors where there were “no expectations”.

“It was nice to be in a space that felt safe and supportive of being who you are, not having to justify your behaviour. It felt quite trauma-informed.”

The 43-year-old’s favorite photo is waves crashing over rocks at Johanna Beach on Victoria’s Great Ocean Road.

“It makes me feel peaceful; it sounds weird but it’s a wild and windy place, but whenever I go there I feel really calm because I can feel the sand, the spray of the ocean and the salty air.

“I feel like I’m away from everything and it’s a really calm experience.”

Passion for photography returned

old church
Drew found his iPhone ideal to use as his hands shake due to Parkinson’s disease.(Supplied: Drew)

When Drew was seven years old, he had his camera taken off him by the Anglican Church where he was sexually abused in South Australia.

“They told me they were ‘saving it for the best’ but I never got it back,” he said.

Now 57, the Narungga man said a lot of his photos were in black and white at graveyards.

graves with trees in the background
Drew took black-and-white photos to represent the camera taken off him as a child.(Supplied: Drew)

“The black and white represented the type of camera I had taken away and because one of the places I was taken for walks by the reverend was in cemeteries.

“It’s interesting how some habits are still there subconsciously or otherwise, but they can’t hurt me anymore.”

Drew lives with Parkinson’s disease but finds his phone’s in-built stabilization helps him to deal with his hands shaking.

“The course provided so much joy for people who had been left in the dark and we’ve been friends ever since,” he said.

A mindfulness tool

cat-face
Mel says she now uses photography as a mindfulness tool.(Supplied: Mel)

Mel is a carer for her husband — both are survivors of child sexual abuse. She said the biggest thing she learned was the mindful aspect of photography.

“If I feel a little bit stressed or overwhelmed, I just take myself for a walk and take my camera,” she said.

“Taking photos of things I see at that moment can be a tool in moving forward.”

red mushroom in a forest
Mel has found joy in taking photos while out walking.(Supplied: Mel)

For Mel, the course was the first time she had done something for herself to address her trauma apart from a few counseling sessions.

“It’s a very personal thing. I wasn’t ready to open that can of worms for a long time,” she said.

“But now I love being able to stop myself and be present in that moment when taking photos.”

New views everywhere

Sun and the clouds, tones of blue and a bright sun
Annie finds joy in photographing clouds which she sees a metaphor for her life.(Supplied: Annie)

Annie was sexually abused as a child, which has caused her to experience low self-esteem and a lack of confidence in trying anything new.

However, the Light Seekers book created with the participants’ photos at the end of the course has her beaming with pride.

“It was such a boost to my self-esteem, something we’d achieved out of such adversity,” Annie said.

“It was me getting some recognition for the sorrow I’d gone through in my life.”

Annie found her favorite topic was taking photos of clouds.

Cracks on the pavement
Annie says she now sees aspects to photograph in unexpected places.(Supplied: Annie)

“The clouds were symbolic of my life — the different shapes, some days they’re beautiful and others are just smudges across the sky,” Annie said.

The 63-year-old now sees the world in a new way.

“On bad days now I’ll sit and look at the clouds. My eyes have become like my camera and I’m more cued into looking at things differently.

“Even cracks on the sidewalk, I stop and look at them and take photos of them too.”

.

Categories
Technology

Samsung Unpacked 2022 – A short glimpse

Doogee S89 Series – The Rugged Phone Series With 12000mAh Battery And RGB Lights

Note: This is a guest post written by Jeeva Shanmugam

Samsung’s unpacked event is the most well-known occasion by Samsung, usually, the Galaxy Fold, Watch, and Flip line-ups get addressed on that occasion. On the tenth of August of this year, Samsung had its unpacked event.

Samsung Unpacked event 2022 you have brought a lot of new items into the overlay. Samsung has revealed the Galaxy Z Flip 4, Galaxy Z Fold 4, Galaxy Buds 2 Pro. and the new Galaxy Watch 5, Galaxy Watch 5 Pro. There’s a ton to process.

In this article, we will have a short glimpse of Samsung’s unpacked event in 2022. We will figure out all the hardware improvements that Samsung has brought to all its successors.

One of my favorite phone lineups from Samsung, I think the Flip phone is more practical than the Fold at an affordable price, either way, as we all expected Samsung announced the Galaxy ZFlip 4 at the event.

Samsung is improving a lot with their Z Flip series. At the initial launch of the Flip 1, I didn’t like the smartphone much, but from their Galaxy Z Flip 3, I have become a huge fan of Samsung’s Flip.

Straight of the rip, let’s move on to the basics specs of the phone, the phone has a Snapdragon 8+Gen 1 processor, with a 6.7″ FHD+ Dynamic AMOLED panel with HDR10+ certified Up to 120Hz refresh rate.

The phone comes with a dual camera setup with a 12MP main sensor, a 12MP Wide-angle Camera with the support of OIS, and a traditional 10MP selfie camera.

Users can shoot videos up to 4K UHD video recording at 30 and 60 fps, 1080p FHD video recording at 30 and 60 fps, and 720p HD video recording at 30 fps.

The phone comes with a 3700mAh battery, with the support of a 25W adapter which is sold separately. From 0% up to 50% charge in around 30 minutes with 25W Adapter or higher.

The phone comes in three variants with a base of 8GB of LPDDR 5 RAM

  • 8GB RAM with 512GB internal storage (UFS 3.1)
  • 8GB RAM with 256GB internal storage (UFS 3.1)
  • 8GB RAM with 128GB internal storage (UFS 3.1)

The phone comes with Android 12 out of the box with One U1 4.1

These are just an outlook of the smartphone, I will discuss the Galaxy Z Flip 4 in the upcoming articles.

The phone comes in 4 basic colors: Bora Purple, Graphite, Pink Gold, and Blue

And the phone also get launched in a BeSpoke Edition with another 4 different colors:

  • Gold (Frame), Yellow (Front), White (Back)
  • Black (Frame), Khaki (Front), Khaki (Back)
  • Silver (Frame), White (Front), White (Back)
  • Silver (Frame), Navy (Front), Navy (Back)
  • Gold (Frame), Yellow (Front), Yellow (Back)

The Galaxy Z Flip 4 will start at A$1,499.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 comes with a Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 processor, with a foldable Dynamic AMOLED 2X, 120Hz, HDR10+, and 1200 nits of peak brightness.

The phone comes with a Size of 7.6 inches, (~90.9% screen-to-body ratio) with a resolution of 1812 x 2176 pixels. The phone also has Corning Gorilla Glass Victus+ support.

The phone also comes with a traditional S Pen Fold Edition, with Pressure levels of 4096.

The phone has a 12MP Ultra Wide Camera, 50MP Wide-angle Camera, 10MP Telephoto Camera, and a traditional 10MP selfie camera. But surprisingly the phone comes with a 4MP under-display camera. I don’t know about the usage of that 4MP camera, but we can consider this as a feature.

The phone supports 8K video recording at 24 fps, 4K UHD video recording at 30 and 60 fps, 1080p FHD video recording at 30 and 60 fps, and 720p HD video recording at 30 fps.

The Z Fold 4 comes with a 4400mAh battery with a 25W power adapter which is sold separately.

The phone comes in 3 variants with a base of 12GB LPDDR5 RAM

  • 12GB RAM with 256GB internal storage (UFS 3.1)
  • 12GB with 512GB internal storage (UFS 3.1)
  • 12GB RAM with 1TB internal storage (UFS 3.1)

The phone comes with Android 12 out of the box with One U1 4.1. These are just an outlook of the smartphone. I will discuss the Galaxy Z Fold 4 in the upcoming articles.

The phone comes in 3 basic colors: Greygreen, Phantom Black, and Beige. There’s also Burgundy color which is a Samsung.com Exclusive.

The Galaxy Z Fold 4 is the most expensive, starting at A$2,499.

What do you think about the Galaxy Z Fold 4? kindly comment your thoughts in the

comment section.

Samsung is becoming more popular in the watch segment. I love Samsung watches. The display will be amazing. I haven’t used one for personal use but a few of my friends have got it so I have experienced the watch and it was amazing.

The Watch comes with a Titanium frame in a Circle shape design which weighs around 33.5?grams.

It has 1.4” 450×450 SuperAMOLED display for the 44mm and 1.2″ 396×396 SuperAMOLED display for the 42mm. The watch comes with 1.5?GB of RAM with 16GB of Inbuilt Memory.

The watch comes with 5.1 Bluetooth and also supports Calling and GPS. The watch is powered by a 410?mAh Battery, and according to Samsung, the battery lasts for 5 whole days.

The watch has IP68 Water Resistant Certificate so it is waterproof and dustproof it can survive a depth of 50?m.

The watch has all the necessary sensors like Pedometer, Heart Rate Monitor, SpO2 Monitor, Calorie Count, Step Count, Sleep Monitor, and Extra Features like an Alarm Clock, Stopwatch, Timer, and Reminder.

The Galaxy Watch 5 starts at A$499.

What do you think about the Galaxy Watch 5? kindly comment your thoughts in the

comment section.

Let’s start with the processor, the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro has an Exynos W920 with a 5 nm processor. The watch comes with a 1.4 inches Super AMOLED display with a Resolution of 450×450 pixels protected by Sapphire crystal and the watch has an Always-on display.

The Watch comes with an Android Wear OS 3.5, One UI Watch 4.5, the watch comes with a 16GB ROM with 1.5GB RAM.

It supports all the necessary features like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.2, GPS support, and NFC.

The Galaxy Watch 5 Pro has been covered by all the necessary sensors like Accelerometer, gyro, heart rate, barometer, thermometer (body temperature) Natural language commands and dictation Samsung Pay.

The Watch is powered by a Li-Ion 590 mAh, non-removable battery with 10W Qi wireless charging technology.

The Galaxy Watch 5 Pro starts at A$799.

Samsung is doing an extraordinary job with their Galaxy Buds series, I loved the Buds1, of course, it has a few bugs but still, the sound quality is amazing for the price.

Let’s jump to the upgrade, the Buds2 Pro, is powered by 24-bit Hi-Fi audio, so the overall quality is enhanced. The ANC has improved this time, Active Noise Canceling comes with 3 high SNR (Signal-to-Noise Ratio) microphones, and the Galaxy Buds2 Pro tracks and eliminates more outside sound — even soft sounds like wind.

The Buds2 Pro supports 360 Audio ie: it comes with Direct Multi-channel (5.1ch / 7.1ch / Dolby Atmos®) and enhanced head tracking makes every movement stay in sync — creating an immersive experience.

360 Audio can even pinpoint the direction of the sound as you move your head, giving you the spatial experience.

An iPhone-exclusive feature is now available on Samsung too, the Galaxy Buds2 Pro will automatically pop up on your Samsung Galaxy devices and are ready to connect with a tap.

Auto Switch on Samsung Galaxy Buds2 Pro intelligently detects mobile activity and seamlessly shifts its connection to your Samsung Galaxy phone, tablet and watch.

I love this feature actually, switching to answer the phone makes Samsung so unique. I loved the optimization in Buds2 Pro. It works even when you’re connected to a Samsung TV.

Once the Galaxy Buds2 Pro is connected to the Samsung TV via Bluetooth, there is no need to take the earbuds out to answer the phone. Incoming calls can be answered simply by tapping the Galaxy Buds2 Pro twice.

Users can preorder the Galaxy Buds2 Pro now for A$349.

You may also like

Ezoicreport this ad

Categories
Australia

COVID in WA: State’s purchase of rapid antigen tests to be probed amid donation call for huge stockpile

COVID in WA: State's purchase of rapid antigen tests to be probed amid donation call for huge stockpile

The McGowan Government’s much-vaunted purchase of more than 110 million rapid antigen tests at a cost of almost $600 million is being probed by WA’s Auditor General Caroline Spencer.

The probe comes amid calls for some of the more than 62 million RATs still in the State stockpile to be donated overseas or sold to other States before they reach their expiration date.

Nationals MP Martin Aldridge said WA households had reached a RATs “saturation point”, with constituents refusing to take anymore because they were running out space to store the self-test kits.

He said the 110 million tests ordered over the summer by the departments of Finance and Health ahead of WA’s border opening was “excessive” and equaled to 40 RATs for every man, woman and child.

.

Categories
Technology

Soul Hackers 2 Is An Atlus Game So Of Course It’s Getting A Ton Of Day One DLC

Cuphead The Delicious Last Course Review

Atlus has revealed that Soul Hackers 2, the upcoming sequel to 1997’s Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers, is getting a slew of DLC that’ll be available from day one. The line-up of extra, paid content includes things like outfit packs, exclusive demons and a “booster item pack”.

Probably most interesting is that a full, new piece of DLC story content will be sold at launch. Titled The Lost Numbers which Atlus describes as follows:

“Centered around a new Devil Summoner, Nana, you’ll experience this side-story over the course of multiple requests (recommended levels ranging 19-99), which will appear gradually at Club Cretaceous as you progress through the main story.

Your progress in the main story will also unlock a new dungeon: Hachigaya Training Field. In its depths, you will find the most harrowing, punishing boss fight this game can throw at you. If you hunger for the thrill of battle, look no further.”

The Lost Numbers DLC story content comes in at approximately $15 AUD, or you’ll be able to grab the base game and every bit of DLC available for around $145 AUD.

Soul Hackers 2 is being released on August 26, 2022. The cheapest price is at Amazon for $79 with free shipping.

Categories
Australia

Warning to stay away from rare ‘white’ southern right whale calf spotted off NSW coast

Authorities have issued a warning to keep away from a rare “white” whale calf spotted alongside its mother off the NSW coast.

NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service said four pairs of mother and calf southern right whales had been seen during winter, including the rare calf that looked white, somewhat resembling the famous humpback Migaloo.

“The calf appears to be white but is actually brindle,” NPWS marine wildlife team project officer Andrew Marshall said in a statement.

Southern right whale with rare 'white' calf off southern NSW coast
Authorities have issued a warning to keep away from a rare southern right whale calf, spotted alongside it’s mother off the southern coast of NSW (Maree Jackson – NPWS Right Whale ID Program)

“Its white areas will darken to gray as it ages — it’s one of around one-in-30 southern right whale calves born with brindle coloring.

“This is a rare event to see a virtually white brindle calf, as southern right whales are mostly very dark, although some have splashes of white called a blaze.”

The mother and her calf were captured on camera via a drone.

“If you look closely at the video you can also see pale gray areas on the mother, who also carries the recessive brindle gene,” Marshall said.

While the duo have sparked a social media frenzy, authorities are reminding people that it’s illegal to approach whales any closer than 300 meters when a calf is present.

Southern right whale with rare 'white' calf off southern NSW coast
Accredited drone volunteer, Maree Jackson used her camera’s 7x optical zoom function from above the legal height to capture the stunning close-ups as the ‘white’ calf surfaced for a breath (Maree Jackson – NPWS Right Whale ID Program)

The restrictions include via boats, surfboards, paddleboards and kayaks, while drones are also legally required to stay at least 100 meters above the animals.

Stunning vision of the mother and calf was captured off the south coast recently by accredited drone volunteer Maree Jackson from the NSW government’s Right Whale ID research program.

Jackson used her camera’s 7x optical zoom function from above the legal height to capture the stunning close-ups as the “white” calf surfaced for a breath while swimming alongside her mother.

“Curious onlookers are reminded to keep back and give the nursing mother and calf space to rest undisturbed,” Marshall said.

“A calf needs up to 300 liters of milk a day to gain the weight needed for the 5000-kilometre swim back down to Antarctic waters in the coming month, so both the mother and calf need to be left alone so they can rest and feel safe.”

Categories
Technology

Rigoberto Urán wins the jersey yawn

Rigoberto Urán wins the jersey yawn

Watching cycling on television is an interesting spectacle in the UK, and maybe it’s similar elsewhere around the world.

During the Tour de France coverage on ITV, viewers are inundated with adverts pleading you to give money to sanctuaries housing very sad looking donkeys placed amongst commercials for various end-of-life products and services that remind you in a four-minute break for every 20km of racing that one day you too will slip off your deadly coil and not be able to watch the Tour de France anymore.

On Eurosport this season, we’ve been taken inside the lives of EF Education EasyPost’s riders as they promote Whoop’s wearable technology, the likes of Esteban Chaves, Hugh Carthy and Alex Howes telling us how it helps them recover from injury or balance pro life with having kids. Moreover, data on riders’ heart rates during the race have been broadcast on screen while the stages are ongoing. Newsflash – they’re often quite high.

While also measuring things such as the strain of physical exertion the riders go through in races, as well as calories burned, there is one aspect that is easiest for non-pro muggles to relate to WorldTour riders and that’s sleep.

Whoop informs you of the quality of your sleep, how much you need, and also tracking things like how many times you wake up per night, which will be more than you expect and also make you wonder if you have some sort of sleepwalking problem you don’t know about.

Try and think of something that would make it as hard as possible to get a good night’s sleep. Having a baby? Yep. Having two babies? Sure. What about racing the Tour de France?

You’re riding fast for 150km+ a day, having to travel in a big, slow bus between each day’s starts and finishes, staying in varying qualities of regional French hotel to rest your weary head and legs.

Finally, thanks to the EF Education EasyPost riders wearing Whoops during the Tour Hommes and Femmes, we can find out how they sleep – which after reading that sentence back makes this whole thing sound much creepier than it was ever intended to.

But first, before the sleep stats, let’s find out just what the riders were putting their bodies through when they were awake.

Overall strain is a measurement of your cardiovascular load and the time you spend in various heart rate zones and therefore tells you how hard your heart and body are working. The daily strain you place on your body, which is supposed to inform you when to push yourself and when to rest and to help avoid overtraining, is scored from 0 to 21.

Unsurprisingly, as the women tackled 1,029 kilometers in eight stages of racing with zero rest days, their average strain for the entire race was 20.4. Doesn’t get much harder than that.

Compare this to the men, who never raced more than six consecutive days. Take that middle section of six consecutive days in the second week from July 12-17 and their average strain score was 19.5 but add in the rest day on Monday July 18 in Carcassonne and that average comes down to 18.1.

Now, to the nap stats.

There are a few different measures here. Sleep performance is calculated by comparing how much sleep the rider got on a given night compared to how much sleep they needed.

Sleep need is calculated by the individual’s baseline sleep requirement while factoring in how strenuous their day was and if they have accumulated any sleep debt.

The team’s best Tour de France sleeper, which you will have undoubtedly guessed thanks to the headline above, was Rigoberto Urán who nailed an 86 per cent score, spending on average 8 hours and 44 minutes in bed every day and getting an average of 7 hours and 17 minutes of shut eye every night.

In the graphic below, you can see his sleep performance peak on and around rest days. The worst night of sleep Urán had been after his teammate Magnus Cort won stage 10, getting only 6 hours and 24 minutes. Let’s assume that it was because of the excitement and celebration surrounding the team winning a coveted stage of the Tour and not because he was rooming with the Dane.

While Urán was the best of the eight-man squad, the fact that he needed 9 hours and 5 minutes of sleep per night, on average, and only got 7 hours and 17 minutes goes to show not only the physical exertion the Colombian had to deal with, but accentuates the suffering of his teammates who got even less sleep than this.

The Tour de France Femmes followed the men’s race and the riders of EF Education-Tibco-SVB were much better at getting the required rest.

Magdeleine Vallieres was the team’s best sleeper, spending a whopping 9 hours and 58 minutes in bed on average (what a life), and on average the team got into bed and slept for longer than the men’s squad did.

Vallieres managed a 96 per cent average sleep performance, on three days getting exactly the amount of sleep she needed and only missing out on 16 minutes of shut eye a night.

Insights like this from inside the peloton are rare, and the data helps us all realize what these riders put themselves through when riding the biggest bike races on the planet.

Even before EF Education-EasyPost and Whoop collected all of the data, they must have known Urán was one of the team’s best at being in bed, judging by the photoshoot the team had during the three weeks in France.

Categories
Business

Cadbury launches Birthday Cake flavor in Australian supermarkets

Cadbury has just released a new Marvelous Celebrations Birthday Cake Block ($5) - which is available in-stores and online at Woolworths Supermarkets

Cadbury has just released a new Marvelous Celebrations Birthday Cake Block for $5.

The chocolate block contains a classic Cadbury dairy milk base with milk chocolate crammed with marshmallows, 100s and 1000s, and biscuit pieces.

Cadbury’s decadent new birthday cake chocolate is available in-stores and online at Woolworths.

Cadbury has just released a new Marvelous Celebrations Birthday Cake Block ($5) - which is available in-stores and online at Woolworths Supermarkets

Cadbury has just released a new Marvelous Celebrations Birthday Cake Block ($5) – which is available in-stores and online at Woolworths Supermarkets

Hundreds of foodies expressed their excitement on an announcement post, with many making immediate plans to purchase the chocolate.

‘This is perfect… it’s right in time for my birthday!’ said one excited man.

‘Looks delicious,’ added another. ‘But this is absolutely the wrong time to go on a diet.’

One of Australia’s favorite popcorn brands is releasing two new limited-edition flavors at Woolworths.

Cobs Natural Popcorn has just introduced ‘Tiramisu’ and ‘Parmesan & Cracked Pepper’ to their wide range of unique flavours.

The sweet and salty treats will be available in-stores and online in the coming weeks for $2.10.

Cobs Natural Popcorn has just introduced 'Tiramisu' and 'Parmesan & Cracked Pepper' to their wide range of unique flavors

Cobs Natural Popcorn has just introduced ‘Tiramisu’ and ‘Parmesan & Cracked Pepper’ to their wide range of unique flavors

The Tiramisu flavor is described to be extremely decadent with a combination of cream, coffee, and cocoa.

While the new Parmesan and Cracked Pepper is set to join several fan-favorites like the Cheddar Cheese Popcorn and the Cheesy Cheddar oven-baked puffs.

But Cobs is not the only Aussie favorite to release a new and exciting flavour.

The renowned flavor of Oak chocolate has put a twist on the classic Golden Gaytime and giving it a rich chocolate flavour.

The new treat has an indulgent Oak-inspired center dipped in a layer of chocolate and coated in the Golden Gaytime’s famous biscuit pieces.

Oak milk have teamed up with Golden Gaytime to release a new chocolate flavor of the classic Aussie ice cream which is available now in selected stores

Oak milk have teamed up with Golden Gaytime to release a new chocolate flavor of the classic Aussie ice cream which is available now in selected stores

Customers can pick up a box of four for $9.90 from IGA, Ritchie’s and Drakes & Romeos from today.

Coles, convenience stores and petrol stations will be stocking the new Oak Gaytime from September.

This isn’t the first time Golden Gaytime has been given a flavor twist with a Coco Pops, Birthday cake and Crunchy Nut variety also available now.

The renowned flavor of Oak chocolate has put a twist on the classic Golden Gaytime and giving it a rich chocolate flavor

The decadent new treat has an indulgent Oak-inspired center sipped in a layer of chocolate and coated in the Golden Gaytime's famous biscuit pieces

The decadent new treat has an indulgent Oak-inspired center sipped in a layer of chocolate and coated in the Golden Gaytime’s famous biscuit pieces

Golden Gaytime spokesperson Annie Lucchitti said the new ice cream is sure to be a ‘crowd pleaser’.

‘Golden Gaytime Oak brings the iconic elements of Golden Gaytime together with the unmistakable Oak Choc Milk flavor hit. It’s creamy, crumbly, choccy – delicious,’ she said.

The ice cream isn’t the first classic Australian treat to be given a unique twist.

A new Violet Crumble Espresso Martini has launched across Australia, leaving sweet-toothed cocktail fans delighted.

Feminaè Beverage Co. have teamed up with the classic Aussie chocolate to create a decadent boozy treat that is available to purchase now but only until stocks last.

Each box is $79.95 and contains two-liters of ready-to-drink martini as well as a 30g bar of Violet Crumble to be crushed and used as a garnish.

An Aussie cocktail company has teamed up with a classic chocolate to create a Violet Crumble Espresso Martini but foodies better be quick if they want to get a bottle for themselves

An Aussie cocktail company has teamed up with a classic chocolate to create a Violet Crumble Espresso Martini but foodies better be quick if they want to get a bottle for themselves

The Feminaè X Violet Crumble Espresso Martini is an indulgent blend of cold drip coffee, premium vodka and Australian cream.

The blend is infused with the chocolate, caramel and honeycomb flavors of the famous Violet Crumble.

Perfect as a party-starter or after dinner treat the luxuriously creamy cocktail can be enjoyed straight from the fridge into a martini glass or shaken in a cocktail shaker with ice with a sprinkle or Violet Crumble crumbs.

Feminaè Beverage Co. have teamed up with Violet Crumble to create a decadent boozy treat that is available to purchase for $79.95 now but only until stocks last

Feminaè Beverage Co. have teamed up with Violet Crumble to create a decadent boozy treat that is available to purchase for $79.95 now but only until stocks last

The two-litre box makes 24 standards drinks and is available to purchase online from the Feminaè website for a limited time with shipping starting from Monday August 1.

Foodies online have been tagging their friends and expressing their excitement at the unique new collaborative cocktail with one saying it could be their ‘new favourite’.

Feminaè is an Australian owned beverage company that makes unique cocktails from Melbourne including the popular cosmopolitan passionfruit and pavlova and pink grapefruit gin.

.