There is much we still don’t know about the inside of our planet – but scientists recently discovered water is slowly leaking down there from the surface. It’s not a simple journey. The liquid is dripping down descending tectonic plates, before eventually reaching the core after a 2,900 kilometre journey. And while the process is slow, it has over billions of years formed a new surface between the molten metal of the outer core and the outer mantle of the Earth. In a new study, scientists at Arizona State University have said the water is triggering a chemical reaction, creating the new layer, which is “few hundred kilometres thick”. (That’s “thin” when it comes to the inner layers of the Earth.) “For years, it has been believed that material exchange between Earth's core and mantle is small. Yet, our recent high-pressure experiments reveal a different story. “We found that when water reaches the core-mantle boundary, it reacts with silicon in the core, forming silica," co-author Dr Dan Shim wrote. “This discovery, along with our previous observation of diamonds forming from water reacting with carbon in iron liquid under extreme pressure, points to a far more dynamic core-mantle interaction, suggesting substantial material exchange.” So what does it mean for all of us up on the surface? The ASU release said: “This finding advances our understanding of Earth's internal processes, suggesting a more extensive global water cycle than previously recognised. “The altered ‘film’ of the core has profound implications for the geochemical cycles that connect the surface-water cycle with the deep metallic core.” How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel Sign up to our free indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

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A startup in China is set to begin production of ultra-efficient solar panels that are made from the so-called “miracle material” perovskite. The next-generation solar cells will be manufactured at half the cost of traditional silicon cells, with 50 per cent greater efficiency, according to researchers from Nanjing University who made the design breakthrough that made mass production possible. “The raw materials for making perovskite cells are cheap and abundant, making the production costs of these cells just one 20th of traditional solar cells,” Professor Tan Hairen from Nanjing University, told state media. “Moreover, they are easier to produce and can be made in a single factory. Even with other items added, the overall cost of production is only half of that of traditional silicon cells.” Professor Tan has created a startup called Renshine Solar to move forward with commercialisation of the technology, and has already signed a government deal to build a production line in Jiangsu province this summer. The factory is expected to achieve a capacity of 150 megawatts by September, according to the South China Morning Post, with the perovskite solar panels built for use on roofs, walls, or placed on electric cars to improve their range. The perovskite solar cells (PSCs) are capable of retaining over 90 per cent of their initial performance after 600 hours of continuous operation, the team noted, making them suitable for commercial use. The researchers said the next-generation solar cells could also be used in applications ranging from building-integrated panels to space-based electricity generation. “With their lower fabrication cost, low-temperature solution processability, roll-to-roll manufacturing, and wide-bandgap tunability, PSCs have the potential to become the candidate of choice for high-efficiency tandem solar cells,” they wrote in a study detailing the new design that will enter production. “Considering the rapid progress in photovoltaic performance, PSCs have been considered to be ideal candidates for integrating with other systems to realise new innovative technologies.” The study, titled ‘Next-generation applications for integrated perovskite solar cells’, was published in the scientific journal Nature. Its publication comes just one month after a South Korean firm announced that it was aiming to commercialise tandem perovskite solar cells following a $100 million investment to fund a pilot production line next year. Read More Scientists break world record for solar power window material Electric cars could save more than 100,000 lives, study claims Solar trees offer unique solution to charging electric cars College students who cut social media use have less anxiety

It was once socially acceptable for an unhappily married wife to stone her husband to death while he hid in a hole.

Hundreds of thousands of stolen login credentials for ChatGPT are being listed for sale on dark web markets, security researchers have warned. Cyber security firm Flare discovered over 200,000 OpenAI logins on the dark web – a section of the internet unreachable through conventional web browsers – offering criminals a way to access users’ accounts or simply use the premium version of the AI tool for free. The Independent has reached out to OpenAI for further information and comment. The AI firm previously defended its security practices after a smaller batch of credentials were discovered online. “OpenAI maintains industry best practices for authenticating and authorising users to services including ChatGPT,” a spokesperson said last month. “We encourage our users to use strong passwords and install only verified and trusted software to personal computers.” The listings come amid a surge in interest in generative artificial intelligence from malicious actors, with discussions about ChatGPT and other AI chatbots flooding criminal forums. Research published in March found that the number of new posts about ChatGPT on the dark web grew seven-fold between January and February this year. Security firm NordVPN described the exploitation of ChatGPT as “the dark web’s hottest topic”, with cyber criminals seeking to “weaponise” the technology. Among the topics under discussion were how to create malware with ChatGPT and ways to hack the AI tool to make it carry out cyber attacks. Earlier this month, researchers discovered a ChatGPT-style AI tool with “no ethical boundaries or limitations” called WormGPT. It was described as ChatGPT’s “evil twin”, allowing hackers to perform attacks on a never-before-seen scale. “ChatGPT has carried out certain measures to limit nefarious use of its application but it was inevitable that a competitor platform would soon take advantage of using technology for illicit gain,” Jake Moore, an advisor at the cyber security firm ESET, told The Independent. “AI chat tools create a powerful tool but we are wandering into the next phase which casts a dark cloud over the technology as a whole.” Read More Llama 2: How Mark Zuckerberg’s new ChatGPT rival could lead to ‘obscene’ AI ChatGPT creator withholds latest AI over fears it’s too powerful Meta unveils its ChatGPT rival Llama Elon Musk reveals plan to use AI to reveal mysteries of the universe

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ALMERE, Netherlands--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 2, 2023--