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Here's the news. A palm -sized drone weighing less than a piece of paper has been unveiled by Chinese scientists.
Tiny but mighty, the aerial vehicle can fly continuously as long as it receives sunlight thanks to an innovative motor.
Designed by researchers at Beihang University in Beijing, the size and weight of the solar -powered machine are only one -tenth and one -sixth -hundredth of the previous world's smallest and lightest solar -powered aircraft, respectively.
Micro aerial vehicles have a host of applications from environmental monitoring to search and rescue, making them versatile tools.
They can perform specialized tasks, including capturing images, detecting objects, and transporting items in confined spaces.
However, limited flight duration poses a significant obstacle to their usefulness.
Traditional micro aerial vehicles use electromagnetic motors to power their rotors.
However, a major problem always arises when the small motor overheats at high speeds, causing a sharp drop in energy conversion efficiency.
Natural sunlight can be a potential alternative as an energy source, but the smaller a drone gets, the less surface area it has to collect sunlight, which ultimately can generate a limited amount of energy.
In the study published in the journal nature, the research team highlighted that traditionally, flying machines weighing less than 10 grams, can only stay aloft for up to 10 minutes.
To overcome the efficiency challenges, lead researcher Qi Mingjing and his colleagues developed an electrostatic motor that uses the Coulomb force.
The force between electrically charged particles at rest to generate continuous rotating motion.
The drone's name, Kulam Fly, also comes from this unique motor.
A demonstration video presented by the researchers shows that the motor works by creating a circle of electric charges, which generates a twisting force to make a single blade spin like those on a helicopter." Peng Jin Jie, a co -author of the article, said that the advantage of such a motor is that it can effectively reduce heat, since static electricity operates at high voltage and low current.
The lower the current, the less heat it generates.
coordinates. According to the study, the newly developed flying machines weighing less than 5 grams and powered by such static electricity could exceed ten times that of traditional electromagnetic motors in regard to the energy conversion efficiency with less than one tenth of the power consumption required for the same lift.
The new drone, Kulam fly, can achieve continuous flight, solely relying on natural light representing a significant leap forward.
Professor Yan Xiaojun, one of the lead researchers of the study, noted that after further development, the new drone motor technology is expected to be applied in emergency rescue operations, narrow space detection, and other similar scenarios.
Here listening to special English The original production of London's west end musical Cats will be staged from November 19th to the 24th at the Beijing Performing Arts Center.
The show with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber is based on poems by T.
S. Elliott and debuted in London's West End in 1981.
It was first staged in China in 2003 and toured Beijing for the first time in 2004.
The upcoming 2024 performance will feature a formidable cast, including the original cast members.
The show will be performed as part of this year's International Theater Festival, organized by the National Center for the Performing Arts.
This is Special English.
Archaeologists at the legendary San Shing Dwery ruins site have uncovered a jade and stone artifact processing site dating back over 3400 years, revealing the source of the previously discovered cultural relics there.
That is according to the Sichuan Provincial Cultural Relics and Archaeology Research Institute located approximately one kilometer north of the previously unearthed sacrificial pits.
This latest discovery marks significant progress in the archaeological excavation at San Xingdui in southwest China's Sichuan province.
Archaeologists have preliminarily identified this site as a jade and stone production workshop.
found artifacts include raw jade and stone materials, waste materials, fragments, and finished pieces, suggesting a relatively complete chain of handicrafts.
According to Ren Hong -Lin, who is in charge of the archaeological work at San Xingdui ruins site, under the research institute, the discovery of the workshop sheds light on several mysteries, including the origins of the large quantities of jade and stone raw materials found at San Xingdui, the techniques used in their crafting as well as the production processes and the distribution methods involved.
Since 2022, over 400 sites have been identified, including high -level building foundations, ash pits, ash ditches, stone artifacts production, and processing sites.
More than 4 ,000 artifacts have been unearthed, including pottery, jade ware, and stoneware.
To date, more than 60 ,000 cultural relics have been unearthed at San Tsing Dui, the new San Tsing Dui Museum, has attracted over 5 million visitors from around the world since its opening nearly a year ago.
Initially discovered in the late 1920s, the San Tsing Dui ruins have been dubbed one of the world's most significant archaeological finds of the 20th century.
Located in the city of Guanghan, around 60 km from the provincial capital Chengdu, the ruins covering an area of 12 square kilometers are believed to be the remnants of the Shu kingdom dating back some 4 ,500 to 3 ,000 years.
Here listening to special English In almost every culture there exists a Flood Myth.
The Biblical story features Noah building an ark to save living creatures from the impending deluge.
In Greek mythology, Prometheus's son, Deucalion, escaped a great flood by riding an ark.
Similarly, in China, there is also a well -known flood myth that's been told for centuries.
It's about how the ancient Chinese utilized their wisdom to better coexist with nature.
That is the legend of Yu the Great.
The legend goes that long ago, under the rule of the legendary Emperor Yao, a great flood had plagued the ancient Chinese heartland.
Both the Yellow River and the Yangtze River overflowed, rising waters submerged villages and farmland, leaving people homeless and starving.
In this dire situation Emperor Yao appointed a man named Guin to tame the flood.
flood, the ambitious man decided to build dams to block the Great Flood, to make sure that the dams were sturdy enough, Gwyn even ventured to steal from the heavenly god of magic soil that could absorb water and expand endlessly.
His efforts, however, proved to be a failure.
As years passed, the flood kept roaring over the land, ravaging towns and villages, Gu -n ended up getting punished, and the seemingly impossible mission was inherited by his son Yu, a clever and diligent man.
Yu took a completely different approach.
Instead Instead of trying to barricade the flood, the young man proposed to construct drainage and irrigation systems.
He called upon the people to create channels through mountains and build waterways to irrigate farmland.
In this way, the once destructive flooding was transformed into a blessing to the people.
After more than a decade of hard work, the great flood was finally controlled by you, who had since won his people's respect.
Why did Yu succeed, yet his father, Gwen, failed?
From this story, the ancient Chinese learned that nature could neither be tamed nor conquered, but utilized and protected.
The wisdom of Yu, the Great, has since been passed down through history to the present.
If you travel to southwest China's Sichuan Province today, one great sight to visit is the Dujiangyen Irrigation System, located on the Chengdu plain.
It was listed a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its ecological engineering feat, its architectural wonder, and the awe -inspiring natural scenery.
Du Jiangyun's design is another manifestation of ancient Chinese wisdom.
Around the 3rd century BC, people living on the Chengdu plane suffered from annual floods.
melting snow rushed from surrounding mountains and brought silt into the nearby Minjiang River, causing severe flooding in the entire region.
After closely studying the complex local topography, Li Bin, the regional governor at the time, rolled out an unprecedented plan, namely to channel and divide the overflowing river instead of damming it.
First, an artificial levy was built to divide the Minjiang River into inner and outer canals.
The once turbulent swirling flow was thus slowed and drained.
Next up to solve was the silting problem.
A weir was built at the end of the levee where the two streams meet again.
In this way, the silt and sediment could be collected, whereas the excess water simply drained away.
To better utilize water, a channel was cut through the mountain, allowing a portion of inner river to flow into the Chengdu plane, and irrigate the once dry land.
Voila! With the whole Dujiangyin irrigation system in place, the floods were contained.
The waterway could stay open.
Moreover, the once excessive waters could be diverted to irrigate the farmlands and feed hundreds and thousands of people.
Thanks to the Duchangyen system, which is still working perfectly today, Sichuan province is deemed one of the most productive agricultural regions in China.
As some old sayings ask people to adopt methods appropriate to the situation in order to seize the advantage.
Chinese people believe in taking advantage of nature instead of conquering it.
Today, when seeking to solve water crisis while fighting climate change, Chinese people keep applying their ancestors old wisdom in new ways.
One recent example is the building of sponge cities, which use innovative ways to capture rainwater for later use and keep floods at bay.
In a sponge city, roofs are covered in grass and roads are porous so that water can be retained and recycled.
A smart drainage system further collects and purifies any contaminated water, supplying clean water to households and directing recycled water to irrigate gardens and parks.
It's as if the whole city is transformed into a huge sponge, absorbing the excess water and saving it for sustainable use.
This is another example of taking advantage of nature instead of trying to conquer it.
This is Special English.
That's the end of this edition of Special English.
To recap, I'm going to read one of the news items again, at normal speed.
Please listen carefully.
Archaeologists at the legendary Sanxingdui ruin site have uncovered a jade and stone artifact processing site dating back over 3400 years, revealing the source of the previously discovered cultural relics there.
That is according to the Sichuan Provincial Cultural relics and Archaeology Research Institute.
Located approximately one kilometer north North of the previously unearthed sacrificial pits, this latest discovery marks significant progress in the archaeological excavation at San Qingdui in southwest China's Sichuan Province.
Archaeologists have preliminarily identified this site as a jade and stone production workshop.
The newly found artifacts include raw jade and stone materials, waste materials, fragments and finished pieces suggesting a relatively complete chain of handicrafts.
According to Ran Hong -Lin, who is in charge of the archaeological work at the San Xing Dué, ruined site under the research institute, the discovery of the workshop sheds light on several mysteries, including the origins of the large quantities of jade and stone raw materials found at the San Xing Dué, the techniques used in their crafting as well as the production processes and the distribution methods involved.
Since 2022, over 400 sites have been identified, including high -level building foundations, ash pits, ash ditches, stone artifacts production and processing sites.
More than 4 ,000 artifacts have been unearthed, including pottery, jade ware and stoneware.
To date, more than 60 ,000 cultural relics have been unearthed in San Xingdwe.
The new San Xingdwe Museum has attracted over 5 million visitors from around the world since is opening nearly a year ago.
Initially discovered in the late 1920s, the San Xing Dui Ruins have been dubbed one of the world's most significant archaeological finds of the 20th century.
Located in the city of Guanghan, around 60 kilometers from the provincial capital Chengdu, the ruins covering an area of 12 square kilometers are believed to be the remnants of the Shu Kingdom dating back some 4 ,500 to 3 ,000 years.
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