[000:00:00;00] news the they could play a big role in the future of sustainable mobility calls that run without few and emissions powered only by the energy of the song. many teams the developing solar vehicles. so large scale production is still a long way down the road. researches and engine is making progress. in october 2023, they mess up to race. the latest prototypes across the street is sometimes now black power gym, and teen fed that and much more this week. on dw sign shows welcome to tomorrow.

today of the city of darwin and the north of australia. 38 teams are here to compete in the world solar challenge, the toughest race of its kind on the planet. the top qualifier on the 1st day was team zone and bargain from often, over the last 2 years, almost 50 students at austin's technical university have worked on this solar racing car, developing its components and assembling the vehicle in their free time. they've named it oddly because it's aerodynamic design was inspired by adelaide penguins. team leader lean or ceiling says from an energy standpoint, starting the race and poll position is ideal than others. when you accelerate, like when overtaking you, use a lot more energy and you have to accelerate hard at 1st. the call doesn't really like to do that. it can, but it needs energy of course, and then you're just driving straight ahead. you get to the flow at some point and

ideally remain out in front. the next morning the car set out on their 3000 kilometer race to adelaide and southern australia. top teams from belgium and the netherland sees the lead on the 1st day. every 300 kilometers, there are control stops. and it's time for a pitstop to tilt the solar cells at the sun for precisely 30 minutes. and switch drivers. from 8 in the morning until 5 in the afternoon, the teams zip across the back. then they have to stop and set up camp. the solar cars are parked in ideal alignment with the sun to recharge their batteries. to begin with, then i will say generate energy while driving that, but the angles not really ideal. we can only set it ultimately when parked. so these are the most important i was in the race. everyone does all they can not to lose a minute because that's what brings in the energy in a given think. victory or defeat hinge on how well the teams harvest and use the

suns energy. the belgian team has developed a retractable fit to move more efficiently and the windy outside competition drives innovations like the says, race, observer marcus, my thoughts of vehicle experts from northern germany and isn't all of those many components installed in the solar costs here specially designed because their engines have to work much more efficiently than the normal cost of, of range is the problem for everyone. and they're trying to further optimize that of taking a completely different truck. and i'm just doing something else comes onto the machine. here it's all about maximizing efficiency and some have made more compromises than others as teams on involved in is realizing halfway through the race, the lead teams have left the field. far behind those top teams are on the road with more powerful batteries, even though they pose a greater risk facing by telling me that magenta. my notice got a lithium batteries with silicone on those are all the rage because of the energy

density almost. and not the researches are still trying to make them safe. god act whoever the sign right now i'd say l a. p is better chemistry for cause to help good on that. so if we chose it for safety reasons, we saw as the seller sells on, susceptible to sell more changes and are safe, even if the island treated the way they should be. indeed, probably you can be mission so, but hundreds, but did you find it depends on those qualities will be crucial on the final day of the rates playing catch up, the team from often increases speed to over 100 kilometers per hour. with a little luck they could still finish force, but then just 300 kilometers from the finish line in strong crosswinds. the lead goes into a skid and flips. there are no pictures of the accident, driver's e mail and luckily gets out of it with no more than a scare and a few scratches. the team is disappointed as to the crash, but also relief. at least the battery survived the accident on damaged. so as long

as electrons against it's the electric heart of all. com. and since we really thought about wherever and how each of the battery cells should be placed at the horizontal rather than an upright for example, which is unusual. it pushes the center of gravity down more as much stuff. and you can also see that there are no straight edges in the housing. and everything is curved, the cell holders will mailed, including buyers individually. so it's a tailor made salary in every way. there's the driver's cocked it is also tailor made and done damage the very next day. z moment is not behind the wheel scroll down and out of the safety aspects. what is planned and image so the driver was able to get out a 2nd contract. he was able to press the emergency store even while tipping over, which shows how experienced our drivers are and how comfortable they feeling the call. the team didn't seem on his back of the wheel now for you, and he deserves to drive the law meters over the finish line. even if it didn't go quite as we imagined,

i'm trying to scan for very often to see and so far. so if i'm in adelaide, seattle lee gets to take to the road again. it may not have been the fastest vehicle in the solar race, but it was one of the safest. and the team from awesome can still celebrate a kind of victory. after clocking up 3000 kilometers and their car powered by the side with that about fines technology. that's like dw signs is now on take talk. what do for fun? why do gravitational ways? when did people begin getting high and laughing gas out the drums boogie to the beads and what's the perfect kid football find? find the on says gets most dw science own new tick tock channel are

starting to cause just stones when they break down the so the boats that to run the development, i mean little dangerous. that battery is empty, but the powered airplane crash that was an advert presidency or a few years ago during the 1st round the world slide to the plane powered only by the some history making. jenny had some dramatic moment there switched pioneers of electric aviation fair chunk, the car and andre for spare dared to do the impossible. they were the 1st to build and electrically powered solar aircraft, able to circumnavigate the world. the. there were already some tears of relief at the start in march 2015. as it was stress right up until the last moment is that still men around the world trip in 17 stages,

kicked off and abu dhabi. the goal was to fly around the cloud using the power of the sun alone. the car and bush bear developed the aircraft together, despite major resistance from the ation industry. they remained undeterred in their pursuit of the bold dream. andre horsberg put together the projects technical team, while bear tron p card focused on acquiring financial support, the when you slide, thanks to the sun go. you look at the sun and the fuel gauge and say that, so making me fly or something with the development took 5 years in total thanks to a highly efficient electric propulsion system. the solar impulse aircraft only consumes around the same amount of energy. it takes to power a motor scooter,

though it weighs as much as a car and has a wing span as wide as a boeing 747, a glide should the air at a snail's pace, just 75 kilometers per hour on the plane at the store enough energy during the day so that it wouldn't crash at night. the seal to get to that good when it comes to how much energy can be provided. just remember that a single square meter of paneling is enough to power a hair dryer. is this, we have 200 square meters, so the power of $200.00 hair dryers that the sun puts at our disposal on this at $8112.00 days after the start of the journey. the biggest hurdle away to the flight across the pacific. 7000 kilometers, driven only by the energy of the sun. 3 o 2.2, all the way from all of the way we shoot all the best and up sort of degrade slides

. i really move the 12 hours into the flight horsberg and the team performed the last safety check. from this point on over the pacific, there is no turning back. and with the check comes of shock, the system that monitors the aircraft auto pilot isn't working. that means the system that keeps an eye on things about the pilot sleep is faulty. if he continues to fly, his life is in danger. we ran the most critical moment about the project so far. no. to do this because one of the discussion on the ground was then give we fly on and risk the project life. and that's a very important factor. or do we take the easy way out? we could still turn back. so let's lie back to indigo. yeah. in the home can seen good, so what's not, not going on and hearing from the engineers point of view, the situation was clear,

turnaround and repair of the plane. if andre bore spec wanted to keep flying, he'd be up there on his own. but together with bear tron p card for spare, decided to ignore the advice and keep going. able to see what is most emotionally i didn't know if i had the right to do that. to my family, i was sure they were going to be very worried that i have the right to subject them to that stress, especially my wife. shoot to him when he was the pilot flew past the point of no return. then there was more bad news. the batteries were no longer charging properly. for forced back, the situation had grown even more critical. faulty batteries, no auto pilot. he turned to meditation to calm himself down. that is because that was the fear. loki anxiety related stress sauce. it's huge in situations like to have symbol. but if you've prepared well, then you can suppress it a bit. i meant something to the quote,

the force bear colds out and the sun provides the necessary energy or after 4 days 21 hours and 50 minutes of constant tension. he finally glimpses the lights of honolulu, a magic moment for everyone involved the . c a milestone in the history of aviation, the scene, honolulu, it took several months to install new batteries in the solar impulse, but then it took to the air again, uncompleted. the 1st round, the world slide to the solar powered aircraft in july 26. the electric aviation has made the big steps forward since that most airplane designs charge the batteries before. take of d n. e in the future with electricity from renewable sources like that produced in

a special set of the punk in portugal. it's quiet and he didn't get units. largest human made was of why they all came out on the border between portugal in spain, in the south west and part of the ibm peninsula. there's not much else here. the confidence launches floating, so the power plant looks almost lost. it can only be reached by boat space to throw it through the. every thing about this facility is special in the innovation everywhere. who's fine a photo baltic panels themselves or a conventional much applica. so in how they're set up in a floating fluctuating environment, that's what makes this project so special vis projects. 12000 solar panels. right. so really here on full heck to as a full tank. ready here's how it works. sunlight phoning on this side of the panels, creates an electrical voltage between the front and back of the cell,

but allows the energy from the sun to be converted into a tricity. it's been transmitted to the dams power generation system through underwater cables. apparently it can be fed directly into the electrical grid that's already connected, that it's a hybrid system. so there's just some bluish form. there are 2 renewable energy sources and play hydro power and solar power using ink or e there generated together at the same time. and so i had gotten their energy is fed into the power grad at the same connection point. the hydro power plant alone doesn't fully exploit, the potential of the power lines is electric as the floating. so the power plant is expected to produce 7.5 gigabyte hours of electricity per year. enough to supply around 1500 families in portugal with green energy. any step to select tricity will

be stored in bunk changes at the power plant to pick up the slack jane cloudy periods. the hydro electric power plant has been connected to the electrical great for a long time and a floating soda power punch has a low impact on the environment. then a non base solution would have. if you compare these with centralized solar with, you know, $1000.00 x r as in the mountain are in the forest to the area in the where uh, not only the landscape but also the eco systems might be effected. this is clearly a much better off to, to go ranks very high in unit when it comes to the portion of renewable energy and the power makes with lots of sunshine state, the winds around 260 times. the country has many options for cutting fossil fuel use. let us read why. i'm now able to you, do you have a science question? send it to us as a video,

text or voice mail. if we don't see your query on the show, we'll send you this list of pro nice as the same key. the skill on just task. this makes question comes from mike and teresa see from the us if the sun were to suddenly disappear, when would the 1st leave it's orbit? albert einstein was fascinated by gravity. and how it functions with a mass around $333000.00 times that of hers. the son dominates, gravitational matters in our solar system. the many celestial bodies that make it up revolve around the sun. i am starting described how gravity works and here's the theory of general relativity. it says that heavy objects warp

space time with its a nor mismatched the sun bends. it's so much that the planets begin to move in a curbing orbit around. just like the moon does around the earth. einstein also showed that nothing can move faster than light. it rips through space that nearly 300000 kilometers per 2nd. according to the great physicists theory, gravity propagates at the same speed. researchers were able to prove this in 2015 after decades of trying, they were finally able to measure gravitational waves for the 1st time, the earth orbit. the sun at a distance of about 150000000 kilometers. it takes just under 8 and a half minutes for its light to reach our planet. surface one were to suddenly disappear. we wouldn't know about it on earth until about 8 and

a half minutes later. then the sky would suddenly go as dark as the deepest night. because gravity also travels at light speed. yours would also leave its orbit at that moment and begin whizzing through space at 30 kilometers a 2nd illuminated only by the light of distant stars. in the far future, who knows, maybe gravity from one of them would then pull in our orphan planet. how hard is it actually to design a rock? it's able to reach space. many nations and companies are currently known she one mission off to another, to the moon, mazel rather planets. aerospace engineering students at one gym and university enjoy a unique hands on experience when it comes to learning about rocket building challenges . how to is it come to the rich binding of cost, attention grows higher and higher,

the closer you get to the account down to the real start, the slide was the thought of i o is very long days and short nights, but i'd say every 2nd was with it, the state and everything, i didn't remember any other moment in my life with such attention and emotion along with such positive feelings. julian indira philip an over 60 other aerospace engineering students which took got university haven't cleared go to develop a real kit, could reach space on its own. they came up with a hybrid rocket propelled by solid and liquid fuel. the t name, high end hybrid engine development. they haven't, i live, we all started more or less from scratch of students. i learned a lot and i don't get hospitalized in all the things that then grew. my power shoots made an engine tested, it made the structural pots with common, spoke to

a tie, them, and those kinds of challenges to go to associate with i was for the whole generally the experience was that you can do things. yeah, you couldn't do otherwise. mich, michigan, can you stop them and find ross? i think it said it was hard to imagine that a student program could just go beyond the boundaries of university like this on november. we were really in a workshop j and night finishing stuff up to developing testing building. it was very, very challenging to stand by a few times as a whole spot on. in the end it would take more than 3 years to construct and test the rocket system. some tests were run over and over again, like those on the engine. oh, the self. so in parachutes that would have to deploy to ensure the rocket safer to into of of the team also managed to successfully launch smaller tests, versions of the design,

the, the beginning of march 2023 crunch time is the big launch approached. the students efforts have to pass muster with space experts. the hit independently developed a setting meter, long hybrid ms style. just been off the victim understand. i'm very excited and stressed out. of course i'm really glad. well now get confirmation for a launch. oh, so for the final configuration on that we can start packing seems alyssa will do well. we can to at least scratch the edge of space inside the rock. you'd have to pause safety inspections. the gym and aerospace center supervisors, the rocket program for students. we find that it's approval to planned, launching corrina renewals and sweden will take place some expense. i don't currently see any sticking points that would stop the launch. we'll discuss

everything as a team later, but at the moment everything looks pretty good. honestly, it's a stressful time for the high end team. the aerospace experts want to know about everything from the control electronics installed and the rockets nose code to its comp and 5 the fuselage. the questions are extensive, grueling and tough. busy stop soon, because i think projects like these are also a way to get more students and young people excited about stuff like the ice done. if you have a thrilling project that pulls you in, then people come and are highly motivated to implement the whole thing. this can solve some of the time for the decision on whether the team can continue down the path from theory to practice. that's the rocket acceptance redo has power to basic . so you have to go for the campaign in corona it's a huge hurdle for the students to clear. many have worked on the real keeps the 2

more hours a week for years on top of the studies gives students a completely free writing. they organize things and you see that projects can actually be implemented successfully or 6 weeks later, but you are as rain space sends the inquiry, no certification in hand. high and team completed construction on to hyper drawer kits. transported them to northern sweden and is preparing them for launch. they have boats will make it, at least to the edge of space, an altitude of at least 100 kilometers. at the end of april, the countdown is on the moon. she's a 6th sense bible from the 2 weeks were really intense. yeah, we had to work well together as a team with

a f. i was actually surprised by the positive vibe. i guess we got a lot of praise. the working very professionally. the calmness was that perfect scenario, and that's just one reason i'm so proud of my team and the power sheets, what the real kits are recovered. unfortunately, they didn't reach space, but at least they set a new altitude record, the student build. hi pedro kits. just done to 65 kilometers the months after the campaign in carina, what's left at the rockets is back in still got the idea of the going to impact all the pieces. look at them all again because that's also part of this project. busy finding out what worked, what didn't, and why everything didn't go was planned. it was on site, this is on a 2nd flight. and normally i could find some,

we're still trying to figure out exactly what happened. and from the 1st launch we recovered the complete rotate on the 2nd mission, just a tank among other things, indira eulley and philip and the other high and team members will now precisely mitchell and i'm elias. how they rockets reacted to temperature, pressure and vibrations. so the learning continues, it doesn't, so it's my new government. we built a rocket by and i also studied a little on the side. i think you know what, i don't have an exact number in my head, but i can't remember it day here. instruct god or i wasn't in the rock at loud, and i think it was worth it. the the student rocket program supervised by the gym and aerospace center will continue the so other teams will one day launch self built rootkits into space,

from carina in sweden's finals. the and that wraps things up this week on dw sign show. thanks for watching and see you again next time on some more a today the

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w. the this is dw dues live it from the berlin tonight families worst fears realized as israel says, 31 of the remaining hostages in garza, our debt. it comes as americans talk diplomat against the blinking presses on. we've talked a bit securing it, extended ceasefire and gaza guitar says so far reaction from us is generally positive. we'll get the latest from jerusalem. also coming up tonight for donald trump, a possible presidential privilege denied us appeals court as ruled with the former president has met with new to the against chargers, the detroit to overturn his 2020 election defeats. and 3 people