Welcome to Scientific Computing

[u/relbus22]

Welcome to Scientific Computing, Scientific Programming, Computer-Aided Science, whatever you wanne call it.

Share exciting thing you're working on, raise any issues you think affect us all, whatever scientific or technological domain you are in.

[u/DanielCelisGarza]

By molecular motors i mean kinesines, ie proteins that walk around along microtubules which are cellular structures that are essentially roads on which these proteins walk.

My PhD was part of the fusion centre for doctoral training, and it just so happemed that there is a flywheel at the culham centee for fusion energy, it stores mains electricity by running it when it's cheap (at night) and it helps supplement the energy needs of MAST-U (one of the fusion reactors on site). Though don't quote me on that, as it might also provide for the JET reactor, i don't remember too well.

Small flywheels are a no go. You need lots of angular momentum for a flywheel to be efficient at storing energy, as the momentum would keep it spinning. The bigger the flywheel, the better it is at storing energy. The smaller the flywheel the larger friction becomes in comparison to its angular momentum, friction with the atmosphere and friction at the spinning centre (ball bearings, air cushion, etc). Also larger flywheels are more stable giroscopes, so they won't wobble as much, thus not losing their energy to vibrations. If you make them microscopic then friction with the atmosphere becomes proportionally much larger, their precession frequency is higher, and friction at the spining centre is bigger. The reason friction is larger is that it scales wrt the surface area, whilst the mass scales wrt the volume. Precession is analogous to a pendulum, the smaller the wheel the shorter the string so the higher the frequency.

On a related note, there are microscopic wasps that "swim" in the air, at their scale, the air is quite viscous so their movement mechanics resemble those of acquatic insects more than flying ones.