https://www.scmp.com/rss/525454/feed Dr. Chao Kong is a science communicator. He holds a PhD in complex systems, complemented by undergraduate and master's degrees in Physics. He specialises in verifying scientific facts and translating complex scientific advances from China into clear, accessible narratives for the global public. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Chao Kong Chao Kong Chinese scientists have achieved a breakthrough in “all-iron flow battery” technology that could sharply reduce the cost of storing renewable energy while significantly extending battery lifespan. Lithium costs over 80 times more than iron as a raw industrial material at present. An iron battery may offer a potential solution to one of the biggest bottlenecks in the global energy transition, according to the researchers. A team from the Institute of Metal Research under the Chinese Academy of... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3351111/china-unveils-ultra-cheap-all-iron-battery-renewable-energy-storage?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3351111/china-unveils-ultra-cheap-all-iron-battery-renewable-energy-storage?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 27 Apr 2026 03:59:44 +0000 Chao Kong Chao Kong An international research team in China has developed a microscopic “predator-like” material capable of swimming through water and hunting uranium ions, a breakthrough that could open new possibilities for nuclear fuel extraction and cleaning up radioactive pollution. The light-powered material, a metal-organic framework (MOF) micromotor created by researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Qinghai Institute of Salt Lakes, can autonomously move through water while capturing uranium ions.... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3351260/scientists-china-create-predator-material-hunt-uranium-ocean?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3351260/scientists-china-create-predator-material-hunt-uranium-ocean?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 26 Apr 2026 14:00:07 +0000 Chao Kong Chao Kong Modern military supremacy – from stealth jets to hypersonic missiles – hinges on micron-scale “super powders” engineered using precision mills. A new Chinese facility unveiled last week – described as the largest in the world – may give the country a critical edge in this field. The mill in the southern province of Guangdong uses new technology that the company behind it said was 10 times more efficient than older methods and allowed for the industrial scale production of these powders. At first... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3350906/super-powder-super-power-can-china-plasma-mill-grind-us-tech-dominance-dust?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3350906/super-powder-super-power-can-china-plasma-mill-grind-us-tech-dominance-dust?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 21 Apr 2026 11:58:31 +0000 Chao Kong Chao Kong Chinese researchers have developed a flexible 5G millimetre-wave antenna made from photo paper which they say slashes material costs by more than 95 per cent, potentially removing a key barrier to large-scale naval 5G adoption. They described a paper-based flexible multiple input multiple output (MIMO) antenna engineered specifically for shipborne 5G communications in a study published in the peer-reviewed Chinese Journal of Ship Research and led by Yang Wendong of Liaoning Technical... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3350623/low-cost-paper-antenna-paves-way-large-scale-5g-upgrade-chinese-warships-study?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3350623/low-cost-paper-antenna-paves-way-large-scale-5g-upgrade-chinese-warships-study?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 20 Apr 2026 04:00:09 +0000 Chao Kong Chao Kong A vehicle that can zap energy into a fleet of drones, allowing them to fly indefinitely, is getting closer to becoming a battlefield reality. Scientists in China have demonstrated a wireless power transmission system that uses a ground-based microwave emitter to beam energy to an antenna array mounted on the aircraft’s underside. Importantly, they were able to do this while both the drone and charging system were in motion. Some analysts have likened the concept to a “land-based aircraft... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3350482/chinas-land-aircraft-carrier-charges-flying-drone-microwave-beam?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3350482/chinas-land-aircraft-carrier-charges-flying-drone-microwave-beam?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 19 Apr 2026 11:00:11 +0000 Chao Kong Chao Kong An AI computing centre capable of predicting weather patterns weeks in advance typically carries a price tag of US$100 million or more. Now, Chinese researchers say a small-scale quantum system can outperform such facilities at less than 1 per cent of the cost. The findings raise questions about the long-term economics of the global artificial intelligence infrastructure race. If compact quantum systems can deliver competitive performance in specific tasks, could today’s colossal data centres... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3349995/chinese-team-shows-quantum-tech-can-disrupt-ai-real-world-task?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3349995/chinese-team-shows-quantum-tech-can-disrupt-ai-real-world-task?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 14 Apr 2026 06:00:14 +0000 Chao Kong Chao Kong The scene: a command tent during a simulated amphibious assault. Radios crackle with static, reports flood in from the beachhead, and the pressure to make life-or-death decisions weighs heavily on the commander’s shoulders. In this haze of uncertainty – the “fog of war” – a new digital soldier is quietly proving it might think faster than any human. The Chinese military has reportedly deployed an artificial intelligence (AI) agent designed to sit beside battalion-level commanders – and act as a... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3349429/china-deploys-new-battlefield-ai-command-tent-it-outsmarts-everyone?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3349429/china-deploys-new-battlefield-ai-command-tent-it-outsmarts-everyone?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 09 Apr 2026 12:00:09 +0000 Chao Kong Chao Kong A team of researchers in China has unveiled what they describe as the world’s first open-source flight control system designed specifically for bamboo-frame drones, helping the push for low-cost, eco-friendly unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The system, developed by researchers at Northwestern Polytechnical University’s school of civil aviation, aims to solve a long-standing bottleneck in sustainable drone design: integrating non-traditional materials such as bamboo with high-performance... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3348923/china-team-release-worlds-first-bamboo-drone-flight-control-software-free?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3348923/china-team-release-worlds-first-bamboo-drone-flight-control-software-free?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 04 Apr 2026 06:00:10 +0000 Chao Kong Chao Kong Challenging six decades of convention, Chinese scientists have proposed a new composite material manufacturing method that could improve the strength and reliability of structures used in drones, aircraft and spacecraft. By introducing an advance in the so-called balanced lay-up approach – a method of stacking fibre layers symmetrically and in opposing angles to minimise internal stresses – the research team reported strength gains of up to 26 per cent. It also led to a 13 per cent improvement... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3348762/could-chinas-metal-composite-make-drones-planes-and-rockets-26-stronger?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3348762/could-chinas-metal-composite-make-drones-planes-and-rockets-26-stronger?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 03 Apr 2026 02:00:10 +0000 Chao Kong Chao Kong A striking phenomenon is emerging from China as the Middle East conflict presses on: technically skilled civilians are volunteering their expertise online to help Iran counter US military might, without seeking payment or official backing. The trend was vividly illustrated on March 14, when a detailed tutorial on taking down America’s F-35 appeared on Chinese social media and went viral. Created by the account “Laohu Talks World” and subtitled in Persian, the video meticulously explained how... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3348619/how-take-down-us-f-35-over-iran-chinese-engineers-prophetic-tutorial-goes-viral?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3348619/how-take-down-us-f-35-over-iran-chinese-engineers-prophetic-tutorial-goes-viral?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 02 Apr 2026 00:00:10 +0000 Chao Kong Chao Kong China is developing a revolutionary air-breathing engine for next-generation fighter jets and hypersonic missiles. Designed to operate continuously from a stationary start-up to over Mach 6, the “contra-rotary ramjet engine” could replace the combined turbine-ramjet systems currently used in high-speed flight. After more than three decades of work, the engine prototype has been completed and experimentally verified, marking a potential step towards engineering applications. The next steps... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3348078/mach-0-6-engine-may-power-chinas-future-fighter-jets-and-missiles?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3348078/mach-0-6-engine-may-power-chinas-future-fighter-jets-and-missiles?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 30 Mar 2026 14:00:09 +0000 Chao Kong Chao Kong Yan Hong, one of China’s leading researchers in hypersonic and high-speed propulsion technologies, has died at the age of 56, according to Northwestern Polytechnical University. Yan, a professor and doctoral supervisor at NPU’s school of power and energy, died on Tuesday at Jiangsu Provincial People’s Hospital in Nanjing following an illness. The university in the northwestern city of Xian has been placed on US sanctions lists for its alleged ties to military-related research. Her research... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3348183/leading-chinese-hypersonic-aviation-scientist-yan-hong-dies-56?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3348183/leading-chinese-hypersonic-aviation-scientist-yan-hong-dies-56?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 Mar 2026 13:00:15 +0000 Chao Kong Chao Kong A Chinese military research team has released what it described as the first publicly available visible light-infrared ship detection data set, a resource that could sharpen maritime target recognition for drones, missiles or surveillance systems operating at night or in environments where radar is degraded or suppressed. The dual-modal ship detection (DMSD) data set contains more than 2,000 paired visible and infrared vessel images and nearly 20,000 annotated instances, according to the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3347679/china-opens-worlds-largest-ship-data-set-could-be-used-train-drones?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3347679/china-opens-worlds-largest-ship-data-set-could-be-used-train-drones?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 26 Mar 2026 04:06:50 +0000 Chao Kong Chao Kong As tensions around Iran intensify, a potential disruption to global fertiliser supply chains is raising concerns about food production worldwide. But for China, an unusual advantage is coming into focus: the ability to predict grain output more than six months in advance with striking accuracy. That capability – refined over decades – could allow Beijing to move early, reshaping risk into strategic leverage. The Strait of Hormuz, a vital artery for global energy and commodity flows, has emerged... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3347290/could-ultra-precise-harvest-forecast-give-china-advantage-iran-war-fallout?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3347290/could-ultra-precise-harvest-forecast-give-china-advantage-iran-war-fallout?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 22 Mar 2026 02:00:09 +0000 Chao Kong Chao Kong Timing is everything in modern warfare, where even a nanosecond’s delay can make the difference between hitting or missing a target in a coordinated drone or missile attack. China may now have taken a major step forward in this field with the mass production of the world’s smallest atomic clock – something the researchers behind it say could transform drone warfare, underwater navigation and battlefield communication. Developed by a research team led by Professor Chen Jiehua from Wuhan... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3347000/why-tiny-atomic-clocks-may-hold-key-china-mass-producing-cheap-swarm-drones?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3347000/why-tiny-atomic-clocks-may-hold-key-china-mass-producing-cheap-swarm-drones?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 19 Mar 2026 04:00:09 +0000 Chao Kong Chao Kong Large passenger jets and advanced chips, BeiDou satellites and the Tiangong space station: these large-scale science and technology projects could be part of China’s efforts to mobilise resources nationwide to speed up the development of new weapons, according to a study by researchers with China’s top defence university. China’s military modernisation has accelerated at a pace that unsettles many analysts in Washington. In the past decade alone, Beijing has rolled out a sequence of major... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3346364/how-china-beating-us-new-weapons-race-fraction-budget?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3346364/how-china-beating-us-new-weapons-race-fraction-budget?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 16 Mar 2026 22:00:10 +0000