To enable this material to store electrical energy, two layers of woven fibres are made into a sandwich, separated by a thin layer of a glass-based insulating material.

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The cells can then be separated from debris and a thin layer deposited on a glass slide.

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The mountain is a giant, putrid layer-cake, with dozens of strata of rubbish separated by soil and plastic liners designed to contain the brew of noxious chemicals that would otherwise leach into groundwater.

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Once a solid layer has formed at the top of the cauldron, the curds are cut then separated from the whey, pressed into a large mould and set to age in a high-humidity cellar.

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