Monday, 14 April 2014

ENERGY- Navy researchers demonstrate flight powered by fuel created from seawater

“This is the first time technology of this nature has been
demonstrated with the potential for transition from the laboratory, to
full-scale commercial implementation,” said Willauer.

The predicted cost of jet fuel using these technologies is in the
range of $3 to $6 per gallon, and with sufficient funding and
partnerships, this approach could be commercially viable within the next
seven to ten years, NRL suggests." kurzweilai.net

Navy researchers demonstrate flight powered by fuel created from seawater

ENERGY- SOLAR POWER (II) Are We Halfway to Market Dominance for Solar?

"Solar is now around 1 percent of global electricity generation. But that might mean we’re further along than you’d think."

Tam Hunt  April 11, 2014

http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/are-we-halfway-to-market-dominance-for-solar

ENERGY- SOLAR POWER (I) - Is the recent solar power ‘tipping point’ a sign of things to come?

 "The cost of installing photovoltaic solar arrays has dropped to $3 per
watt of electricity they produce – about the same as coal-powered plants
cost to build – creating a watershed moment in the development of clean
energy, experts say." Computerworld
Is the recent solar power ‘tipping point’ a sign of things to come?

Thursday, 13 March 2014

25 YEARS OF INTERNET- HAPPY WEBDAY!

" On March 12, 1989 Tim Berners-Lee, while working as a contractor at the CERN laboratories in Switzerland, submitted Information Management: A Proposal, which sparked the greatest advance in information technology since Gutenberg invented the printing press. At the time, it was just a way for CERN scientists to share data, but a quarter of a century later, it’s grown from a curiosity into a necessity without which our world can no longer function." [...]

SOURCE: Gizmag

http://www.gizmag.com/www-25-anniversary/31175/

Monday, 10 March 2014

NANOTECHNOLOGY- Optical nano-tweezers allow for manipulating molecules, other nanoscale objects

"Researchers at the the Institute of Photonic Sciences (ICFO) in
Catalonia have invented nano-optical tweezers capable of trapping and
moving an individual nano-object in three dimensions using the force of
light.

“This technique could revolutionize the field of nanoscience since,
for the first time, we have shown that it is possible to trap,
3D-manipulate, and release a single nano-object without exerting any
mechanical contact or other invasive action,” said Romain Quidant, ICREA
Professor and leader at ICFO of the Plasmon Nano-Optics research group." SOURCE: kurzweilai.net

Optical nano-tweezers allow for manipulating molecules, other nanoscale objects

Monday, 3 March 2014

NEXT-GEN ELECTRONICS- Ultra-thin capacitors could acclerate development of next-gen electronics

"Takayoshi Sasaki and colleagues note that current technology has
almost reached its limit in terms of materials and processing, which in
turn limits the performance that manufacturers can achieve. In response,
researchers have gone to the nanoscale, but “nanocapacitors” are not
easy to make.  They require harsh, difficult-to-use methods and even
then, they may not work that well.


Layers of different types of oxide nanosheets


So Sasaki’s team developed an easier way to make high-performance
“ultrathin” capacitors. The researchers found that they could use gentle
techniques and mild conditions to create a sandwich consisting of
layers of two different types of oxide nanosheets to produce an
ultrathin capacitor.


In addition, the new capacitor has a capacitance density of as high
as ∼27.5 μF (microfarads) per square centimeter, which is approximately
2000 times higher than those of currently available commercial products."

SOURCE: kurzweilai.net

Ultra-thin capacitors could acclerate development of next-gen electronics

Wednesday, 22 January 2014

NEW MATERIALS. COMPOUNDS THAT VIOLATE TEXBOOK RULES- A CHEMISTRY REVOLUTION?

 "Most of what we know about textbook chemistry only applies to ambient conditions, or the default conditions that one normally finds on the surface of the Earth, says the team. So it's entirely possible that what's forbidden on the Earth's surface under ambient conditions, becomes possible when things become more extreme, or in the presence of high energy that causes energy balances to shift, they claim. More than just broadening existing views, the researchers anticipate that it will start a revolution, or at least a new chapter in chemistry."

SOURCE: Gizmag
      
http://www.gizmag.com/scientists-create-forbidden-compounds-table-salt/30520/

Tuesday, 14 January 2014

BRAIN- Ultrasound directed to the human brain can boost spatial resolution


"New noninvasive ways to treat neurological disorders

“The work by Jamie Tyler and his colleagues is at the forefront of the coming tsunami of developing new safe yet effective noninvasive ways to modulate the flow of information in cellular circuits within the living human brain,” said Michael Friedlander, executive director of the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute and a neuroscientist who specializes in brain plasticity.
“This approach is providing the technology and proof of principle for precise activation of neural circuits for a range of important uses, including potential treatments for neurodegenerative disorders, psychiatric diseases, and behavioral disorders.
“Moreover, it arms the neuroscientific community with a powerful new tool to explore the function of the healthy human brain, helping us understand cognition, decision-making, and thought. This is just the type of breakthrough called for in President Obama’s BRAIN Initiative to enable dramatic new approaches for exploring the functional circuitry of the living human brain and for treating Alzheimer’s disease and other disorders.”
In addition to his position at the institute, Tyler is an assistant professor of biomedical engineering and sciences at the Virginia Tech-Wake Forest University School of Biomedical Engineering and Sciences. In 2012, he shared a Technological Innovation Award from the McKnight Endowment for Neuroscience to work on developing ultrasound as a noninvasive tool for modulating brain activity. " SOURCE: kurzweilai.net

Ultrasound directed to the human brain can boost spatial resolution

AI. New developments for IBM Whatson. What Will You Do With Watson?