Samsung’s Plan for Terabit Flash Memory

Researchers at Samsung, one of the leading producers of flash-memory chips, recently announced a new chip that can hold twice as much data as before, and without an increase in its footprint on a circuit board. They were able to double the data capacity by building chips with multiple layers of silicon, creating 3-D structures. …

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Evolution of Space Fusion Propulsion from ICF to Z pinch

James Benford a space engineer who worked on the problem of trying to use fusion for space propulsion indicates in comments related to project Daedalus The Daedalus concept was based on the electron-beam-driven inertial confinement fusion (ICF) concept introduced by Friedhart Winterberg around 1970 and peaked around the time of the BIS study. That means …

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Researchers demonstrate direct brain control of humanoid robot

University of Washington researchers can control the movement of a humanoid robot with signals from a human brain. Rajesh Rao, associate professor of computer science and engineering, and his students have demonstrated that an individual can “order” a robot to move to specific locations and pick up specific objects merely by generating the proper brain …

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Quantum dot quantum computer progress

In Physical Review Letters, Oxford student Avinash Kolli and his coauthors suggest a new way to create entanglement, by identifying two different stable states of a quantum dot (call them ‘A’ and ‘B’) and then targeting two such dots simultaneously with a laser. A lot of work still needs to be done to flesh out …

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Better rotary engine

Canadian company says it has fine-tuned the design of a Wankel rotary engine and is preparing to reintroduce the technology to a broader market that includes the U.S. military. Reg Technologies Inc. says that its Radmax direct-charge engine is based on the Wankel rotary design but can deliver up to three times the power with …

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Breakthrough in understanding type 1 diabetes

A faulty sensory nervous system could be the cause of type 1 diabetes. 85% of human diabetics are believed to have impaired sensory nerve function, but it has always been assumed to be a consequence of the disease, rather than a cause.The team wanted to know what would happen if they gave diabetic mice a …

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Nano-cables convert light into electricity

The nano-cables developed by Takanori Fukushita of Tokyo Japan are 16 nanometres in diameter and several micrometres long. They resemble the light-harvesting antennae used by some bacteria and transform light into electricity in a similar way to the semiconductors in solar panels, albeit on a much smaller scale. “This is the first example of a …

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Better investing magazine confuses molecular nanotechnology with NNI nanotechnology

An example of popular media where molecular nanotechnology and the NNI definition of nanotechnology are intermingled is Better Investing magazine. They have an article about nanotechnology today and tomorrow. It is a two page article which first starts by referencing the Engines of Creation book and Eric Drexler and then goes to mention the National …

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2007 superconducting related technology predictions

‘Top-10’ forecast list released today by Elie K. Track, Ph.D., senior partner, HYPRES Inc., a leading developer of superconducting microelectronics technology. 1. Lab demonstrations that can lead to an advanced, low-cost MRI machine that leverages superconducting technology. Ultimately, this will make it easier and cheaper to screen for many serious medical conditions, such as breast …

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Idle electrical capacity enough for plug in Hybrid cars

If all the cars and light trucks in the nation switched from oil to electrons, idle capacity in the existing electric power system could generate most of the electricity consumed by plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. A new study for the Department of Energy finds that “off-peak” electricity production and transmission capacity could fuel 84 percent …

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