Map of coal power by state. Note: about of third of the air pollution can go thousands of miles from the plant. There is more impact on air quality and health of those near the plants. Air pollution has been improved in the USA since the 1950s and 1960s. There is still a negative effect. …
Carnival of Space 130 is up at Chandra Blog This site provided the technology highlights of week 39-45, which included 13 space related highlights Colony Worlds speculates on the wonders of the solar system 200 years after humans set foot on Mars. The wonders relate to colonization speculation based in the actual conditions of different …
In the prototype optical chip shown here, the circles in the top two rows are “ring resonators” that can filter out light of different wavelengths. Image courtesy of Vladimir Stojanovic Computer chips that transmit data with light instead of electricity consume much less power than conventional chips, but so far, they’ve remained laboratory curiosities. Professors …
Henry Markram (Blue Brain Project) say IBM’s claim is a HOAX. Henry is referring to the claim of achieving a cat scale brain simulation Henry Markram was interviewed by Sander Olson for Nextbigfuture in August, 2009 This is a mega public relations stunt – a clear case of scientific deception of the public. These simulations …
There is an upcoming conference focused on the Synergy of Molecular Manufacturing and general Artificial Intelligence, which will alsocelebrate the 20th anniversary of the founding of Foresight. Brian Wang, staging-nextbigfuture.kinsta.cloud, will be one of the speakers at this conference. Several rapidly-developing technologies have the potential to undergo an exponential takeoff in the next few decades, …
The Economist magazine has their annual projections for the coming year. This year it is the World in 2010 Projected statistics for 80 countries in 2010 (9 page pdf) Statistics for 15 industries countries in 2010 (4 page pdf) The Economist long term projection for China’s economy is still a positive one. Over the next …
University of California San Diego researchers have developed a method to enhance the capacitance (up to three times) of carbon nanotube (CNT) electrode-based electrochemical capacitors by controllably incorporating extrinsic defects into the CNTs. “While batteries have large storage capacity, they take a long time to charge; while electrostatic capacitors can charge quickly but typically have …
Engineers at the University of Dayton Research Institute (UDRI) have developed a solid-state, rechargeable lithium-air battery. When fully developed, the battery could exceed specific energies of 1,000 Wh/kg in practical applications. We have successfully fabricated and tested the first totally solid-state lithium-air battery, which represents a major advancement in the quest for a commercially viable, …
Harvesting energy in the wake of a circular cylinder using piezoelectric materials [Harvesting energy from a flying jet plane Using the new technology automobiles and aircraft could harness currently wasted kinetic energy to generate electricity and power some systems. About a half-inch by one inch, these piezoelectric devices might be mounted on the roof or …
Researchers at the University of Southern California have demonstrated large, functional arrays of transistors made using simple methods from batches of carbon nanotubes that are relatively impure. For the first time someone has shown solution-deposited, purified semiconducting tubes for high-quality transistors,” says John Rogers, professor of materials science and engineering at the University of Illinois …
BAU – Business as usual, LC – Low Carbon plan, ELC – Enhanced Low Carbon plan A report presented to the Annual General Meeting of the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development (CCICED), chaired by Li Keqiang, vice premier, in Beijing yesterday and to Premier Wen Jiabao concludes that China has much …