Wikipedia – For a space elevator, the cost varies according to the design. Bradley C. Edwards received funding from NIAC from 2001 to 2003 to write a paper describing a space elevator design. In it he stated that: “The first space elevator would reduce lift costs immediately to $100 per pound” ($220/kg). However, as with …
Exponential Tethers for Accelerated Space Elevator Deployment (10 pages) Reel-to-Reel buildup is the absolute best choice for strengths greater than 72 GPa. At 65 GPa it is nearly identical to climber-based buildup with a three day climber interval. This is remarkable, given how close 65 GPa is to the critical strength of 63 GPa. If …
A lot of significant developments are queuing up through the end of this year and through 2015. There will be even more after that but things are shaping up so that naysayers against significant technological change will have problems. Heartland Robotics is now Rethink Robotics. They will be unveiling a radically cheaper and more capable …
Business Week – International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) researchers spent four years developing Watson, the computer smart enough to beat the champions of the quiz show “Jeopardy!” Now they’re trying to figure out how to get those capabilities into the phone in your pocket. Finding additional uses for Watson is part of IBM’s plan to …
Rethink Robotics is developing a new generation of robots to improve productivity in manufacturing environments. They will be easy to use, adapt to their environment, autonomously sense and will be flexible and versatile. They will be easy to buy, train and deploy and will be much less expensive than traditional industrial robots. NY Times – …
BBVA predicts that in the following three years China’s car ownership rate will reach 113 cars per 1,000 people. World Bank statistics indicate China was at 47 cars per 1000 people in 2009 (this is about 68 million cars) 37 cars per 1000 people in 2007 Wikipedia lists China as having 83 cars per 1000 …
A commercial van slammed into a truck Monday in northwest China, killing nine people and bringing the overall death toll to 56 in three big accidents on the country’s notoriously dangerous roads over the past two days. On Sunday, 36 people were burned to death when a double-decker bus rammed into a tanker loaded with …
More than 9,000 people sought treatment at local hospitals for health problems stemming from the massive fire at the Chevron refinery in Richmond, California. Dr. Wendel Brunner, the county’s public health director, said residents who were exposed to particulate matter complained of a variety of problems, including irritation to the nose, throat and eyes, as …
Lunar Space Elevator Kickstarter is over five times its original $8000 fundraising goal. The Lunar space elevator kickstarter is over $46,000 and still increasing. The Kickstarter will run until September 13, 2012. They need to complete a 1-year Feasibility Study, beginning next year. That will cost $3 Million. At $8000, they wanted to : * …
The Carnival of Nuclear energy is up at Yes Vermont Yankee. At Atomic Insights, Rod Adams asks why radiation health professionals are so reluctant to talk about radiation hormesis ? William Tucker at Nuclear townhall discussed how talking about radiation hormesis makes the public think the speaker is a zonked out weirdo. Ted Rockwell responded. …
Eurekalert – Scientists have long sought ways to increase the critical temperature of superconducting materials, making them more practical. One of these methods includes chemical doping, removing or adding ions such as oxygen to alter the critical temperature of the material. But Prof. Dagan said that he and his fellow researchers were inspired to find …