ESAero,studied hybrid propulsion systems, became convinced that conventional, non-superconducting electrical systems could be made to work in a large aircraft. It was funded by NASA Ames to take the ECO-150 concept and rework it around ambient-temperature generator and motor technology available to meet NASA’s 2020-25 timeframe N+2 goals (40% less fuel used, lower emissions and …
Beijing has approved funding for major projects to develop core technologies for nuclear-powered vessels, a first official indication of plans to build nuclear-powered aircraft carriers. China probably kicked off a research program aimed at developing nuclear reactors to power its future aircraft carriers. A report posted on the website of the state-owned China Shipbuilding Industry …
A new method preserves spin qubits up to ten times longer. Hole spins, rather than electron spins, can keep quantum bits in the same physical state up to 10 times longer than before. The holes within hole spins, Frolov explained, are literally empty spaces left when electrons are taken out. Using extremely thin filaments called …
Andy Thomas constructed a memristor that is capable of learning. Andy and Bielefeld University researchers are now using his memristors as key components in a blueprint for an artificial brain. Memristors are made of fine nanolayers and can be used to connect electric circuits. For several years now, the memristor has been considered to be …
One of the greatest challenges of the past half century for aerodynamics engineers has been how to increase the top speeds of aircraft that take off and land vertically without compromising the aircraft’s lift to power in hover or its efficiency during long-range flight. The versatility of helicopters and other vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) …
The Carnival of Space 290 is up at the Venus Transit Discovery News – 3D printing is a genuinely incredible new technology. After taking off in the 21st century on Earth, it looks set to become one of the defining technologies in human space travel and colonization. Could 3D printed food provide astronauts with the …
The generating capacity of large-scale wind farms has been overestimated. Each wind turbine creates behind it a “wind shadow” in which the air has been slowed down by drag on the turbine’s blades. The ideal wind farm strikes a balance, packing as many turbines onto the land as possible, while also spacing them enough to …
The Carnival of Nuclear Energy 145 is up at Atomic Power Review ANS Nuclear Cafe looks at potential nuclear plant closures and what could be done to stop them from closing Kewaunee may not be the last plant to close for purely economic reasons. Many experts are saying that several other small plants in merchant …
The Air Force admitted losing two of its 184 — make that 182 — top-of-the-line F-22 Raptor stealth fighters on Thursday. It was one of the worst days yet in what’s turning out to be a bad year for the pricey, radar-evading jet built by Lockheed Martin. The F22 stealth fighter costs as much as …
Elon Musk was interviewed on Jimmy Kimmel. Spacex is making version 2 of the Dragon spacecraft with landing gear and rockets for propulsive landing. This might be in parallel to the Grasshopper first stage reusable work. No more news on Hyperloop other than Elon wants to get Tesla profitable first before publishing Hyperloop to not …
Nabsys, a DNA technology startup, showed off today its solid-state gene sequencing machine at the Advances in Genome Biology and Technology conference in Marco Island, Florida. The company says that later this year it will begin selling its machine, which will allow researchers to determine the structural organization of long stretches of DNA. This differs …