Month: June 2013

High-Strength Chemical-Vapor–Deposited Graphene as large as TV screens produced that are 90% as strong as ideal crystal graphene

by

In a new study, published in Science May 31, 2013, Columbia Engineering researchers demonstrate that graphene, even if stitched together from many small crystalline grains, is almost as strong as graphene in its perfect crystalline form. This work resolves a contradiction between theoretical simulations, which predicted that grain boundaries can be strong, and earlier experiments, …

Read more

World Oil Shale could have $1.7 to 2.7 trillion GDP benefit by 2035

by

Shale oil (light tight oil) is rapidly emerging as a significant and relatively low cost new unconventional resource in the US. There is potential for shale oil production to spread globally over the next couple of decades. If it does, it would revolutionise global energy markets, providing greater long term energy security at lower cost …

Read more

National Highway Traffic Safety Recommends Testing only authorization for self driving vehicles at this time

by

This National Highway Traffic Safety administration document: • Provides a description of developments in automated driving and explains the levels of automation defined by NHTSA. • Provides an overview of NHTSA’s automated research program. • Provides recommended principles that States may wish to apply as part of their considerations for driverless vehicle operation, especially with …

Read more

Small modular reactors might end up being lower cost energy if the full advantages of factory mass production can be leveraged

by

Analysts and decision makers frequently want estimates of the cost of technologies that have yet to be developed or deployed. (PNAS – Expert assessments of the cost of light water small modular reactors) Small modular reactors (SMRs), which could become part of a portfolio of carbon-free energy sources, are one such technology. Existing estimates of …

Read more

Electric Sail components and technical details

by

The electric solar wind sail (E-sail) is a new type of propellantless propulsion system for Solar System transportation, which uses the natural solar wind for producing spacecraft propulsion. This paper discusses a mass breakdown and a performance model for an E-sail spacecraft that hosts a scientifi c payload of prescribed mass. In particular, the model …

Read more