Techcrunch reports Facebook is buying Titan Aerospace, makers of near-orbital, solar-powered drones which can fly for five years without needing to land. According to a source with access to information about the deal, the price for this acquisition is $60 million. Facebook is interested in using these high-flying drones to blanket parts of the world …
Using an inexpensive 3-D printer, biomedical engineers have developed a custom-fitted, implantable device with embedded sensors that could transform treatment and prediction of cardiac disorders. Igor Efimov, PhD, at the School of Engineering & Applied Science at Washington University in St. Louis and an international team of biomedical engineers and materials scientists have created a …
The tungsten electrodes needed for LPP’s next set of experiments are rolling forward. The electrodes are needed to eliminate impurities, and cleaner plasma is expected to raise density and yield in the tiny plasmoids where fusion reactions take place. They are on track to be installed by mid-May. The tungsten blank for the cathode (the …
Many news outlets widely—and inaccurately—reported new results from the huge National Ignition Facility (NIF) as achieving the long sought-after goal of breakeven for fusion. What NIF in fact reported was a fusion yield of 17 kJ, more than the energy actually absorbed by the fuel pellet. The total input energy to the machine was far …
1. ANS Nuclear Cafe: Fusion Milestone at National Ignition Facility. Dr. Mike Dunne, program manager for Laser Fusion Energy at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, with comments on a historic laser fusion milestone achieved at the National Ignition Facility in California 2. Reprinted from Fuel Cycle Week at 4factorconsulting.com, Margaret takes a look at methane gas …
Ian Bremmer is the president and founder of Eurasia Group, a global political risk research and consulting firm and he gives his views on the situation with Russia and the Ukraine. 1) The West’s direct response. Ian Bremmer sees basically no response just like when Russia invaded Georgia. 2) International complications from Russia. Russia can …
Forbes reports that Bill Gates is back to being the richest man in the world. Bill Gates was the richest from 1995-2007 The Wall Street Journal had reported that there was tension surrounding the 2000 transition of authority from Bill Gates to Ballmer. Things became so bitter that, on one occasion, Gates stormed out of …
Russian soldiers have apparently taken Crimea without firing a shot. Although the situation is still not resolved and there could be shooting and other developments could happen. Let us assume the situation remains in terms of control remains as is. What appears to be the lesson for other world powers looking for successful military aggression …
Highlights of new life extension calorie restriction mimicking supplement research The study in Cell Reports, found that SR1720 extended the life span of mice on a standard diet by about 9 percent. They also confirmed their earlier work indicating that the compound extends the life span of mice fed a high-fat diet. * SRT1720 supplementation …
Ukraine’s new leaders accused neighbor Russia of declaring war, as Kiev mobilized troops and called up military reservists in a rapidly escalating crisis that has raised fears of a conflict. Amid signs of Russian military intervention in Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula, Russian generals led their troops to three bases in the region Sunday, demanding Ukrainian forces …
Previously NASA was looking at 20-30 years to get solar sails that are 250 meters by 250 meters or 400 meters by 400 meters. Spiderfab will use robots to assemble structures in space. Spiderfab on orbit assembly can reduce the mass of space structures by 30 times. This will enable solar power arrays with over …