This is the second part of my new review of predictions that I made in 2006 The predictions were published at nanotech-now. Prediction – 80-200mpg cars – mainstream, batteries, ultracapacitors 5-10 times better 2008-2012 There are several diesel cars with mileage in the 75 mpg range based on UK fuel economy ratings. The UK fuel …
Currently the world economy is $74 trillion on a purchasing power parity basis. the IMF is forecasting about 6% per year growth through 2015 for a world economy of $99 trillion. Goldman Sachs has projected a world economy of over $200 trillion in 2050 Robert Fogel, nobel prize winning economist has projected China to have …
Megan McArdle tries to put a positive spin on America’s failure and bleak future in regards to high speed rail. Viewed from a purely technological perspective, America’s high speed rail is an embarrassment compared to China’s: shaky, slow, and not particularly sleek. But viewed in another way, our slow rail network is the price for …
Labnol has a list of devices for watching internet videos on TV Here is an updated list of pricing and updated descriptions. There are definitely good options for ditching your cable and satellite TV subscription to watch internet TV instead. Then the choices are if the freely available internet content is enough or if you …
“We will see nuclear ships on specific trade routes sooner than many people currently anticipate,” said Lloyd’s Register CEO Richard Sadler. The organisation has been an independent service provider to the shipping industry for 250 years. There is the potential for market-based measures for controlling carbon dioxide emissions, while the entry into force of strict …
PHD Thesis – The Microwave Thermal Thruster and its Application to The Launch Problem by Kevin Parkin (2006) The full pdf is here (38.5 Megabytes) Nuclear thermal thrusters long ago bypassed the 50-year-old specific impulse (Isp) limitation of conventional thrusters, using nuclear powered heat exchangers in place of conventional combustion to heat a hydrogen propellant. …
Joseph Friedlander asked David LeBlanc about the starting fissile requirement for Thorium nuclear reactors. David Le Blanc, Physics Dept, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada and Ottawa Valley Research Associates Ltd A 12 page paper by David LeBlanc , Denatured Molten Salt Reactors (DMSR): An Idea Whose Time Has Finally Come? Take 1970s technology, add perhaps $3 …
Of the more than 80,000 dams in the U.S., about a third pose a “high” or “significant” hazard to life and property if a failure occurs, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The dam safety community has made a giant leap in its efficiency and effectiveness, with the implementation of Potential Failure Mode …
David Gelertner was writing about the concept of Lifestreams back in 1995 and 1996 and predicted the modern internet in the book Mirror Worlds in 1991. A lifestream is a time-ordered stream of documents that functions as a diary of your electronic life; every document you create and every document other people send you is …
Bio-based Society Speaker: Steen Riisgaard, Novozymes A/S Joined by: Steve Jurvetson, Draper Fisher Jurvetson Steen Riisgaard- A lot of the worlds products is based upon cheap oil. We need to replace oil at its low price but without its high cost. Projection of $232 billion biofuel and bioproducts industry in 2020. First we need to …
Reinventing Fire: How business can lead us beyond fossil fuels Presentation by: Amory Lovins, Rocky Mountain Institute Joined by: John McDonald, Chevron Moderator: Peter Petre Need to look not just as technology and policy but also design and strategy. Shifting of peak oil from supply to demand Winning the oil endgame – (2004) elimate oil …