Tech Roundup: IBMs Predictions; Cheaper, greener cement alternativ; Cold plasma surgery

IBM predicts five innovations will have impact over the next five years: – Energy saving solar technology will be built into asphalt, paint and windows– You will have a crystal ball for your health, from cheap genome sequencing– You will talk to the Web . . . and the Web will talk back, through the …

Read more

Tech Roundup: Robot population forecast, super lubricant

1. BAM, a “ceramic alloy”, is created by combining a metal alloy of boron, aluminium and magnesium (AlMgB14) with titanium boride (TiB2). It is the hardest material after diamond and cubic boron nitride. -BAM is much slipperier than Teflon, with a coefficient of friction of .02 compared to .05. Lubricated steel has a friction coefficient …

Read more

Forecasts for 2009-2013 and 2025

The Economist magazine has published its “World in 2009” They have a forecast for China’s GDP in 2009 of 4.8 trillion (8% GDP growth) and for the USA $14.8 trillion (-0.2% growth) and for Japan $5.39 trillion (0% GDP growth). The US$4.8 trillion estimate for China in 2009 matches prior estimates from this site. The …

Read more

Low Temperature Energy Harvesting – New Low Friction Rankine Generator

Most existing heat-harvesting technologies are efficient only at temperatures above 150 °C, and much waste heat just isn’t that hot. Now Ener-G-Rotors, based in Schenectady, NY, is developing technology that can use heat between 65 and 150 °C. [338-453 Kelvin] The company expects to convert 10 to 15 percent of low-temperature waste heat into electricity, …

Read more

AMD Firestream Versus Nvidia Tesla

The AMD Firestream setup from Aprius could be better with eight of the $1499 boards ($12000 plus some amont for the 4U box and backplane.) It will outperform the Nvidia setup and be out in about 4-6 months. Of course Nvidia could go through another rev from its current setup. The FireStream 9270 uses a …

Read more

Obama’s Clean Energy Future Goals

Obama announced that he would introduce a federal cap and trade system, a similar cap and trade emissions trading scheme is already in operation in the European Union. Strong annual targets would be established that would reduce greenhouse gas emissions to return them to 1990 levels by 2020 and reduce them by a further 80% …

Read more

Regenerative Medicine : Hands, Bladders, Ears, Bones, Trachea, Muscle, Organs,

April 2008, Armed Forces Institute of Regenerative Medicine (AFIRM) gave $42.5 million over five years to Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine. Wake Forest and its partners are adding $150 million for nearly $200 million. A second consortium with another $42.5 million will be managed by Rutgers and the Cleveland Clinic.Nature discusses the full soldier …

Read more

Large Scale Nuclear Fission Power for the Moon possible around 2020

The pieces for large scale nuclear fission on the moon. 1. Hyperion Power Generation Uranium Hydride reactor maybe ready 2013. – if fusion is available because of success with IEC fusion or colliding beam then those could be used instead – If lightweight molten salt reactors were developed those would be better fission reactors 2. …

Read more

Technology Roundup: Stem Cells, Antimatter, Ten Minute Blood Test, Biosynthetic Fuel

1. A Colombian woman has become the world’s first recipient of windpipe tissue constructed from a combination of donated tissue and her own cells. Stem cells harvested from the woman’s bone marrow were used to populate a stripped-down section of windpipe received from a donor, which was then transplanted into her body in June. The …

Read more