Finally experiments have been funded to test the viability of diamond mechanosynthesis as described in detail by Robert Freitas and Ralph Merkle. This is a major step towards achieving the long held vision of molecular nanotechnology as envisioned by Eric Drexler. UPDATE: Based on an interview of Robert Freitas in 2007. Based on the computational …
China’s gross domestic product(GDP) totalled 13.0619 trillion yuan (1.9062 trillion U.S.dollars) in the first half of 2008, a 10.4 percent increase year on year. 3.8 trillion pace for the year. Assuming another 5% increase in the second half of the year and the currency strengthening from 6.85 to 6.65 then China’s GDP would be at …
Carnival of Space week 66 is up at a Mars Odyssey This site contributed The article on radiation and nuclear bomb defenses Radiation defense is important for space because there is a lot of radiation in space and a lot of uses for nuclear power. A Babe in the universe talks about Mars water and …
Memjet technology, radically faster 360 page per minute printers, have been delayed until 2009. Silverbrook’s technology (which will be commercialized under the business name Memjet) was supposed to be released in early 2008, according to what company executives told me then. Now, a company spokeswoman says that the “A4/letter printhead and related components” will be …
By producing “6-D” images, an MIT professor and colleagues are creating unusually realistic pictures that not only have a full three-dimensional appearance, but also respond to their environment, producing natural shadows and highlights depending on the direction and intensity of the illumination around them. The process can also be used to create images that change …
MIT has a transportation plan from now until 2035 For the near term (up to 15 years), we should increase our efforts to improve light-duty vehicle engines and transmissions, but all improvements must go toward increasing fuel efficiency rather than making cars bigger and faster. Also critical is reducing vehicle weight and size. For the …
Which solutions do you care about most ? Reducing CO2 from energy and transportation sources Storing CO2 in cement or sequestering in the ground or ocean Prevention of nuclear weapon usage Reducing damage from nuclear and other weapons Curing diseases (cancer, heart disease, Alzheimers, etc) Effective anti-aging treatments Poverty reduction Starvation prevention Peak oil solutions …
The Transition “Personal Air Vehicle” is expected to be released in late 2009 and has just shown its operational prototype. The estimated purchase price is $148,000. Owners will drive the car from their garage to an airport where they will then be able to fly within a range of 100 to 500 miles (800 km). …
Electric planes do not have to be private (although things will start out that way.)Electric planes (with jumpjet type takeoff and landing) could form a virtual callable personal pod transportation (which have been proposed for cities) but without building the rails. One of the Personal pod transportation proposals is shown here. Current electric planes hold …
This technology news roundup has imminent testing of the Vasimr plasma rocket in space, twelve dollar personal computers, ten dollar dime sized microscopes and a plant that is 250% better than corn for biofuels and twice as productive as switchgrass. (the plant has not been modified yet and genetic modifications could vastly increase yields.) Nasa …
Ultra-strong, high-temperature, high-performance permanent magnet compounds, such as Samarium Cobalt, are the mainstay materials for several industries that rely on high-performance motor and power generation applications, including the Department of Defense (DOD) and the automotive industry. Until now, producing Samarium Cobalt has been a difficult and expensive multi-step process. Northeastern University researchers have broken new …