Re-insurance companies have seen their shares fall in anticipation of the payouts for the costs of rebuilding after the Japanese 8.9 earthquake. Early estimates are that the costs will be in the $30 billion range. There were scenarios put out years ago of a superquake to hit Tokyo and Japan calling back a trillion invested …
a) side view of the crystal structures of the host-guest complex 1É8 with single helix 1 in tube representation and rod 8 in CPK representation. b) Top view and c) side view of 1É8 with both rod and helix in CPK representation. Carbon atoms of the thread are shown in grey, nitrogen atoms in light …
The results are in for the second day of the Jeopardy contest between Watson and Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter. Previously we compiled opinions from Ray Kurzweil, Stephen Wolfram, Hans Moravec on others on the importance of the competition and what will follow. Spoiler space Spoiler space Watson won day two. In today’s conclusion of …
Previously we had summarized the countries that come believed would be the hot growth emerging countries to follow China, India, Brazil and Russia The CIVETS (Colombia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Egypt, Turkey and South Africa) is an acronym for favored emerging markets coined in late 2009 by Robert Ward, Global Forecasting Director for the Economist Intelligence Unit …
Light fantastic: This prototype pico projector produces a sharp image without needing a bulky lens thanks to an ultra-thin array of micro-lenses. Credit: Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering MIT Technology Review reports that researchers in Germany have developed the world’s thinnest “pico” video projector. The prototype device contains an array of carefully …
Virginia Tech researchers have made great strides in the development of more reliable and efficient spectrum sensing techniques that will be needed to meet the ever-expanding demand for wireless technologies. They are developing cognitive radio technologies (algorithms) that are an integral part of a holistic bandwidth management strategy. During the first phase of the study, …
The carnival of nuclear energy 33 is up at Yes Vermont Yankee If you liked this article, please give it a quick review on ycombinator or StumbleUpon. Thanks Featured articles Ocean Floor Gold and Copper Ocean Floor Mining Company var MarketGidDate = new Date(); document.write(”); Brian WangBrian Wang is a Futurist Thought Leader and a …
Sketch of the studied system. A QD (green trapezoid) is placed a distance z below a metal mirror. The lateral extension of a QD emitting at 1.2 eV is typically a=20 nm. The plasmon wavelength is λpl=262 nm (figure is not to scale). The field amplitude of the plasmon decays exponentially away from the interface with a change …
MIT Technology Review provides an update on Numenta Numenta (artificial intelligence company) has been working on their algorithms since 2005 and are finally preparing to release a version that is ready to be used in products. Numenta’s technology is aimed at variety of applications, such as judging whether a credit card transaction is fraudulent, anticipating …
1. A sweeping review of operations for Krümmel and Brunsbüttel nuclear power plants is to start, with the aim of rapidly bringing them back into service. Both are boiling water reactors with capacities of 1260 MWe and 771 MWe respectively. A review by the companies follows changes in Germany’s energy laws enacted this year, under …
1. After years of development, the U.S. Army has unleashed a new weapon in Afghanistan — the XM25 Counter Defilade Target Engagement System, a high-tech rifle that can be programmed so that its 25-mm. ammunition detonates either in front of or behind a target, meaning it can be fired just above a wall before it …