A new full contact combat training and competition body armor is made with Kevlar reinforced with carbon-fibre composites. On top of that are various polymers and other materials, which Chiron Global is keeping secret. The new armored body suit weighs 19 kilograms. It is neither too heavy nor cumbersome to prevent even aerial cartwheels, but …
Up until now computer designs that have been theoretically known have been less energy efficient than the human brain. We could project supercomputers that could reach an exaFLOP and perhaps a zettaFLOP but the designs typically need megawatts to gigawatts of power. ExaFLOP (10^18 operations per second) Onchip photonics at low power a key aspect …
Pratt and Whitney’s Michael Winter gave an overview of future plane engines. He noted that lithium ion batteries have lower energy density than goose fat and honey. Rechargable batteries are not that far off in terms of cost for energy compared to fuels. The near and mid-term is larger and more efficient turbine engines. Electric …
Here are the important developments in genetics and other technologies identified by Ray Kurzweil in his Playboy interview Joslin Diabetes Center turned off the fat insulin receptor gene that tells you to hold on to every calorie in your fat cells. That was a good idea 10,000 years ago when our genes evolved, because the …
Imagine an aircraft that could alter its wing shape in midflight and, like a pelican, dive into the water before morphing into a submarine. Impossible, you say? A little too “Transformers,” perhaps? Well, the U.S. Air Force doesn’t think so, and believes Cornell engineering professor Rob Shepherd and his group might help make that futuristic-sounding …
Reusable rockets could greatly lower rocket launch costs but two other significant emerging technologies are 3D printing and liquified natural gas rocket fuel. Liquefied natural gas, which is a commercially available form of methane, could have several advantages as a rocket fuel. Blue Origin has said its wide availability and low cost would enable an …
The Bohai Strait Tunnel or Dalian-Yantai Tunnel project proposes the construction of an underwater tunnel to connect Dalian on the Liaodong Peninsula to Yantai on the Shandong Peninsula. Another name for the project is Cross-Bohai-Strait channel. Crossing the Bohai Strait the tunnel would be 123 kilometers (76 mi) long, 90 kilometers (56 mi) of it …
The DARPA Vertical Take-Off/Landing X-plane (VTOL x-plane) Program achieved a critical milestone as Aurora Flight Sciences’ subscale vehicle demonstrator successfully flew at a U.S. military facility. The flight of the subscale aircraft met an important DARPA risk reduction requirement, focusing on validation of the aerodynamic design and flight control system “The successful subscale aircraft flight …
Researchers developed a microelectronic substitute for larger-scale magnetic components and open a pathway to more efficient communications and more capable radar systems A DARPA-funded team has drastically miniaturized highly specialized electronic components called circulators and for the first time integrated them into standard silicon-based circuitry. The feat could lead to a doubling of radiofrequency (RF) …
GE sees its new supercritical carbon dioxide turbine as a strong rival to batteries for storing power from the grid. GE Global Research is testing a desk-size turbine that could power a small town of about 10,000 homes. The unit is driven by “supercritical carbon dioxide,” which is in a state that at very high …
Picatinny Arsenal engineers have been working to create a longer, newly modified M777A2 howitzer that has the potential to double the range of current M777 artillery systems. Charged with developing technology to extend the range of all 155mm artillery, the Extended Range Cannon Artillery (ERCA) project is funded by science and technology office at the …