The idea of superconductivity without the mediating role of lattice vibrations (phonons) has a long history. According to researchers Pines, Monthoux and Lonzarich, electron attraction leading to superconductivity can occur without phonons in materials that are on the verge of exhibiting magnetic order—in which electrons align themselves in a regular pattern of alternating spins. Pines, …
The EPA made a [politically based] ruling that denied California a waiver to set its own fuel standard This will be overturned in a lawsuit. California’s standard would be 36mpg by 2016 versus the recently passed 34 mpg by 2020 CAFE. Brian WangBrian Wang is a Futurist Thought Leader and a popular Science blogger with …
Methuselah Foundation Pledge Total Passes $10 Million. The Methuselah foundation funds the Mprize and SENS life extension program You can make an online donation to SENS and the Mprize here SENS stands for Strategies for Engineering Negligible Senescence. SENS is a detailed plan for curing human aging. It focuses on figuring out how to fix …
The research team believes this is the first time nanotubes have been shown to be produced by biological rather than chemical means. It opens the door to the possibility of cheaper and more environmentally friendly manufacture of electronic materials Genus Shewanella. The nanotube filaments produced by biological means could point toward semiconductor manufacturing processes with …
Arizona State University’s Center for Applied Nanoionics (CANi) claims that Programmable Metallization cell (PMC) memory could be a 1,000 times more efficient than existing flash memory and could enable devices like USB drives to greatly increase the memory of digital cameras, MP3 players and laptops. This is a follow up to my first article on …
Under Monday’s settlement, Microsoft said it would allow open-source software developers access to inter-operability information for work-group servers used by businesses and other large organisations. Other technology companies using this information will only have to pay a €10,000 ($14,300) one-off fee rather than a percentage of revenues from any software developed as a result. Also, …
FPGA processing accelerators have been developed. Warp processing” gives a computer chip the ability to improve its performance over time. Here’s how Warp processing works: When a program first runs on a microprocessor chip (such as a Pentium), the chip monitors the program to detect its most frequently-executed parts. The microprocessor then automatically tries to …
Check out the well written Carnival of Space #25 at sortingoutscience.net My contribution was preview coverage of the space elevator games The interim report on space based solar power is out and sortingoutscience lists many links to sites that are talking about it.I had made several contributions at the space based solar power website. The …
Chris Phoenix, CRN, is live blogging the event. John Randall, Zyvex: A completely different approach. Zyvex was founded to create atomically precise manufacturing on the way to productive nanosystems. In other words, building precise structures using big machines rather than nanoscale tools. Atomic layer deposition builds amorphous materials; atomic layer epitaxy (ALE) builds crystalline materials. …
Stanford physics Professor Shoucheng Zhang says a new generation of semiconductors, designed around the phenomenon known as the Quantum Spin Hall Effect, could keep Moore’s law in force for decades to come. Using special semiconductor material made from layers of mercury telluride and cadmium telluride, the experimenters employed quantum tricks to align the spin of …
Businessweek reports that new financially sophisticated leaders are being promoted to higher positions in China An example: Zhou Xiaochuan, currently head of the People’s Bank of China. The former economics professor and fluent English-speaker is a strong contender for vice-premier in charge of finance. One of China’s most sophisticated economic minds, he can hold his …