Defense Intelligence Agency Has a Positive Report on Low-Energy Nuclear Reactions aka Cold Fusion

April 7, 2017November 16, 2009 by Brian Wang

US Defense Intelligence Agency Report – Technology Forecast: Worldwide Research on Low-Energy Nuclear Reactions Increasing and Gaining Acceptance (8 page pdf) (H/T (http://newenergytimes.com) Japan, Italy and Israel have the most advanced programs. Russia, France, China, South Korea and India are spending considerable resources. Brian WangBrian Wang is a Futurist Thought Leader and a popular Science …

Dense Plasma Focus Fusion Video Background

April 7, 2017November 13, 2009 by Brian Wang

Here is a new video (1 minute 44 seconds long) that summarizes dense plasma focus fusion. It shows the equipment being used in the latest validation of viability project ($1.2 million from 2009 through 2010). It shows animation of what is happening and has narration. Brian WangBrian Wang is a Futurist Thought Leader and a …

LaserMotive has successfully qualified for the $900,000 Space Elevator Prize

April 7, 2017November 4, 2009 by Brian Wang

Picture caption: An earlier picture of the laser motive climber. Mostly solar cells that absorb the laser light that power a motor that climbs the cable. On the right is a screenshot of Lasermotive’s climber from the ustream video 3:00:39 PM PST:LaserMotive Climber is climbing! Live at http://ustre.am/4mZA3:10:58 PST:First climb was 4 minutes, 2 seconds …

Artificial General Intelligence, Automation and Economics

April 7, 2017October 29, 2009 by Brian Wang

J Storrs Hall points out employment test for Artificial General Intelligence that was suggested by Nils Nilsson AI programs must be able to perform the jobs ordinarily performed by humans. Progress toward human-level AI could then be measured by the fraction of these jobs that can be acceptably performed by machines. The list of jobs …

Chinas First Petaflop Supercomputer

April 7, 2017October 29, 2009 by Brian Wang

China’s fastest super computer “Tianhe”, meaning Milky Way, is seen in Changsha, capital of central China’s Hunan Province, Oct. 29, 2009. The National University of Defense Technology (NUDT) unveiled Thursday China’s fastest supercomputer, which could rival the world’s most powerful computing devices. The supercomputer is theoretically able to do more than 1 quadrillion calculations per …

Boston Dynamics Petman Robot

April 7, 2017October 27, 2009 by Brian Wang

The Petman robot is a follow up the Big Dog robot. Big Dog is four legged robot for carrying supplies. (H/T Sander Olson) PETMAN is an anthropomorphic robot for testing chemical protection clothing used by the US Army. Unlike previous suit testers, which had to be supported mechanically and had a limited repertoire of motion, …

First Hyperlens for Sound Waves for Eightfold Boost in Magnification

April 7, 2017October 26, 2009 by Brian Wang

Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) researchers have devloped an acoustic hyperlens which provides an eightfold boost in the magnification power of sound-based imaging technologies. Clever physical manipulation of the imaging sound waves enables the hyperlens to resolve details smaller than one sixth the length of the waves themselves, bringing into view much smaller objects and …

Radical Productivity Improvement

April 7, 2017October 24, 2009 by Brian Wang

Here is a 48 page presentation on a project called “One Pass to Production : Radical Productivity Improvement”. It has the goal within 8 years of reducing the development time for a new cellphone from 2 years down to one day. The presentation was made in 2007 and the project was started in 2001. One-Pass …

Dwave Systems Adiabatic Quantum Computer

April 7, 2017October 23, 2009 by Brian Wang

Dwave Systems has a new page which contains links to scientific papers and presentations describing the adiabatic quantum comptuer systems they are building. Dwave currently is testing a 128 qubit quantum computer processor. Overview and history of Dwave Dwave Processor architecture 38 page pdf Status* Have run optimization problems on C1 (8 qubit, 1500 JJs) …

The Great Restructuring and the Great Innovation Civilization

April 7, 2017October 23, 2009 by Brian Wang

Information technology is all around us — but how does it really change the way we do business? Erik Brynjolfsson, the Schussel Family Professor at MIT’s Sloan School of Management, explores this question in his new book, “Wired for Innovation,” written along with Adam Saunders, a lecturer at The Wharton School of the University of …

Technologies that Would Change The Energy Picture

April 7, 2017October 22, 2009 by Brian Wang

The Wall Street Journal has an article about five technologies that would change the energy and climate picture. Over the next few decades, the world will need to wean itself from dependence on fossil fuels and drastically reduce greenhouse gases. Current technology will take us only so far; major breakthroughs are required. * Space based …