Mini-Helicon plasma thrusters are the first three parts of a Vasimr plasma propulsion unit. The Mini-Helicon is the first rocket to run on nitrogen, the most abundant gas in our atmosphere. Nitrogen is cheaper than Xenon and other gases used in other electric propulsion. The new system, called the Mini-Helicon Plasma Thruster, is much smaller …
The EU has the Upwind project to develop advanced wind technology. Upwind is separate from the american DOE and American Superconductor effort. American Superconductor will work with the Department of Energy to enable production a 10 megawatt superconducting wind turbine design. The 10 MW superconducting wind turbine would weight 120 tons instead of 300 tons …
Jamais Cascio does not like the Singularity University and suggests a Futurist liberal arts program. No corporate executive will pay $25,000 for future social studies/liberal arts crash course with a future twist. The target is Singularity executive MBA and advanced tech business brainstorming. People who have money or super techie geeks who have money or …
$30,000 will buy a high end life-sized video conferencing system on wheels, giving users a feeling of tele-presence. It sports two 5 Mpixels eyes, full voice telephony to speak and hear and a laser pointer as a finger. Users can control the sleek five-foot, 35 pound robot remotely from any web browser using nothing more …
Steven Chu, nobel prize winning physicist, has been named Energy Secretary Steven Chu is pro-nuclear and has a deep understanding of all the technical issues around energy. This is a great choice. It is definitely an example of real change from the previous Bush administration in selecting extreme competence. It is not in any way …
Mark Jacobson, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Stanford, has written a review of solutions to global warming, air pollution, and energy security which examines all energy sources. The Jacobson analysis is very biased in favor of wind and against nuclear and biofuels. Nuclear power is burdened with CO2 from “burning cities in …
Justin Rattner, CTO of Intel, agrees with Ray Kurzweil that the Singularity (the time when computer intelligence exceeds human intelligence) is near. Rattner thinks the Singularity will happen before 2050. In the bottom of this article, there is a large update on the Carnegie Mellon University/Intel work on claytronics. Justin and his colleagues then showed …
Microphysiometer using multiwall carbon nanotubes is a major step toward developing the ability to assess the health of the body’s insulin-producing cells in real time. Among other potential applications, this method could be used to improve the efficacy of a new procedure for treating Type 1 (juvenile) diabetes that has demonstrated the ability to free …