Coal is projected to increase 50% in the AEO2007 reference case, particularly for electricity generation. Coal consumption is projected to increase from 22.9 quadrillion Btu (1,128 million short tons) in 2005 to more than 34 quadrillion Btu (1,772 million short tons) in 2030, with significant additions of new coal-fired generation capacity over the last decade …
Spintronic memory advance: New research suggests a new route for developing high density magnetic memory chips which will not lose information when the power is switched off. For the first time data will be written and read very fast using only electrical currents. Physicist at the Universities of Bath, Bristol and Leeds have discovered a …
An article from the New York Times about the UN report on global wealth distribution A lot of focus has been on how much is owned by the top tier. (40% by the top 1% and 50% by the top 2%, 85% from the top 10%) I think it is more important to note how …
The New Scientist, examines the efforts to reduce ship drag using tiny bubbles, slippery polymers and trapped sheets of air. As a ship moves through water it encounters three types of drag: wave drag, pressure drag and frictional drag. Wave resistance is mainly a problem at high speed, and can be minimised with a carefully …
In 1968 DBI initiated research on the packaging of thorium in order to produce hydrogen as an energy carrier, and thus create a new commodity in thorium as an energy source. DBI has continued advancing its thorium program, beginning its ongoing concentrations on nuclear vessels and biomass to produce a commodity for the replacement of …
Swarmanoids are a follow up to swarmbots Will initially have eye-bots, hand-bots and foot-bots Swarm robotics is inspired by the social insect metaphor, and emphasises aspects such as decentralisation of control, limited communication abilities among robots, use of local information, emergence of global behaviour, and robustness. Most current studies in swarm robotic systems have focused …
In conjunction with First Nano (FN), a division of CVD Equipment Corporation, University of Cincinatti has grown an array on FN’s EasyTube Carbon Nanotube system that is longer than 7 mm. “The harmonious combination of substrate, alloy catalyst and process conditions was found to consistently produce nanotube arrays more than 7 mm long” says Professor …
Thorium Power co is talking to India about their Thorium energy technology. Thorium Power and DBI are involved in putting on a forum in DC to inform the washington media and others about Thorium Nov 30, 2006 at the National Press Club in Washington DC Clean Nuclear Energy: Thorium 2006DBI, a California-based aerospace company involved …
Article from treehugger.com about Norway considering Thorium reactors •There is no danger of a melt-down like the Chernobyl reactor•It produces minimal radioactive waste•It can burn Plutonium waste from traditional nuclear reactors with additional energy output•It is not suitable for the production of weapon grade materials•The energy contained in one kilogram of Thorium equals that of …
A comprehensive 1969 report in PDF format on thorium for nuclear reactors thanks to Kirk Sorenson at Thorium energy blog Brian WangBrian Wang is a Futurist Thought Leader and a popular Science blogger with 1 million readers per month. His blog Nextbigfuture.com is ranked #1 Science News Blog. It covers many disruptive technology and trends …
Another summary of the benefits of Thorium nuclear reactors. This from the Uranium information center in Australia Some of the listed benefits:– Thorium is much more abundant in nature than uranium. – Thorium can also be used as a nuclear fuel through breeding to uranium-233 (U-233). – When this thorium fuel cycle is used, much …