Russia is ramping up arms sales across the middle east. Russia is not just looking at arms sales to Iran but also to Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia is looking at buying the Iskander tactical ballistic missile system. This missile system purchase would include a launcher, a loader-transporter, a routine maintenance vehicle, a command post vehicle, …
The Boeing HEL-MD program currently mounts an off-the-shelf 10-kilowatt laser, but it will be upgraded in 2016 to a custom-built 50-60 kW weapon, with potential for 100 kW and above. It’s already shot down drones and mortar rounds, and the higher power levels should make it capable against rockets and even artillery shells. “There is …
The Carnival of Nuclear Energy 261 is up at Atomic Power Review NukePowerTalk – The Future of Nuclear Beyond Gen-IV: Recently Dr. Marcus was asked what the future of nuclear energy might hold, and might look like, beyond the presently considered “Gen-IV” reactors. Taken by surprise by this question, she looks at the scope of …
The DARPA Semiconductor Technology Advanced Research Network (STARNet) program is a government-industry partnership combining the expertise and resources from select defense, semiconductor, and information companies with those of DARPA to sponsor an external set of academic research teams that are focused on specific technology needs set by experts in industry and government. Efforts under this …
Winston Churchill had a project to produce a 2.2 million ton pykrete (ice and wood pulp) aircraft carrier that would have been 1200 meters long and 180 meters wide. This would have made it 3.5 times longer than the US Gerald Ford or Nimitz class carriers which are each about 330 meters long. The final …
The lipid bilayer membrane, which is the foundation of life on Earth, is not viable outside of biology based on liquid water. This fact has caused astronomers who seek conditions suitable for life to search for exoplanets within the “habitable zone,” the narrow band in which liquid water can exist. However, can cell membranes be …
China’s GDP growth for 2013 was at 7.6%. China’s currency is ending 2013 at 6.0539 to the US dollar The exchange rate at the end of 2012 was 6.31. Official 2013 GDP will be reported in a couple of months, but if it comes in at about 58 trillion yuan then China’s economy will be …
The CRISPR-Cas-system is not only valuable for bacteria but also for working in the laboratory. It detects a specific sequence of letters in the genetic code and cuts the DNA at this point. Thus, scientists can either remove or add genes at the interface. By this, for instance, plants can be cultivated which are resistant …
Hyperloop Transportation Technologies is a new company recruiting those interested in realizing Musk’s dream of a next-generation ground transportation system costing $6 billion, which could theoretically reduce the travel time from San Francisco to Los Angeles to just 30 minutes. Dirk Ahlborn, founder and CEO of JumpStartFund, is confident enough that he’s projecting the construction …
Long-distance communication increasingly relies on networks of fiber-optic cables that carry data encoded in nimble beams of light. Conventional computer circuits, however, still use relatively sluggish electronic circuits to process this data. Hong Cai of the A*STAR Institute of Microelectronics in Singapore and her co-workers have now developed a device that could help computers reach …
The Chinese yuan may become fully convertible in 2017, providing ample business opportunities for Hong Kong, Taiwan and other places aiming to become offshore yuan trading hubs. “We expect yuan to be fully convertible in 2017 in terms of meeting trade settlement and investment needs,” said Anita Fung, HSBC Hong Kong chief executive officer. At …