Centauri Dreams reports on what may be a big step towards one of the greatest astronomical instrument breakthroughs since the invention of the telescope. This could be a genuine advance in interferometry. The longest optical telescope baselines are now 437 meters. The researchers are proposing changes to get to 7 kilometer baselines. Longer baselines (putting …
The World Bank has a 120 page study of the Regional Economic Impact Analysis of High Speed Rail in China. There is also a 29 page step by step guide. Recent research carried out by a World Bank team shows that at the current stage of development, transport projects such as high speed rail can …
While LPPFusion’s research team expects to eliminate the major sources of electrode erosion, enough to get rid of significant impurities in the plasma, some erosion will still exist. It won’t be enough to bother us during the current experimental phase, but once they are engineering a generator that fires 200 times second, remaining erosion will …
India has 15000 tons of plastic waste every day. This amount should double in 5 years. 5,000 kilometers (3,000 miles) of plastic roads have been laid in India in at least 11 states. Solving India’s garbage problem requires more than a technological solution. In a country where throwing garbage onto the roads and littering in …
General Fusion, working on magnetized target nuclear fusion, won gold in DigiBC’s NextBC high-tech showcase. General Fusion will build a ~3-metre diameter spherical tank filled with liquid metal (lead-lithium mixture). The liquid is spun to open up a vertical cylindrical cavity in the centre of the sphere (vortex). This vortex flow is established and maintained …
The IMF forecasts global growth to average 3.6 percent in 2014―up from 3 percent in 2013―and to rise to 3.9 percent in 2015. The global recovery is becoming broader, but the changing external environment poses new challenges to emerging market and developing economies, says the IMF’s latest World Economic Outlook (WEO). “The recovery which was …
3M will begin selling flexible transparent conductive films made of silver nanowires for use in touch screens. These nanomaterials could enable wider adoption of large touch screens for interactive signs, displays, and personal computers. And the flexible films may come to be used in future foldable, curvy personal electronics, too. The films using silver nanowires …
Tesla Motors plans to unveil an electric car in early 2015 that could sell in the $40,000 range, a mainstream offering that will be key to the automaker’s future. The car likely will go on sale in 2016 and will be crucial to the brand’s long-term survival. By moving into a higher-volume segment with a …
The submillimeter wave, or terahertz, part of the electromagnetic spectrum falls between the frequencies of 0.3 and 3 terahertz, between microwaves and infrared light. Historically, device physics has prevented traditional solid state electronics (microchips) from operating at the terahertz scale. Unlocking this band’s potential may benefit military applications such as data rate communications, improved radar …
Researchers from the RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies and Chiba University have developed a high-temperature superconducting wire with an ultra-thin polyimide coating only 4μm thick, more than 10 times thinner than the conventional insulation used for high-temperature superconducting wires. By drastically reducing the ratio of insulation to conductor in the wire, the research overcomes …
In the United States, Amtrak’s Acela Express tops the speed charts, with three services sprinting between Wilmington and Baltimore Penn on the Northeast Corridor at 169.4 km/h (105 mph over about 360 miles). China now has a high speed (over 200 km/h or 120 mph) across 10,000 kilometers (6000 miles) of high speed track. The …