NASA funding Development of Aneutronic fusion power for Spacecraft Applications

April 7, 2017August 31, 2012 by Brian Wang

Federal Business Opportunity – NASA/JSC is currently looking at the development of aneutronic fusion power for spacecraft applications. Research focus is radiation protection, architecture utilizing high temperature superconducting magnets, and anuetronic fusion. NASA/JSC intends to purchase research and development services from the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) for a continuation of an aneutronic fusion research …

Silicon Chip utilizing Casimir Forces by Geometric Configuration

April 7, 2017July 30, 2012 by Brian Wang

Technology Review – Jie Zou et al at the University of Florida have carved a single device out of silicon that is capable of measuring the Casimir force between a pair of parallel silicon beams, the first on-chip device capable of doing this. There are other forces at play here too, such as residual electrostatic …

Google Delivering low cost gigabit per second fiber internet profitably

April 7, 2017July 27, 2012 by Brian Wang

Gigaom – Google launched its fiber to the home with gigabit speeds are aimed at consumers only. The search giant’s fiber network, which will cost $70 for Internet only and $120 for fiber plus TV, is a killer wrapper for Google’s cloud, consumer and tablet products, some of which will be included in the fiber …

Many people in Brazil, Sudan, India, Iran and China exceed the maximum yearly dose for US Civilians based on Natural Background Radiation

April 7, 2017July 23, 2012 by Brian Wang

The 30-40 millisieverts per year of radiation that people in part of Brazil, Saudan, India and China get is higher than the annual dosage limits for non-radiation workers in the United States. Background radiation exposure varies hugely, from an annual average of 2.2 millisieverts in the UK to above 30 millisieverts in the Indian state …

Mass Produced Skyscraper Builder China Broad Group has Six Factories in China and Franchisees in India

April 7, 2017June 13, 2012 by Brian Wang

Broad Group of China completed a 30-storey tower that currently serves a hotel in Hunan province in 15 days. The building passed resistance testing of a level nine earthquake. It conserves energy of up to five times compared with that of a conventional construction, and provides air that is 20 times purer than the traditional …

Fixing the US and Getting to Higher GDP Growth

April 7, 2017May 30, 2012 by Brian Wang

The US economy should have 4-5% GDP growth. Matching Korea’s Broadband would be a 2.5% GDP boost Arthur D. Little and Chalmers University of Technology study shows that doubling the broadband speed for an economy increases GDP by 0.3%. A 1000 times increase in broadband speed should mean a 3.0% boost in GDP. If the …

New ‘metamaterial’ practical for optical advances

April 7, 2017May 21, 2012 by Brian Wang

Researchers have taken a step toward overcoming a key obstacle in commercializing “hyperbolic metamaterials,” structures that could bring optical advances including ultrapowerful microscopes, computers and solar cells. The researchers have shown how to create the metamaterials without the traditional silver or gold previously required, said Alexandra Boltasseva, a Purdue University assistant professor of electrical and …

Light Touch Keeps a Grip on Delicate Nanoparticles

April 7, 2017May 4, 2012 by Brian Wang

Using a refined technique for trapping and manipulating nanoparticles, researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have extended the trapped particles’ useful life more than tenfold. This new approach, which one researcher likens to “attracting moths,” promises to give experimenters the trapping time they need to build nanoscale structures and may open …

DARPA Chip-Scale Atomic Clocks and better silicon chip integration

April 7, 2017April 1, 2012 by Brian Wang

1. Chip-scale atomic clocks (CSAC) were first developed by DARPA and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in 2004. These devices are smaller than traditional atomic clocks by a factor of 100 (down to about the size of a computer chip) and are more power-efficient by a factor of 10. Although CSACs are …

Aneutronic Fusion Spacecraft Architecture

April 7, 2017March 28, 2012 by Brian Wang

he object of this proposal is to conduct a feasibility study for a novel, fusion-powered, space propulsion architecture that can ultimately change drastically the potential for human and robotic space exploration. The proposed design is based on neutron-free nuclear fusion as the primary energy source. An innovative beam conditioning/nozzle concept enables useful propulsive thrust directly …

Reversible electrical switching of spin polarization in multiferroic tunnel junctions

April 7, 2017March 28, 2012 by Brian Wang

Nature – Reversible electrical switching of spin polarization in multiferroic tunnel junctions Spin-polarized transport in ferromagnetic tunnel junctions, characterized by tunnel magnetoresistance, has already been proven to have great potential for application in the field of spintronics and in magnetic random access memories. Until recently, in such a junction the insulating barrier played only a …