Harvard – Applied physicists at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) have created an ultrathin, flat lens that focuses light without imparting the distortions of conventional lenses. Lens are a major part of cameras that can make them heavier and bulkier. Flat lens could remove a roadblock to making cameras smaller, lighter …
In October 2011, I predicted that Tiger Woods would regain his number one golf ranking. Tiger Woods has won his third official PGA tournament of 2012 and is leading the one year Fedex Cup points race. He also won the unofficial Chevron World Challenge at the end of 2011. Tiger is still fourth in the …
World Nuclear News – The government of the Sverdlovsk region of Russia has approved the construction of the country’s first BN-1200 fast reactor at the Beloyarsk nuclear power plant. The unit will be built to replace the existing smaller BN-600 reactor at the plant, which is scheduled to be shut down by 2020. The government …
SENS is a antiaging project. They report an increase in funding of about 40% from 2010 to 2011. They were able to double internal research levels. The funding would ideally be at levels that are 12 to 60 times higher ($20-100 million per year). Here is a link for donating online to SENS SENS Foundation …
Scientists and engineers at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) have discovered an entirely new carbon-based material that is synthesized from the “wonder kid” of the carbon family, graphene. The discovery, which the researchers are calling “graphene monoxide (GMO),” pushes carbon materials closer to ushering in next-generation electronics. Graphene, a one-atom-thick layer of carbon that resembles …
Technologies that I expect to see having a lot of progress in the 2012-2016 timeframe should see each of the technologies enabling more improvement in the other technologies in the 2014-2019 timeframes. The exact timeframes would depend upon how fast leaders in one technological area are able to incorporate advances from other areas. The whole …
Sandia’s design for the four-inch-long bullet includes an optical sensor in the nose to detect a laser beam on a target. The sensor sends information to guidance and control electronics that use an algorithm in an eight-bit central processing unit to command electromagnetic actuators. These actuators steer tiny fins that guide the bullet to the …
Realclearpolitics – Iowa entrance polls indicate a tree way race between Romney, Ron Paul and Santorum for the lead. How much of a bump in the New Hampshire and other races will it be for Ron Paul and Santorum to do well in Iowa ? How much will it hurt Gingrich in later races to …
Researchers at Chalmers have for the first time demonstrated a novel subharmonic graphene FET mixer at microwave frequencies. The mixer provides new opportunities in future electronics, as it enables compact circuit technology, potential to reach high frequencies and integration with silicon technology. A mixer is a key building block in all electronic systems – a …
Moving Platforms is a concept for the future of rail travel. We have been designing high speed trains around the world for a few years now. Our experience of various systems has led us to conclude that it is hugely inefficient to run a new 21st century high tech, high speed train service on a …
Space Solar Power: The First International Assessment of Space Solar Power: Opportunities, Issues and Potential Pathways Forward (272 pages by the International Academy of Astronautics) In the late 1960s, Dr. Peter Glaser of Arthur D. Little invented a fundamentally new approach to global energy: the Solar Power Satellite (SPS). The basic concept of the SPS …