GE has a prototype 10 Megawatt supercritical CO2 turbine that is ten times smaller than the equivalent steam turbine

GE sees its new supercritical carbon dioxide turbine as a strong rival to batteries for storing power from the grid. GE Global Research is testing a desk-size turbine that could power a small town of about 10,000 homes. The unit is driven by “supercritical carbon dioxide,” which is in a state that at very high …

Read more

With takeover of Sharp Foxconn will be able to produce nearly 1 gigawatt of solar cells per year

Foxconn is boosting its energy business—both in supplying clean energy for its own operations and developing solar projects overseas. Last year SBJ Cleantech, the joint venture between Foxconn, Japan’s SoftBank, and Indian conglomerate Bharti Enterprises signed an agreement to build two gigawatts of solar power capacity in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. The three …

Read more

10-20 years of pressure on solar and coal as China shifts energy mix and US technology keeps oil prices low

Nextbigfuture just covered the bankruptcies hitting solar and coal companies as China changes its energy mix. China is shifting to more efficient coal power and a smaller coal industry. Weak world economic growth seems likely to continue for 5-10 years. China’s biggest coal producer by volume — China Shenhua Energy Co Ltd, which has vowed …

Read more

Russia making small robotic tank to support special operation forces

Russia is making a small robotic tank called the Uran-9. It will provide fire support to special operations forces and conduct reconnaissance. It is unmanned combat ground vehicle (UCGV) being developed and produced by Rostec for the international market. The Uran-9 is designed to provide remote reconnaissance and fire support to combined arms, recon and …

Read more

Extending the resolution limits of atomic force microscopy

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is used widely to study surfaces with a resolution on the nanometer scale – vastly inferior to atomic resolution offered by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). In 1982, about a year after the invention of STM, the enigmatic Si 7×7 surface was resolved, a success that many view as the start of …

Read more

Russia fielding second generation Ratnik future soldier gear with better armor, sensors and communications

Ratnik is a Russian infantry combat system. It is designed to improve the connectivity and combat effectiveness of the Russian army. Improvements include modernized body armor, helmet with special monitor (eye monitor, thermal, night vision monocular, flashlight), systems of communication and special headphones. The “Strelets” (“Musketeer”) system gives ability of voice and video communication. Also, …

Read more

SolarCity Unveils World’s Most Efficient Rooftop Solar Panel with 22% efficiency and lower manufacturing cost

SolarCity has built the world’s most efficient rooftop solar panel, with a module efficiency exceeding 22 percent. The new SolarCity panel generates more power per square foot and harvests more energy over a year than any other rooftop panel in production, and will be the highest volume solar panel manufactured in the Western Hemisphere. SolarCity …

Read more

Star Trek Renegades a continuation of the Prime Universe with Walter Koenig and others premiered today

Star Trek: Renegades, is a professionally produced pilot intended for presentation to CBS as a possible online series. This film was funded by the generous donations of fans from around the world. All monies went directly to the costs of making this high quality broadcast pilot. It is our hope that CBS finds “Star Trek: …

Read more

Pictures of several of China’s large drone designs and some nearly have the wingspan of a 747

China is developing at least five models of large-sized unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), reports Duowei News, a US-based Chinese political news outlet. Based on Duowei’s research, China is currently developing the “Sharp Sword” combat UAV, the “Soar Dragon” high altitude long endurance (HALE) UAV, the “Condor” drone series, the “Sky Wing 3” UAV and the …

Read more

World income distribution shows progress against poverty and increased average world income

Our World in data shows the progress against poverty made over the last couple of hundred years. Before 1500 there was virtually no progress made against poverty. This data shows that even with slower 5-7.5% annual GDP growth in China and 6-8% in India and 4-7% in some other south asian countries there will be …

Read more

Pluto moon Hydra imaged as a potato-shaped moon measuring 43 by 33 kilometers

Since its discovery in 2005, Pluto’s moon Hydra has been known only as a fuzzy dot of uncertain shape, size, and reflectivity. Imaging obtained during New Horizons’ historic transit of the Pluto-Charon system and transmitted to Earth early this morning has definitively resolved these fundamental properties of Pluto’s outermost moon. Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) …

Read more