Nature magazine editorial support aneutronic fusion research and specifically says Lawrenceville Plasma Physics should get government funding

In a July 23 editorial, Nature magazine has joined the calls to redirect fusion funding to aneutronic fusion—fusion that produces no radioactive waste. Speaking of the difficulties facing the ITER tokamak program, the editorial urged that, “Given these realities, the prudent course for the world’s funding agencies would be to support research into alternative fusion …

Read more

Smart Howitzer rounds enable one shot one kill from 30 miles

One of the america’s military-industrial complex’s most important inventions comes out of the barrel of a howitzer. It’s called the “Excalibur,” and it’s a 155-millimeter howitzer round that creator Raytheon says can target an object 30 miles away and consistently hit within two meters of that target. Excalibur is usually even more accurate than that. …

Read more

NHTSA finds that car crashes cost $871 billion and highlights that Swedish style road systems or Google self driving cars would be huge wins

The US Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) released a new study that finds the price tag for motor vehicle crashes in the US in 2010 carried a cost of $871 billion (6% of GDP) in economic loss and societal harm. This includes $277 billion in economic costs—nearly $900 for each person …

Read more

Business Week has 2014 predictions for 55 industries, interviews executives and leaders and predicts the $40 tablet

Business Week has a detailed look at 2014. They have a detailed look at 55 global industries, from tech to banking and energy to retail. The Aakash 4, a 7-inch Android tablet developed by British manufacturer Datawind and India’s Ministry of Human Resources Development. Datawind Chief Executive Officer Suneet Tuli said at a Wired conference …

Read more

Diode and Atomic Layer Deposition approaches to nanoantenna solar energy and terahertz transistors

Infrared nanoantenna could in theory achieve 70% efficiency with solar energy conversion. There are several approaches to try to achieve that goal. Diode Approach has had fundamental problems but adding a second insulator layer could help The power conversion efficiency of broadband antennas, log-periodic, square-spiral, and archimedian-spiral antennas, coupled to Metal-Insulator-Metal and Esaki rectifying diodes …

Read more

DNA used to Assemble a Transistor from Graphene

Stanford researchers started with a tiny platter of silicon to provide a support (substrate) for their experimental transistor. They dipped the silicon platter into a solution of DNA derived from bacteria and used a known technique to comb the DNA strands into relatively straight lines. Next, the DNA on the platter was exposed to a …

Read more

SENS antiaging approach is winning the battle of ideas

Aubrey de Grey indicates that the divide and conquer repair of aging damage approach has become mainstream. Fightaging as usual highlights this momentous milestone in antiaging. The Hallmarks of Aging is essentially a more mild-mannered and conservative restatement of the SENS approach to aging – written after more than ten years of advocacy and publication …

Read more

Low cost iPhone 5C and a China Mobile deal could help Apple gain significant smartphone marketshare

Apple will introduce two new iPhone models at a special media event on Sept. 10. There should a high-end iPhone 5S and a budget iPhone which should be the iPhone 5C. Apple’s iPhone 5S is expected to launch on September 20th in the U.S. and other initial markets and will have a new A7 processor, …

Read more

Optimal placement of femtocells will help meet demand for wireless broadband

Communication will account for $4.5 trillion in economic activity globally in 2020. But if we have only half the spectrum we need to conduct business like we are used to doing, it could negatively impact the U.S. economy by about $750 billion. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) projects a spectrum shortage for broadband services in …

Read more

Chinese shipbuilders develop integrated electric propulsion technology

China Shipbuilding Industry Corp said its Wuhan Institute of Marine Electric Propulsion finalized its integrated electric propulsion technology in mid-July. It said the in-house development will help the nation wean itself off the longstanding dependence on imported parts in manufacturing ships. Most surface vessels in China use mechanical transmissions and are propelled by a motor …

Read more

F35 fighter would be clubbed like baby seals in combat

The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter was meant to improve the U.S. air arsenal but has made it more vulnerable instead. The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter — a do-it-all strike jet being designed by Lockheed Martin to evade enemy radars, bomb ground targets and shoot down rival fighters — is as troubled as ever. Compromised design is second rate. Overweight …

Read more