For $500 you can now reserve your Aptera electric or super-hybrid vehicle. Deliveries should start October, 2008 The first Aptera prototype, the Mk-0, was a parallel hybrid Diesel and achieved an average of 230 MPG at a steady state of 55 MPH. This was pure Diesel/mechanical drive with no electric assist. The All Electric Aptera …
MIt Technology Review provides more information on the work of Kovio of Sunnyvale. Current contactless smart cards of the type used by frequent travelers on major transit systems can cost as much as $5 a piece to produce. But Kovio’s technology could soon lead to nonmagnetic smart cards that cost a nickel. Eventually, the technology …
Neutron cameras “can detect, unambiguously, at a greater distance, and through more shielding,” said Jim Lund, manager of the Rad/Nuc Detection Systems group at Sandia National Laboratories in Alameda, Calif. The neutron scatter camera has an advantage over traditional neutron detection because it can differentiate low energy neutrons from high energy neutrons. While some gamma …
D-Wave Senior Scientist and condensed matter physicist Mohammad Amin gave a highly technical presentation at MIT. (54 slides in this power point presentation) Dwave recently demonstrated a 28 qubit computer. They are predicting that they will have 512 qubit and 1024 qubit quantum computer systems in 2008. If Dwave is successful then in 2009 it …
the makers of Robosapien is partnering with a company that will help them to add location awareness to new robot products starting in 2009 How the robotic location is done using infrared “Evolution’s technologies are revolutionizing the way we interact with robots and consumers will be truly amazed when they see what these products can …
From Centauri Dreams, comes the sad word that Robert Bussard has died of cancer. I had been covering the recent work of Robert Bussard on inertial electrostatic fusion. This project had been funded again by the US Navy Power and control also noted Robert Bussards passing and summarize his work which will continue The Polywell …
Welcome to the Carnival of space week 23. We have two articles inspired by the 50th anniversary of Sputnick, then we have a mixed bag of articles on raising pigs on Mars, habitable planets, another look at the Apollo program, Nasa colorizing of space photos, the Carancas meteorite, Type 1a Supernovae, my own submission on …
A new kind of “superlens”, capable of focusing light to a spot far smaller than its own wavelength, could be far easier to build than other proposed designs, researchers say. It could allow viewing and etching of points and lines at 0.4 to 1 nanometer. This would help accelerate the improvement of conventional computer power …
China’s state investment company announced on Sunday it would take a $3 billion stake *just under 10%) in Blackstone Group LP Blackstone is one of the leading global private investment firms. China will learn how to structure and value private equity deals, as well as gaining a network of well connected people. “The Blackstone deal …
Loss of only one of the genes, a gene encoding the protein PHA-4, negated the lifespan-enhancing effect of calorie-restriction in worms. And, when researchers undertook the opposite experiment—by overexpressing pha-4 in worms—the longevity effect was enhanced. “PHA-4 acts completely independent of insulin/IGF-1 signaling and turns out to be essential for CR-mediated longevity,” says Panowski. “We …
(left) Two transmission electron microscope images of a single-walled carbon nanotube with fullerenes attached to its surface (right) A fullerene/SWNT hybrid structure – a NanoBud. Credit: Esko Kauppinen, et al. Researchers have created a hybrid carbon nanomaterial that merges single-walled carbon nanotubes and spherical carbon-atom cages called fullerenes. The new structures, dubbed NanoBuds because they …