1. Universe Today – This was very likely the last trip around the Sun for the Earth-crossing asteroid 2014 AA, according to calculations by several teams of astronomers and published online earlier today on the IAU’s Minor Planet Center. Discovered just yesterday by the Catalina Sky Survey, the estimated 3-meter-wide Apollo asteroid was supposed to …
Researchers working on Sandia’s Magnetized Liner Inertial Fusion (MagLIF) experiment added a secondary magnetic field to thermally insulate the hydrogen fuel, and a laser to preheat it (see ‘Feeling the pinch’). In late November, they tested the system for the first time, using 16 million amperes of current, a 10-tesla magnetic field and 2 kilojoules …
17 to 22 million civilians died in the second China-Japan war which lasted 8 years (1937-1945). Outdoor air pollution contributed to 1.2 million premature deaths in China in 2010, according to a study released this year on leading causes of global deaths. A Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences [PNAS] paper’s findings suggest that …
Sekisui Chemical has developed a high-capacity film-type lithium-ion battery with a silicon anode using a coating process that has simultaneously tripled the battery capacity (900Wh/L) compared to other Sekisui Chemical products; increased its safety (as shown by nail penetration tests or crush tests); and sped up production by ten times In the future Sekisui Chemical …
It is increasingly accepted that China’s consumption is underestimated, while its investment is overestimated. Two studies, among others, have shed light on the subject. One is on unreported ‘grey’ income by Professor Wang Xiaolu of the National Economic Research Institute; the other is on consumption underestimation by Professors Zhang Jun of Fudan University and Zhu …
Bloomberg – Apple is developing new iPhone designs including 4.7 and 5.5 inch screens with curved glass and enhanced sensors that can detect different levels of pressure, said a person familiar with the plans. It is expected that the new iPhone 6 versions will be released in September of 2014 Federico Ciccarese has a rendering …
Mix together air, fuel, and heat and you get combustion, the chemical reaction that powers most engines in planes, trains and automobiles. And if you throw in some ionized gas (plasma), it turns out, you can sustain combustion even in conditions that would otherwise snuff out the reaction: at low air pressure, in high winds …
GE and Hitachi are building the first commercial-scale U-235 laser enrichment facility licensed for production. It will use an Australian-developed laser enrichment technology known as Separation of Isotopes by Laser Excitation (SILEX). Currently Silex has completed its phase I test loop program at GE-Hitachi Global Laser Enrichment’s (GLE) facility in North Carolina. When the commercial …
MIT chemical engineers have designed tiny particles that can “steer” themselves along preprogrammed trajectories and align themselves to flow through the center of a microchannel, making it possible to control the particles’ flow through microfluidic devices without applying any external forces. Such particles could make it more feasible to design lab-on-a-chip devices, which hold potential …
The market for micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) chips will almost double from about $12 billion in 2012 to over $22 billion by 2018, according to market analyst. MEMS for mobile is the driver for future growth, noting that smartphones have as many as 12 MEMS chips today, growing to as many as 20 in the near …
Using inexpensive materials configured and tuned to capture microwave signals, researchers at Duke University’s Pratt School of Engineering have designed a power-harvesting device with efficiency similar to that of modern solar panels. It operates on a similar principle to solar panels, which convert light energy into electrical current. But this versatile energy harvester could be …