“Self-organization” of nano-devices: Magnetic molecules (green) arrange on a carbon nanotube (black) to build an electronic component (Photo: C. Grupe, KIT). A team of INT researchers headed by Mario Ruben adopted a trick from nature : Synthetic adhesives were applied to magnetic molecules in such a way that the latter docked on to the proper …
Writer Keith Henson has extensively studied space-based solar power issues. Henson recently published a proposal to reduce the cost of getting payload to orbit by orders of magnitude . In an interview with Sander Olson, Henson describes using skylon rocket planes to release payloads at high altitudes. Concentrated lasers would then heat hydrogen in the …
Is China’s rise unstoppable? Powered by the human capital of 1.34 billion citizens, the latest technological advances, and a comparatively efficient system of state-directed capitalism, China seems poised to become the global super power in the coming century. But the Middle Kingdom also faces a series of challenges. From energy scarcity to environmental degradation to …
Scientists have developed a way to turn memories on and off – literally with the flip of a switch. Using an electronic system that duplicates the neural signals associated with memory, they managed to replicate the brain function in rats associated with long-term learned behavior, even when the rats had been drugged to forget. Journal …
US solar physicists announce that the Sun appears to be headed into a lengthy spell of low activity, which could mean that the Earth – far from facing a global warming problem – is actually headed into a mini Ice Age. The Sun normally follows an 11-year cycle of activity. The current cycle, Cycle 24, …
Enabling Breakthroughs In Technology, Mike Mayberry, Director of Components Research VP, Technology and Manufacturing Group Intel Corporation (June 2011) 17 pages Mike presented a roadmap to 7 nm node in 2017 and 10 nm in 2015. At Research@Intel Day Intel (2011), Intel’s Chief Technology Officer Justin Rattner indicated that the 14 nm node would be …
At Research@Intel Day Intel was talking a lot about its upcoming 22nm process technology, but in a meeting with European press Intel’s Chief Technology Officer Justin Rattner talked about 14 nm and 8 nm nodes (H/T to readers Daniel and Chrisc62) The 14nm node is scheduled to debut in about 2 years (2013), but also …
Adaptive Vehicle Make (AVM) is a portfolio of programs overseen by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). The three primary programs are META, Instant Foundry Adaptive through Bits (iFAB) and Fast Adaptable Next-Generation Ground Combat Vehicle (FANG GCV) programs. DARPA Disruptive Manufacturing Technologies page Adaptive Vehicle Make page DARPA has proposed 2012 budget which …
DARPA Z-man program will develop biologically inspired climbing aids to enable soldiers to scale vertical walls constructed from typical building materials, without using ropes or ladders. Geckos, spiders and small animals are the inspiration behind these climbing aids. Nanopatents and innovations – In 2010, DARPA demonstrated a fully loaded soldier (300 lb) wearing reattachable pads …
China’s GPU supercomputers, like the Tianhe-1A, are just a small part of the investments that China is making in science and technology sectors – especially the high-performance computing (HPC) space. Tianhe-1A, the world’s fastest supercomputer based on NVIDIA Tesla GPUs, has proven that it is a true scientific tool. Scientists at the Institute of Process …
Woodward, Brito, Mahood, White and Paul March have been trying to verify Mach Effect for propulsion over the last twenty years. Paul March explains – Hector Brito’s battery powered MLT like devices, which were completely self contained, have also observed generated vxB forces on the order of tens of micro-Newtons where none should have been …