More information about the Raytheon XOS 2 exoskeleton Dr. Fraser Smith, Vice President of Operations at Raytheon Sarcos, hopes a XOS2 type system could be fielded within five years. XOS 2 is lighter, stronger and faster than its predecessor, yet it uses 50 percent less power, and its new design makes it more resistant to …
I made a set of public predictions for the Honeywell Canada Futurist Essay competition of 1985. One of the predictions in the essay was that there would be movies in 2010 where the audience could choose aspects of the plot. This has been technically achieved and a movie with this capability has been screened by …
US oil and gas reserve estimates increased in 2009 according the Energy Information Administration report of Nov 2010 (28 pages) Texas’ Permian basin topped North Dakota’s Bakken play as contributors to a 9% increase in US crude oil and condensate reserves in 2009 as shale plays drove gas reserves to the highest since 1971. Wet …
For the first 11 months of 2010, a total of 16,500 MW of capacity came online in the USA: 6,682 MW of coal; [73.6% capacity factor 2007] 6,016 MW of natural gas; [combined cycle 42% capacity factor] 3,119 MW of wind; [36% capacity factor] 454 MW of biomass and waste products; 150 MW of solar; …
The bottom third shows the costs in China and Korea and Asia where most of the construction of new power generation of any kind is happening. An OECD report compares nuclear, gas, coal and wind costs. The whole OECD energy cost report is here The executive summary has the LCOE (levelised cost of electricity) of …
New research led by economists at the University of Warwick reveals that medieval England was not only far more prosperous than previously believed, it also actually boasted an average income that would be more than double the average per capita income of the world’s poorest nations today. In a paper entitled British Economic Growth 1270-1870 …
Tata Motors used the Thailand International Motor Expo 2010 as the venue to introduce an electric car based on its Indica Vista and a variant based on the Ace pickup. The Indica Vista EV is powered by a super-polymer lithium-ion battery that promises 200 km on a single charge and an acceleration of 0 to …
Gixmag – Dorin Stefan’s ‘Floating Observatories’ tower; construction begins in 2012 in Taechung, Taiwan Dorin Stefans website Floating Observatories” is Stefan Dorin’s (from Romania) winning entry in the recent Taiwan Tower Conceptual International Competition – and in return for his US$130,000 first prize, now he has to actually build the thing. The new tower, standing …
New research from Tel Aviv University has found that “endurance exercises,” like a Central Park jog or a spinning class, can make us look younger. The key, exercise, unlocks the stem cells of our muscles. Prof. Dafna Benayahu and her team at Tel Aviv University’s Sackler School of Medicine say their findings explain for the …
Optics Express – Quantum-dot-induced transparency in a nanoscale plasmonic resonator (13 pages) We investigate the near-field optical coupling between a single semiconductor nanocrystal (quantum dot) and a nanometer-scale plasmonic metal resonator using rigorous electrodynamic simulations. Our calculations show that the quantum dot produces a dip in both the extinction and scattering spectra of the surface-plasmon …
Aubrey de Grey – Aubrey is the Chief Science Officer of the SENS foundation and editor of Rejuvenation Research. Aubrey thinks we have a 50% chance of achieving medicine capable of getting people to 200 in the decade 2030-2040. Presuming we do indeed do that, the actual achievement of 200 will probably be in the …