A new form of carbon, carbyne, is calculated to be twice as stiff as carbon nanotubes or graphene and about significantly stronger than graphene, carbon nanotubes and diamond. Rice University researchers calculate that it takes around 10 nanoNewtons to break a single strand of carbyne. Carbyne specific strength 6.0–7.5×10^7 N∙m/kg Graphene specific strength 4.7–5.5×10^7 N∙m/ …
A new Alfin blog is not an attempt to replace earlier Al Fin blogs. The hibernating family of Al Fin blogs found on blogspot.com were dedicated largely to the idea of “the next level,” and helping the best of humanity to survive to reach it. Alfin was unable to inform readers of those blogs of …
SENS, Strategies for Engineered Negligible Senescence, is research focused on repairing the seven known damages that are associated with aging. They have published their 2013 research report (26 pages). SENS Research Foundation is funding with the goal of applying it to a primary problem of aging: the decline of the immune system . Only a …
The actual onsite construction of the 202 story Sky City [assembly?] won’t start until next April, according to Wang Shuguang, general manager of Broad Group’s US operation, which is based in New Jersey. Sky City’s construction cost is estimated at $ 1.47 billion compared to the Burj Khalifa’s $ 1.5 billion. But the big difference …
The pharmaceutical industry has spent billions of dollars on futile clinical trials directed at treating Alzheimer’s disease by ridding brains of a substance called amyloid plaque. But the new findings have identified another mechanism, involving an entirely different substance, that may lie at the root not only of Alzheimer’s but of many other neurodegenerative disorders …
Joseph Mueller of Princeton Satellite systems presented to the NASA Future in Space Operations (FISO) on Direct Fusion Drive for Fast Mars Missions * Total mass of the mission is critical * Cost is proportional to mass Princeton Satellite Systems has licensed two fusion patents from Princeton University NBF Note – John Slough is also …
Global supply is estimated to have increased by 575 kb/d m-o-m in July, to 91.85 mb/d, led by higher non-OPEC production. Strong growth in North America is expected to lift 2H13 total non-OPEC supply by an average 1.4 mb/d y-o-y, to reach 55.4 mb/d in 4Q13. Global refinery crude demand surged by 3.1 mb/d in …
The Hyperloop announcement today at 1:30 PDT. Elon Musk tweeted- Pulled all nighter working on Hyperloop (as did others). Hopefully not too many mistakes. I will update this posting as news is released. Here is the blog posting from Elon Musk at the Tesla Motors blog The pdf for the Hyperloop alpha design is here …
This presentation is a follow up to the 10 minute presentation given previously at Solve For x Google’s Fusion Brainstorming conference held on June 11, 2013 at Mountain View, CA. This is an in depth, scientific report on how Focus Fusion works and is unlike the 10 min version targeted for scientists and researchers. The …
A team of researchers has reported possible evidence for a new category of solids, things that are neither pure glasses, crystals, nor even exotic quasicrystals. Q-glass, a new solid alloy that has been discovered in a rapidly cooled mixture of aluminum, iron and silicon, is neither a pure glass, a crystal, nor even a quasicrystal, …
Representatives from EUV machine manufacturer ASML outlined a concrete plan that will put machines into the production lines of wafer fabs. With some boosts in laser power and a few other adjustments, the company now expects the workhorse EUV machines to be ready by 2015. That should be just in time to pattern the tiny …