Sometimes it’s hard to explain how much faster software logic can run when it is deployed in hardware. In a clever benchmarking experiment that incorporates simple logic refactoring, artificial intelligence, and machine compilation from software to FPGA hardware, a Clemson student took a popular board game and turbo-charged it 10x in an Altera Cyclone FPGA. …
In a normal early-January week the draw on natural gas inventories is about 170 billion cubic feet. This week, according to market watcher Bentek, the drawdown is expected to be on the order of 310 bcf (almost double) — the most ever. The record demand stretched supplies in the Northeast. In the New York region …
The day after a load of stolen radioactive material was found in a field, Mexican authorities had formed a perimeter around the area and were measuring for contamination as they planned the recovery process Thursday. Federal police and soldiers formed a cordon of several hundred yards around the highly radioactive container of cobalt-60, stolen earlier …
Business Week has a detailed look at 2014. They have a detailed look at 55 global industries, from tech to banking and energy to retail. The Aakash 4, a 7-inch Android tablet developed by British manufacturer Datawind and India’s Ministry of Human Resources Development. Datawind Chief Executive Officer Suneet Tuli said at a Wired conference …
By the end of this year, Moscow will test its newest ballistic missile, the RS-26 Rubezh equipped with hypersonic manoeuvring units. As Colonel General Vladimir Zarudnitsky, chief of the Main Operations Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, said to Vladimir Putin, this system will significantly expand the ability of Russian strategic nuclear …
Silicon-free solar cells, light and flexible enough to roll up or use as window blinds, are under development at a University of Alberta lab. The solar cells are made using nanoparticles — microscopic particles just 30 to 40 atoms across — that are very cheap to produce from zinc and phosphorus, said Jillian Buriak, a …
Apple will introduce two new iPhone models at a special media event on Sept. 10. There should a high-end iPhone 5S and a budget iPhone which should be the iPhone 5C. Apple’s iPhone 5S is expected to launch on September 20th in the U.S. and other initial markets and will have a new A7 processor, …
China Shipbuilding Industry Corp said its Wuhan Institute of Marine Electric Propulsion finalized its integrated electric propulsion technology in mid-July. It said the in-house development will help the nation wean itself off the longstanding dependence on imported parts in manufacturing ships. Most surface vessels in China use mechanical transmissions and are propelled by a motor …
The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter was meant to improve the U.S. air arsenal but has made it more vulnerable instead. The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter — a do-it-all strike jet being designed by Lockheed Martin to evade enemy radars, bomb ground targets and shoot down rival fighters — is as troubled as ever. Compromised design is second rate. Overweight …
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 …
1. At Nuke Power Talk, Gail Marcus talks about a recent Time magazine article on new nuclear plants that was quite favorable on the need for nuclear power, and optimistic about its prospects. She points out that they focus a lot of the article on a discussion of 2 start-ups headed by graduate students focusing …