Graphene Nanomesh and Ultracold Welding of Gold Nanowires

1. Nature Nanotechnology – Graphene nanomesh transistors support 100 times the current of individual nanoribbons Graphene has significant potential for application in electronics but cannot be used for effective field-effect transistors operating at room temperature because it is a semimetal with a zero bandgap. Processing graphene sheets into nanoribbons with widths of less than 10 …

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Hans Rosling, Swedish Statistician Predicts the Exact Date China and India Catchup to the West in Per Capita Income

Hans Rosling in a TED Talk discusses the history of individual health and wealth from 1858 through today and into the future. He discusses the importance of national sovereignty, which helped Japan from 1858 to 1949 when India and China did not have it. I will give the punchline date at the end of this …

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Increasing Civilization Robustness – preventing shorting out the grid, resist fire and damage

There is a 208 page EMP (electromagnetic Pulse)Commission report which discusses the interconnections between critical infrastructure and specific steps to increase robustness and recoverability The Department of Homeland Security has responsibility in the USA to get these kinds of plans implemented. There is an office of infrastructure protection. The plans and documents that are on …

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3-dimensional batteries and fuel cells powered by sugar.

Bruce Dunn is a Professor of Materials Science at UCLA’s Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science. Follow him (video below) around UCLA’s campus as he discusses 3-dimensional batteries and demonstrates fuel cells powered by sugar. Today’s batteries are two-dimensional, with a layer of anode, a layer of cathode and a layer of electrolyte. …

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Norway Funds Innovative and Potentially More Cost Effective 10 Megawatt Wind Turbine

Enova will provide the Bergen-based company Sway AS with funding in the amount of NOK 137 million to demonstrate a new 10 Megawatt wind turbine prototype. The project represents a significant potential reduction in the cost of generating offshore wind power. The funding from Enova will contribute to the construction of a 10 MW wind …

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Norway Funds Innovative and Potentially More Cost Effective 10 Megawatt Wind Turbine

Enova will provide the Bergen-based company Sway AS with funding in the amount of NOK 137 million to demonstrate a new 10 Megawatt wind turbine prototype. The project represents a significant potential reduction in the cost of generating offshore wind power. The funding from Enova will contribute to the construction of a 10 MW wind …

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Scientists Control Chemical Reactions of Ultracold Molecules

Physicists at JILA have for the first time observed chemical reactions near absolute zero, demonstrating that chemistry is possible at ultralow temperatures and that reaction rates can be controlled using quantum mechanics, the peculiar rules of submicroscopic physics. The new results and techniques, described in the Feb. 12 issue of Science,* will help scientists understand …

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Contractual Incentives and Penalites to Motivate Oil Companies Increase Iraq Oil Production to 12 million barrels per day

Stuart Staniford chart on Iraq Oil Jay Park describes why he thinks Iraq can achieve its 12 million barrels per day in 6-7 years This was a comment on an article (crossposted to the Oil Drum) by Stuart Staniford of Early Warning blog. Jay Park is a Partner, and Chair of the Global Resources Practice …

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Fighting fat with Brown fat cells, Can Shrink Spare Tires Around Your Stomach

Bonn scientists discover a promising new approach to combat obesity Fighting fat with fat The researchers suspect that a disorder of the brown fatty tissue can lead to obesity in adults. If it were possible to turn on the ‘natural heating system’ on again, the problem of unwanted fat would be quickly solved: according to …

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Living Yeast Cells Coated with Silica

Korean researchers have coated yeast cells with silica. This could lead to functionalized cells with electrical and computational properties or other properties. Corante describes the korean research and its implications They start out by coating the cells with some charged polymers that are known to serve as a good substrate for silication, and then expose …

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