American Superconductor Corporation has received a $1.3 million contract extension for its second generation (2G) high temperature superconductor (HTS) wire from the US Office of Naval Research (ONR), with funding from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). This is the 6th contract or contract extension received by American Superconductor for 2G HTS wire development over just the last 10 months; the total dollar amount is approximately $8.1 million within that timeframe.
Superconductivity normally works at temperatures close to absolute zero (-459F/ -273C); "high temperature superconductor" wire has the ability to work in conditions you still wouldn't exactly consider comfortable. Targeted defense applications for 2G HTS wire include ship propulsion electric motors and generators; that area is particularly interesting, and ties into another research effort DID has noticed...
The Speculist has the Carnival of Tomorrow up, featuring all kinds of interesting posts covering scientific issues and developments.
M. Simon came across this item, and submitted it to the comments section of last weekend's Earth Day post. It's worth highlighting:
"Many knowledgeable observers believe that perfluorinated [fuel cell] membranes will never be commercially viable for widespread, consumer use. Although these membranes worked in outer space, many believe that they will ultimately be unsuccessful — in our laptops, cell phones, and automobiles — here on earth.
Creating alternative membranes is an extremely challenging process, and in the ensuing decades, such efforts have met with little success. Recently, however, PolyFuel has developed a unique capability to directly engineer the nano-architectures and the chemical characteristics of a membrane based upon system-level requirements that has not only led to the rapid development of scores of new membranes — but ones which have exhibited breakthroughs in performance. Such “engineered membranes” are the future of fuel cells."
See his excerpt and link for more.
On my America West flight to California, I picked up a copy of Technology Review's April 2005 issue and found a neat set of articles about cutting-edge technology reseach in various countries: Brazil, Chile, China, Germany, the Netherlands, South Africa and the United States.
"We asked these writers to report on which emerging technologies are the most important for their nations' societies and economies, and to explain what makes these technologies uniquely characteristic of their countries.... In all, our reporters identified more than two dozen emerging technologies or ideas about innovation as vital to the futures of these seven countries. But even those innovations that most directly address urgent regional needs prove to have application for the entire planet."
There's lots of neat stuff going on. Fortunately, these articles are all available online - and there are some interesting graphics measuring key global technology indicators as well.
Welcome! This is the 5th edition of "Winds of Discovery", a report by Larry Ice of Correct-Amundo! that will take you on a wild ride across the spectrum of science and discovery.
Topics this week include: Cleveland; Brain Function; Stroke Effects; Tiny Propellors; Photovoltaic Film; Photovoltaic Polymers; Extreme Memory; Sun Patents; Humane Interface; Lab Silk; Dark Matter; Methane Rain; Hubble Scrapped; Titan Life; Smart-1; Douglas Adams; Petrified Wood; Global Warming; and 2 new ways to generate Hydrogen
If YOU have a link suggestion send it to discovery, here @windsofchange.net. Regular topics include:
Over at a newish blog called The Ergosphere, "Engineer-Poet" looks at Steven Den Beste's recent post about energy issues, where SDB discusses whether efficiency and energy saving can get us where we need to go.
Den Beste describes the barriers to savings and efficiencies large enough to make a meaningful dent in our energy consumption patterns, and makes a number of good points. Engineer-Poet then replies, noting that significant progress has been made, and continues right now. He follows that up with an equally interesting post about Nanosolar technologies, and some of the key price : energy points that may be on our horizon.
Den Beste is right. This is a huge issue, fossil fuels won't go away, and there are no quick fixes. But Engineer-Poet is right, too. There is hope.
UPDATE: Armed Liberal has more, including some useful energy consumption and GDP data.
Welcome! This is the 3rd edition of "Winds of Discovery", a report by Glenn Halpern of HipperCritical that will take you on a wild ride across the spectrum of science and discovery.
Topics this week include: What is deja vu?; New virus fights cocaine addiction; APOE genes and Parkinsons; Nano-locomotion; Invisibility cloaks and stun guns; Anything into oil; Ancient brewery; Most massive black hole; Biocosm hypothesis; Birth of the moon; Lagrangian points; Alien detection in twenty years; 100 foot waves; Ecocide and de-ecocide; Cloud seeding; Post-Kyoto cooperation; World's oldest mouse; Monkeys yawn, monkey walks; Dogs can do anything; Male nipples
If YOU have a link suggestion send it to discovery, here @windsofchange.net. Regular topics include:
"Researchers at Rice University, along with a company called Nanospectra Biosciences, have determined that gold-covered nanoparticles, 20 times smaller than a red blood cell, will quickly pool in tumors when injected into the bloodstream. The nanoshells, when illuminated with a near-infrared laser (which otherwise passes harmlessly through living tissue), will heat up sufficiently to incinerate the tumors completely, in every test."
It will be a while before we see human trials, but this (and other options mentioned in their post) are encouraging.
The folks at FutureBrief write:
"Companies promoting solar power and other alternative-energy concepts are rapidly attracting venture funding, research grants and, just as important, the interest of many of the tech industry's deep thinkers and influential figures. 'We have a huge energy issue in this century, and it will not be solved by policy. The only real solution is technology,' said Jim Plummer, dean of Stanford University's School of Engineering...." As energy prices soar, many companies are researching possible alternative energy sources."
Alternative energy sources have a long way to go before they'll even make a noticeable dent in our fossil fuel use. Still, the fact that economic drivers are now spurring more research is very promising. As News.com notes:
"The more immediate drivers for the interest in alternative energy today are technological improvements and declining costs -- in other words, qualities that appeal to the venture capitalists of Silicon Valley and others looking for new opportunities."
The rest of the News.com article has a very good round-up that covers some of the economics and history involved, the sector's investment totals, and a number of the companies and technologies doing work in this area.
Finally, Director Richard Smalley from the Carbon Nanotechnology Laboratory at Rice University offers a glimpse of what a future mixed energy infrastructure might look like.
UPDATE: FuturePundit has more.
Imagine that you need to go into orbit, or you need to get some materials up there. Instead of taking a rocketship, you take an elevator that rises into the sky like Jack's mythical beanstalk.
Impossible? Only for now. We've covered carbon nanotubes and other necessary components back in 2002. This June, Glenn's Winds of Discovery report indicated that space elevators could be closer than we thought.
Late June 2004 saw the Third International Conference on Space Elevators. The meeting is now over, and while we wait for the official archive of the presentations, we're starting to get a bit of information about what went on. Worldchanging.com has an optimistic article on future nanotech costs, and a fine collection of interesting space elevator materials.
Welcome! This is the 2nd edition of "Winds of Discovery", a bi-monthly report by Glenn Halpern of HipperCritical that will take you on a wild ride across the spectrum of science and discovery.
Topics this week include: Alzheimer's effects not all memory; Human brains work like robots; Voles and the science of love; Fifty new embryonic stem cell lines; Double-click patent; The energy debate; Bioterror research - defense or offense?; Diabetes breathalyzer; Self-replicating robots; Discovering Atlantis; Wild 2 comet is strange; The youngest black hole; Water on Mars; Science and religion; New clues on climate change; Drunken worms; Safe fugu; Beetle love
If YOU have a link suggestion send it to discovery, here @windsofchange.net. Regular topics include:
Welcome! This is the 1st edition of "Winds of Discovery", a monthly report by Glenn Halpern of HipperCritical that will take you on a wild ride across the spectrum of science and discovery.
Topics this week include: Sperm storage record broken; UK advances on embryonic stem cell research; Leroy Hood's latest venture; Search continues for Alzheimer's Disease cure; Nanotech turnaround?; The first nanochips; Metal rubber; Venus crosses the sun; Size of the universe; Birth of the sun; Space elevators; Lomborg thinks like Hitler?; Maunder minimum; Running out of oil?; Ban on trans-fats; Monsanto wins patent case; Dinosaurs fried within hours; Must we love cicadas?; Hippo sweat.
If YOU have a link suggestion send it to discovery, here @windsofchange.net. Regular topics include:
