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Thursday, 11 December 2008
Remember Intel’s Wireless Power presentation back in August? They managed to improve on earlier work by MIT and power a 60 watt light globe from between 3 to 6 feet. Now, wireless power transmission has taken another leap forward after Lightning Lab accidentally transferred a large amount of energy while testing a high-frequency transformer. Monday, 13 October 2008
The U.S. Army is developing a synthetic telepathy technology that acts as a computer interface controlled directly by your thoughts. They are hoping to produce a system capable of composing an email, sending a voicemail or playing a video game using thought alone. Thursday, 3 July 2008
You’ll never look at rice husks the same way again thanks to a Malaysian scientist who has discovered a way to make Aerogel from the low cost material. Aerogel is a super-strong substance and is the lightest solid known to man. Halimaton Hamdan is the genius behind the discovery which could bring the substance, which was first invented in 1931, to the masses. Aerogel’s use has been limited to a few select industries because of its high cost of $3,000 per kilogram. The only time we’ve likely come into contact with the material is when we’ve picked up a tennis racquet, where the substance is used for structural reinforcement. Aerogel is comprised mostly of air and weighs only three times as much. It has insulating properties 37 times greater then fiberglass. In the image above, the material is insulating a hand from the heat of a blowtorch. Handan has said it is so strong that it could be used to protect buildings from bomb blasts. Producing the required silicon for the Aerogel from rice husks is expected to reduce to cost to just one-fifth of its current price, making it a cost-effective alternative to common insulating products. Because the substance is near transparent, it could be sandwiched between panes of glass or perhaps used in paint for an insulating coating on walls and ceilings. Fingers crossed on this project. It certainly looks very promising and could prove to be a revolutionary technology in an age obsessed with making objects lighter yet stronger. Sources: Tuesday, 3 June 2008
The Space Shuttle Discovery’s astronauts prepared on Tuesday for the first spacewalk of their mission plus the installation of Japan’s huge Kibo lab to the International Space Station (ISS). The shuttle docked with the space station Monday and now spacewalkers Ronald Garan Jr and Michael Fossum are preparing the $1 billion lab for installation. Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide will then use the station’s robotic arm to attach the lab to the International Space Station. “Obviously its gonna be a really big day for Japan, they’ve been working very hard on this module and all of the systems in it,” said ISS flight director Emily Nelson. Kibo, which is Japanese for hope, is 37 feet long, making it bigger than the European and U.S. labs already in place. About an hour before they docked, Discovery was positioned so that its underside could be photographed by ISS astronauts. This has become a regular safety feature to ensure the shuttle is free of damage before re-entry. As well as preparing the installation of Kibo, the spacewalkers need to clean a jammed solar rotating joint and remove an inspection boom they will need next week to check for damage to the Discovery’s nose cap and wings. The boom was left behind by the last crew as Kibo took up all the room in the payload bay. Discovery brought with it badly-needed supplies including parts to fix a high-tech Russian space toilet. The astronauts had rigged-up a temporary bypass for liquid waste when the ISS commode broke down last week. There were about five pieces of insulating foam that broke free from Discovery’s fuel tank during liftoff but does not appear to have caused any damage. The focus lies on the flame trench which suffered the worst launch pad damage in 27 years. A large section measuring 75 feet by 20 feet broke away plus concrete mortar and pieces of the heat-resistant fire bricks were found over 1,800 feet away, beyond the chain-link barrier fence. The trench does not appear to have damaged the shuttle. The trench dates back to the Apollo era in the 1960s and is designed to deflect the exhaust of the booster rockets. Sources: Related Articles: | SUBSCRIBE:  Stay up to date! Get Mark's Technology News updates via RSS Or, grab your updates via email. Your email address: Compare Prices with Twenga Top Sections ARCHIVES: RECENT COMMENTS: MTN Is Listed At: | |
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