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Steam Power To The Digital Revolution
At a table, curator Rob Tufnell is using an Apple Mac powered by the engine. For this is the Steam Powered Internet Machine: the latest deeply eccentric project from Turner-prizewinning artist Jeremy Deller and his collaborator Alan Kane. "We were thinking about something that connects the industrial revolution and the digital revolution," said Deller. Kane added: "They are worlds apart but there's also a proximity. The steam age and the digital age are not so far apart"......... Posted by: Kevin Permalink Source Boeing 747-8 Family
Cargolux, based in Luxembourg, has ordered 10 747-8 Freighters and will take delivery of the first 747-8F in third-quarter 2009. It also holds purchase rights for 10 additional airplanes. Cargolux currently operates an all-Boeing fleet of 13 747-400 freighters. Nippon Cargo Airlines, based in Japan, has ordered eight 747-8 Freighters and will receive its first airplane in fourth-quarter 2009. The airline also acquired options for six additional airplanes. Nippon Cargo currently operates 13 747 freighters and has six more 747-400Fs on order. Firm orders from the two launch customers are valued at approximately $5 billion at list prices. "We are thrilled to have Cargolux and Nippon Cargo choose the new 747-8 and become the launch customers for this next generation of the proud and valuable 747 airplane family," said Alan Mulally, president and chief executive officer, Boeing Commercial Airplanes. "The 747-8 will use the technologies of the 787 Dreamliner to significantly increase the passenger and freighter capabilities of the 747 and offer greater fuel efficiency, improved operating economics, and be more friendly to the environment with reduced noise and emissions"......... Posted by: Kevin Permalink Source Neutron Scattering Software On The Way
The DANSE project will integrate new materials theory with high-performance computing, using data from facilities such as the Department of Energy's new Spallation Neutron Source in Oak Ridge, Tenn.
Credit: Leroy N. Sanchez, Los Alamos National Laboratory This project of Distributed Data Analysis for Neutron Scattering Experiments (DANSE), which would last for five-year is led by Brent Fultz, a professor of materials science and applied physics at Caltech, with co-principal researchers Michael A. G. Aivazis of the Center for Advanced Computing Research at Caltech, and Ian S. Anderson of the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) in Oak Ridge, Tenn. The technique of neutron scattering is a method of analyzing the stability of materials, molecules, and condensed matter at various temperatures and pressures by looking at the positions and motions of the atoms that make up the materials. As per sceientis Fultz, this research will find the principles behind how atoms can be combined to form stable materials and will eventually show how new materials could be optimized for characteristics such as mechanical strength, electrical conductivity, energy storage and corrosion resistance......... Posted by: Kevin Permalink Science Captures The Essence Of Fruit
Researchers at New Zealand-based life sciences company HortResearch say they have fine-tuned the science of gene discovery to such a degree that they can now accurately determine which genes create the individual flavours and fragrances found in fruits and flowers. Combined with traditional biofermentation techniques - the same process that helps bread rise or grape juice to become wine - this means that it should be possible for the natural tastes and aromas of fruit to be recreated. According to HortResearch Industrial Biotechnology scientist Dr Richard Newcomb, that's exciting news for the world's food, perfume and cosmetic producers, who have for years sought synthetic solutions to mimic nature's flavours and fragrances in products ranging from ice cream to shampoo. "While manufacturers have largely been successful in copying natural tastes and scents, they generally do so either through a chemical synthesis process or extraction from harvested raw ingredients. "Neither approach is ideal. Chemical synthesis requires heat and pressure, so is reliant on increasingly expensive and polluting fossil fuels for energy. What's more, chemical synthesis can never truly recreate nature; the flavour or fragrance will typically be slightly different to that found naturally in fruits and flowers......... Posted by: Kevin Permalink Source Environmental Impacts Of Corn Ethanol And Biodiesel
The study would be reported in the July 11 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The scientists tracked all the energy used for growing corn and soybeans and converting the crops into biofuels. They also looked at how much fertilizer and pesticide corn and soybeans mandatory and how much greenhouse gases and nitrogen, phosphorus, and pesticide pollutants each released into the environment. "Quantifying the benefits and costs of biofuels throughout their life cycles allows us not only to make sound choices today but also to identify better biofuels for the future," said Jason Hill, a postdoctoral researcher in the department of ecology, evolution, and behavior and the department of applied economics and lead author of the study. The study showed that both corn grain ethanol and soybean biodiesel produce more energy than is needed to grow the crops and convert them into biofuels. This finding refutes other studies claiming that these biofuels require more energy to produce than they provide. The amount of energy each returns differs greatly, however. Soybean biodiesel returns 93 percent more energy than is used to produce it, while corn grain ethanol currently provides only 25 percent more energy......... Posted by: Tyler Permalink Source Microsoft "iSoft" VS Apple iPod
As heard from the rumors, the secret weapon device will only be announced in November. It should be the right time for Christmas when it reaches the market with glory. It should be a good news but what Apple has in hand? Apple is going to come out with the next model of iPod and probably will hit the market at the same with so-called Microsoft iPod Killer. According to rumor, the former head of XBox division will be in charge of this project, Robbie Bach. Will the Microsoft new music player break into this market in the same way that the XBox broke into the video game market? We heard that Microsoft new portable media player is going to have a built-in wireless communication capability for music downloading. A Wi-Fi function could also enable localized ad transmission and ad hoc short-range networks. I'm very sure during the next released of new iPod model, Apple won't miss these two capabilities as well. If they come out with Bluetooth headset, then Microsoft iPod Killer will turn out to be Microsoft iPod Loser. The new device is definitely going to have a larger screen size than the current iPod but will it be thinner and lighter as well?........ Posted by: Gina Permalink Source X-rays reveal Si thin-film defects
X-ray topographs of three different strata of a strained-silicon wafer
Strained silicon is a new, rapidly developing material for building enhanced-performance silicon-based transistors. Introducing a slight tensile strain in the lattice of the silicon crystal dramatically improves the mobility of charges in the crystal, enabling faster, higher-performance devices. The strain is achieved by first growing a relatively thick crystalline layer of silicon-germanium (SiGe) on the normal silicon substrate wafer, and then growing a thin film of pure silicon on top. The difference in lattice spacing between pure silicon and SiGe creates the desired strain, but also creates occasional defects in the crystal that degrade performance. The problem is especially bad when the defects cluster together in so-called "pile-ups". One of the best methods for studying crystal defects is to observe the image of X-rays diffracted from the crystal planes, a technique called X-ray topography. Until now, however, it's been impossible to study the interaction of defects in the multiple layers of these complex Si - SiGe - Si wafers. In a recent paper in Applied Physics Letters,* scientists from NIST and AmberWave Systems Corporation (Salem, N.H.) detail a high-resolution form of X-ray topography that can distinguish individual crystal defects layer by layer. The technique combines an extremely low-angle incident X-ray beam ("glancing incidence") to increase the signal from one layer over another and the use of highly monochromatic X-rays tuned to separate the contributions from each layer based on their different lattice spacings......... Posted by: Kevin Permalink Source roadmap for developing cleaner fuels
"Cellulosic ethanol has the potential to be a major source for transportation fuel for America's energy future," Under Secretary for Science Raymond L. Orbach said. "Low production cost and high efficiency require transformational changes in processing cellulose to ethanol. DOE's Genomics: GTL program is poised to help do just that." The roadmap responds directly to the goal recently announced by Secretary of Energy Samuel W. Bodman of displacing 30 percent of 2004 transportation fuel consumption with biofuels by 2030. This goal was set in response to the President's Advanced Energy Initiative. The roadmap identifies the research mandatory for overcoming challenges to the large-scale production of cellulosic ethanol to help meet this goal, including maximizing biomass feedstock productivity, developing better processes by which to break down cellulosic materials into sugars, and optimizing the fermentation process to convert sugars to ethanol. Cellulosic ethanol is derived from the fibrous, woody and generally inedible portions of plant matter (biomass)......... Posted by: Kevin Permalink Source I am Mr. Robot, your companion
The concept of a cognitive robotic companion inspires some of the best science fiction but one day may be science fact following the work of the four-year COGNIRON project funded since January 2004 by the IST's Future and Emerging Technologies initiative. But what could a cognitive robot companion do?. "Well, that's a difficult question. The example that's often used is a robot that's able to fulfil your needs, like passing you a drink or helping in everyday tasks," says Dr Raja Chatila, research director at the Systems Architecture and Analysis Laboratory of the French Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (LAAS-CNRS), and COGNIRON project coordinator. "That might seem a bit trivial, but let me ask you a question: In the 1970s, what was the use of a personal computer?" he asks. It's a good point. In fact, it was then impossible to imagine how PCs would change the world's economics, politics and society in just 30 years. The eventual uses, once the technology developed, were far from trivial. COGNIRON set out on the same principle, given that society is constantly evolving, and the project partners hope to tackle some of the key issues that need to be resolved for the development of a cognitive robot companion, which could be used as assistants for disabled and elderly people or the general population. Who wouldn't like, for instance, their breakfast ready when they awoke, deliveries accepted while they were at work and their apartment cleaned upon their return?........ Posted by: Kevin Permalink Source Breakthrough in Silicon Photonics Devices
In a study to be presented today at the 2006 International Optical Amplifiers and Applications Conference in Vancouver, Canada, UCLA Engineering scientists report that not only can optical amplification in silicon be achieved with zero power consumption, but power can now be generated in the process. The team's research shows that silicon Raman amplifiers possess nonlinear photovoltaic properties, a phenomenon correlation to power generation in solar cells. In 2004, the same group at UCLA Engineering demonstrated the first silicon laser, a device that took advantage of Raman amplification. "After dominating the electronics industry for decades, silicon is now on the verge of becoming the material of choice for the photonics industry, the traditional stronghold of today's semiconductors," said Bahram Jalali, the UCLA Engineering professor who led researcher Sasan Fathpour and graduate student Kevin Tsia in making the recent discovery. The amount of information that can be sent through an optical wire is directly correlation to the intensity of the light. In order to perform some of the key functions in optical networking - such as amplification, wavelength conversion, and optical switching - silicon must be illuminated with high intensity light to take advantage of its nonlinear properties. One example is the Raman effect, a phenomenon that occurs at high optical intensities and is behind a number of recent breakthroughs in silicon photonics, including the first optical amplifiers and lasers made in silicon......... Posted by: Kevin Permalink Source |
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