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Thin Film Lithium Technology Traditional alkaline batteries can be short-lived in some devices, costly over the life of the device and inconvenient to replace. Rechargeable batteries made from highly toxic heavy metals can pollute the environment. Others have a short storage life (a rapid "self-discharge" rate). If used improperly, some lose the ability to hold a full charge, a problem known as the "memory effect." Nancy Dudney, group leader of the Ceramic Thin Films Group in ORNL's Condensed Matter Sciences Division said thin-film lithium batteries last longer; hold their charge better during storage; recharge faster with no memory effects; can be recharged a number of times and can be made much smaller, lighter and more flexible than traditional batteries. Also, since they are entirely solid and contain no liquids, potential problems and hazards due to leakage, corrosion, and freezing are eliminated. "Rechargeable thin film lithium technologies offer several advantages over conventional batteries," Dudney said. "We are still a long way from seeing them used in everyday applications like toys and games. But they are an outstanding power source for highly specialized, critical purpose applications today and hold the potential for a wider range of application in the future."........ Posted by: Kevin Permalink January 28, 2006, 6:25 PM CT Where's the beef? Kelly MaherKelly Maher, who is working towards her master of science degree in the U of A Faculty of Agriculture, Forestry and Home Economics, is exploring the possibilities of converting beef tallow - fat - into a liquid similar to those produced using petroleum or fossil fuels. The end product could be used in everyday products like solvents, paint and lacquer. Traditionally, tallow was a valued product of the rendering industry, but the recent BSE scare resulted in a significant drop in value, from $374 per tonne in 2002 to $242 per tonne in 2003, as per Alberta Agriculture, Food and Rural Development. This undervalued byproduct of the rendering process, which sees almost every other part of an animal's carcass used, would fill an emerging demand from chemical supply companies for biodegradable products, Maher said. "We live in a fossil-fuel world and there are numerous problems associated with our extensive use of petroleum," Maher said. "There is uncertainty over oil prices, growing environmental concern over fossil fuel combustion and most importantly, our reserves are depleting and will eventually run out. Tallow is a renewable resource that could be sustainable over a long period of time"......... Posted by: Sarah Permalink January 28, 2006, 5:34 PM CT Green Laser To Cut Diamonds Green Laser: Photo credit IsraCastThe new system, called Quazer, is based on proprietary technology and features many important breakthroughs in the sawing, cutting and shaping of diamonds. Some of its unique advantages include minimal breakage and weight-loss on the cut or sawn stone and the ability to cut damage-prone "tension stones". The Quazer system can also seamlessly integrate with Sarin's DiaExpert rough planning machine, DiaMark-Z laser marker and its "Advisor" software for mapping, analysis and laser marking of rough diamonds. Iddo Genuth - IsraCast......... Posted by: Kevin Permalink January 28, 2006, 4:46 PM CT Computer Design Wins Microsoft Competition The concept computer, called Bookshelf, eliminates the most common problems - digital copyrights and inconvenient accessibility - in the multimedia entertainment business today, says graduate student Sungho "Oho" Son. He teamed with Scott Shim, a professor of visual and performing arts, to design a new personal computer that won the $50,000 Judge's Award at Microsoft's Next Generation Windows PC Design Competition. The competition was sponsored by Microsoft and the Industrial Designers Society of America, and the winners were announced at the 2006 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on Jan. 5-8. "How this computer is used closely resembles the traditional use of a bookshelf," says Son, a second-year graduate student from Seoul, South Korea. "Digital contents are downloaded through subscriptions, then arranged in each hardware attachment, which are provided by the subscription's service. The physical configuration of the unit permits users to visually navigate the categories of content as they do with books on a bookshelf......... Posted by: Kevin Permalink January 28, 2006, 4:23 PM CT mathematical method to design better robots Civil engineers design structures such as buildings and bridges using mathematical formulas, or theorems, that deal with the science of statics. Mechanical engineers designing robots, machinery and mechanisms use their own set of theorems dealing with kinematics, or the science of motion. Now, a mechanical engineer at Purdue University and a civil engineer at Tel Aviv University in Israel have created new theorems that improve the design process by combining the mathematics of both kinematics and statics. "These new theorems represent a common language and provide an understanding of what we call the duality between kinematics and statics," said Gordon R. Pennock, a Purdue associate professor of mechanical engineering. "The practical result is that engineers can use this knowledge to design better structures and better machines". The research is detailed in a technical paper that will appear in the recent issue of the Journal of Mechanical Design, published by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. The paper was written by Pennock and Offer Shai, a civil engineer in the Department of Mechanics, Materials and Systems at Tel Aviv University......... Posted by: Kevin Permalink January 25, 2006, 8:54 PM CT Nano Motor Powered by Solar Energy The nano motor can work continuously without any external interference, and operates without consuming or generating chemical fuels or waste, said Fraser Stoddart, UCLA's Fred Kavli Professor of NanoSystems Sciences and director of the institute. "We design and make sunlight-powered nano motors and then 'test drive' them much as an engineer would a new motorcar," Stoddart said. "It is as if we had managed to get a solar-powered motor car onto the road and running". Precisely how light-powered nano motors will be used in the future is still not clear, Stoddart said, but he listed many possible areas for applications: nanoelectronics, molecular computers and nano valves that perhaps could be used for the delivery of anti-cancer drugs and other medications. "The achievement reported in PNAS is the culmination of a research effort lasting a quarter of a century and involving hundreds of students and millions of dollars," Stoddart said......... Posted by: Kevin Permalink January 24, 2006, 5:17 PM CT Creating Biocompatible Fibers The research was presented in the Jan. 20 issue of Science, in the article, "Phospholipid Nonwoven Electrospun Membranes," by Matthew G. McKee, a recent Ph.D. graduate in chemical engineering from Virginia Tech's College of Engineering, now at PandG, current chemistry students John M. Layman and Matthew P. Cashion, and chemistry professor Timothy E. Long, all at Virginia Tech's College of Science. "Phospholipids, which are the main component of cell membranes in the human body or in an apple are exquisite in terms of their ability to self-organize," said Long. The scientists fabricated this natural compound into a sub micron fiber - 100 times smaller than a human hair. "It is the first demonstration that electrostatic spinning, or electrospinning, a polymer processing technique, can be used with a small molecule to produce a fiber. "Clothing fibers such as polyesters and nylons are composed of large molecules, macromolecules," Long said. "Now, we are fabricating fibers from small molecules - ones with a low molecular weight."........ Posted by: Kevin Permalink January 23, 2006, 8:10 PM CT Life In The Quantum Age Progress in understanding the arcane laws that govern nature at the sub-atomic level and spectacular new advances in minuscule technology are ushering humanity into the quantum age, said Professor Gerard Milburn, head of Quantum Nanoscience at The University of Queensland. Professor Milburn is convener of a major international scientific meeting, the Sir Mark Oliphant Conference on Frontiers of Quantum Nanoscience, which opens at Noosa on Monday. "Most people have heard of nanotechnology as the building of new materials at the molecular or atomic scale. Well that's the stone axe age compared to what's coming," Professor Milburn predicts. "This is the new era of building revolutionary materials and devices out of individual atoms and particles - things that obey the bizarre rules of quantum mechanics, rather than familiar physics, and can do new things." It is also moving with blinding speed. In recent weeks two international groups have announced that they have built devices consisting of a handful of quantum switches which have the power of 256 ordinary transistor switches......... Posted by: Kevin Permalink January 23, 2006, 6:08 PM CT Weather In The Palm Of Your Hand Russ Dengel, a senior information technologist, shows off a PDA loaded with the PDA Animated Weather service he created.Dengel's PDA Animated Weather service, known as PAW, benefits a diverse community, from long-haul truck drivers to firefighters in Puerto Rico to commuters trying to get to work safely on a snowy morning. The free service allows PDA users to access real-time radar and satellite weather images and forecasts whenever and wherever. "It's like a meteorologist's dream," says Dengel, a senior information technologist at UW-Madison's Space Science and Engineering Center, where he has access to numerous products. Dengel frequently updates and expands the service's capabilities to meet the needs of his users. "I want to show people what's possible," Dengel says. PAW users can choose from a multitude of geographic regions and data options, including functions like animation, zoom and roam. Recently, he tailored the service to meet the needs of the fire department in Puerto Rico. Dengel set up a radar loop centered on San Juan and added satellite data showing clouds over the area. The PAW, he discovered, is "a fairly decent unit for first responders." He plans to continue to work with fire fighters in Puerto Rico to help them get the most out of the PAW service. Dengel also accommodated the fire department in Boise, ID by outfitting PAW with region-specific radar products......... Posted by: Kevin Permalink January 22, 2006, 7:12 PM CT Does mobile phone use increase brain cancer risk? A recently published study has shown that mobile phone does not increase the risk of developing the most common type of brain tumor, as per a new study. After a four-year survey, researchers at the Institute of Cancer Research in London and three British universities found no link between regular, long-term use of mobile phones and brain cancer. "Overall, we found no raised risk of glioma (brain cancer) associated with regular mobile phone use and no association with time since first use, lifetime years of use, cumulative hours of use, or number of calls," said Professor Patricia McKinney, of the University of Leeds, in a report in the British Medical Journal. She added that the results were consistent with the findings of most studies done in the United States and Europe. Anthony Swerdlow, a co-author of the report, from the Institute of Cancer Research, said the survey is larger than any of the other published studies and part of a collaboration involving 13 countries. During the past two decades, the use of mobile phones has risen rapidly worldwide but there has been no hard evidence to substantiate fears that the technology causes health problems ranging from headaches to brain tumors......... Posted by: Kevin Permalink |
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