Black silicon can absorb light over a wider spectrum than can normal silicon--from low-frequency visible light through near- and short-wave-infrared wavelengths that would normally pass right through regular silicon. Another property, called photoconductive gain, gives black silicon much greater sensitivity to light. These properties have identified black silicon as a way to make smaller, cheaper, and lighter silicon-based light detectors and to replace more expensive materials used in infrared detectors found in fiber-optic links, security systems, and elsewhere.
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Friday, July 10, 2009
Raytheon Completes Critical Milestone for Mobile X-band Radar System
Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) recently completed integration and acceptance testing of an integral element of the mobile and adaptable AN/TPY-2 X-band radar system at White Sands Missile Range, N.M.
The Prime Power Unit (PPU) is an air- and highway-transportable, trailer-mounted 1.3MW (megawatt) Generator Set, a key component of the Terminal High Altitude Air Defense (THAAD) system.
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The Prime Power Unit (PPU) is an air- and highway-transportable, trailer-mounted 1.3MW (megawatt) Generator Set, a key component of the Terminal High Altitude Air Defense (THAAD) system.
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Paperless Books: E-Paper Makes Headway
Electronic book readers such as Sony’s Digital Reader and Amazon’s Kindle have their fans, but the displays are difficult to read in sunlight and do not show colors well. A new kind of electronic paper could make the readers brighter and more colorful, which is of interest to conservationists who would like to see the devices replace paper editions.
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Thursday, July 9, 2009
Graphene's versatility promises new applications
Since its discovery just a few years ago, graphene has climbed to the top of the heap of new super-materials poised to transform the electronics and nanotechnology landscape. As N.J. Tao, a researcher at the Biodesign Institute of Arizona State University explains, this two dimensional honeycomb structure of carbon atoms is exceptionally strong and versatile. Its unusual properties make it ideal for applications that are pushing the existing limits of microchips, chemical sensing instruments, biosensors, ultracapacitance devices, flexible displays and other innovations.
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New Bluetooth application will let sport fans share experiences in real time
Imagine watching a football match, seeing a foul and being able to immediately swap comments with friends who saw the same incident from the other side of the stadium.
By enabling mobiles to communicate with each other without sending messages via a network, new technology being developed will enable people in different parts of a stadium to share banter, photos and video clips instantly, reliably – and free of charge.
The application makes innovative use of short range communications which would even enable complete strangers to share information and experiences.
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By enabling mobiles to communicate with each other without sending messages via a network, new technology being developed will enable people in different parts of a stadium to share banter, photos and video clips instantly, reliably – and free of charge.
The application makes innovative use of short range communications which would even enable complete strangers to share information and experiences.
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Nanopillars promise cheap, efficient, flexible solar cells
Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the University of California at Berkeley have demonstrated a way to fabricate efficient solar cells from low-cost and flexible materials. The new design grows optically active semiconductors in arrays of nanoscale pillars, each a single crystal, with dimensions measured in billionths of a meter.
"To take advantage of abundant solar energy we have to find ways to mass-produce efficient photovoltaics," says Ali Javey, a faculty scientist in Berkeley Lab's Materials Sciences Division and a professor of electrical engineering and computer science at UC Berkeley. "Single-crystalline semiconductors offer a lot of promise, but standard ways of making them aren't economical."
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"To take advantage of abundant solar energy we have to find ways to mass-produce efficient photovoltaics," says Ali Javey, a faculty scientist in Berkeley Lab's Materials Sciences Division and a professor of electrical engineering and computer science at UC Berkeley. "Single-crystalline semiconductors offer a lot of promise, but standard ways of making them aren't economical."
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World’s first Fuel Cell Aircraft takes off in Germany
The world’s first piloted aircraft capable of taking to the air using only power from fuel cells took off in Germany, producing zero carbon dioxide emissions, its makers said.
The Antares DLR-H2 motor glider is developed by the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and it has a range of 750 kilometres and can fly for five hours.
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The Antares DLR-H2 motor glider is developed by the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and it has a range of 750 kilometres and can fly for five hours.
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Stanford Engineers Demonstrate Light Emission Compatible With Silicon Chips; Advance Could Be Key Step to Making Computer Chips More Efficient, Faster
Silicon computer chips depend on metal wiring that is fast becoming a source of delay and wasted power. Many engineers would rather use light to transmit data over the longer distances on chips, much in the same way that the light in fiber optic cables efficiently carries virtually all long-haul telecommunications traffic. One of the key problems in realizing the goal, creating an intense light source that is compatible with silicon, now seems much closer to being solved based on advances reported by engineers including a team at Stanford University.
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Taser’s Shocking New Shotgun
The firm recently made available a shocking XREP shotgun projectile. It also introduced a new specialist shotgun optimized for the XREP and other ‘”less lethal” rounds. And then there’s the ghastly teaser campaign for the company’s forthcoming “X3.”
XREP packages a complete Taser system including power supply in a 12-gauge shotgun round with a range of 100 feet. On striking, it inflicts a 20-second Taser shock cycle via some clever electrodes, immobilizing the target.
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XREP packages a complete Taser system including power supply in a 12-gauge shotgun round with a range of 100 feet. On striking, it inflicts a 20-second Taser shock cycle via some clever electrodes, immobilizing the target.
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Color Inkjet Printers offer alternative to laser technology
Ricoh Americas Corporation, a leading provider of digital office equipment, today announced the availability of its Ricoh Aficio GX e3300N/GX e3350N GelSprinter(TM) color inkjet series, designed to provide an affordable, high-quality, duplexing alternative to color laser technology or consumer inkjets in small offices, workgroups, and classrooms. The new Aficio GX e3300N/GX e3350N printers use next generation GelSprinter technology that incorporates a waterproof, fast-drying viscous gel ink to eliminate smudging, blurring, bleed-through and curling for professional results.
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Powering Cars with Potholes
When a car’s wheel hits a hole or bump, a standard shock absorber disperses the impact energy through hydraulic fluid and moves a piston. In the M.I.T. design, the fluid is instead forced through a small turbine attached to a generator.
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Airbus Issues RFID Requirements, Expands RFID Usage
The aircraft maker has distributed RFID requirements to suppliers of parts for its A350 aircraft, and will use EPC RFID tags to manage the configuration of A330 and A340 planes, as well as to track tools.
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Latest quantum breakthroughs revealed
Advances in quantum computing and cryptography are coming fast and furious.
Researchers from across Europe have detailed their efforts to build the largest quantum key distribution network to date in the June edition of the New Journal of Physics. Quantum cryptography is seen as a key advance in the battle against hacking and cybercrime.
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Researchers from across Europe have detailed their efforts to build the largest quantum key distribution network to date in the June edition of the New Journal of Physics. Quantum cryptography is seen as a key advance in the battle against hacking and cybercrime.
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Boeing displays manned F/A-XX concept jet
Boeing Phantom Works has released a new concept image for a "sixth-generation" fighter to replace the F/A-18E/F fleet after 2025.
The two-seat, twin-engined tailless concept jet is being offered for F/A-XX, a notional US Navy strategy that has not yet become a formal requirement.
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The two-seat, twin-engined tailless concept jet is being offered for F/A-XX, a notional US Navy strategy that has not yet become a formal requirement.
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Oil baron's wind farm project hits doldrums
Billionaire oil man T. Boone Pickens is shelving plans to build the world's largest wind farm.
Pickens said he faced hurdles in routing the power from Texas to a distribution system. His plans were also stymied by a plunge in natural gas prices and a tightening credit market.
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Pickens said he faced hurdles in routing the power from Texas to a distribution system. His plans were also stymied by a plunge in natural gas prices and a tightening credit market.
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Methanol could power artificial muscles
Scientists have experimented with artificial muscles for decades. These often work by converting electricity into mechanical energy, but the problem there is that batteries neither deliver energy very quickly nor store energy efficiently given the space they occupy, explained.
Instead of using batteries, artificial muscles could rely on chemical fuels, suggests. For instance, methanol, or wood alcohol, which can blind people, "has 30 times the energy storage density of a conventional battery," he said.
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Instead of using batteries, artificial muscles could rely on chemical fuels, suggests. For instance, methanol, or wood alcohol, which can blind people, "has 30 times the energy storage density of a conventional battery," he said.
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Boeing: KC-777 'so much better' than KC-30
If you compare them, the 777 would provide - deliver - however you want to say it -- 23% more fuel than the KC-30. It could carry 44% more payload - more cargo - in the back. And it also would carry about 42% more passengers in the back as well.
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US Army Receives First EQ-36 Counterfire Target Acquisition Radar System
Lockheed Martin has delivered the first Non-Recurring Engineering Enhanced AN/TPQ-36 Counterfire Target Acquisition (EQ-36) Radar System to the U.S. Army.
The EQ-36 radar's delivery on July 2 followed its successful live-fire performance testing against indirect fire from mortars, artillery and rockets from a simulated enemy. The series of tests, held this spring at the Army's Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona, included engineering, contractor and government acceptance testing.
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The EQ-36 radar's delivery on July 2 followed its successful live-fire performance testing against indirect fire from mortars, artillery and rockets from a simulated enemy. The series of tests, held this spring at the Army's Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona, included engineering, contractor and government acceptance testing.
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Israel develops a glide bomb
Israel is developing a new "smart" glide bomb, a weapon that had its origins as far as back as World War I. It is likely to wind up in the Israel armory for operations against Palestinian militants and Lebanon's Hezbollah guerrillas.
The weapon, designated the Medium Laser-Guided Bomb, is still in the early stages of development by the state-run Israel Aerospace Industries, flagship of Israel's defense industry.
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The weapon, designated the Medium Laser-Guided Bomb, is still in the early stages of development by the state-run Israel Aerospace Industries, flagship of Israel's defense industry.
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Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Deal inked in US Navy 'R2-D2' raygun robo-turret plan
One of the most critical questions in the world of seagoing death-ray technology today - that is, who would be selected to develop swivelling "R2-D2" robotic laser blaster gun turrets for US Navy warships - has now been answered. American weaponry megacorp Northrop Grumman, makers of the first electric solid-state "battle strength" raygun module, have scooped a $98m deal from the Office of Naval Research.
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US sinks $0.5bn into electromagnetic aircraft-throwers
Pentagon has awarded a half-billion-dollar contract for the building of a radical new electromagnetic catapult, intended to hurl US Navy jets off future aircraft carriers and into the sky.
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Faster, more cost-effective DNA test for crime scenes, disease diagnosis
Scientists in Japan are reporting development of a faster, less expensive version of the fabled polymerase chain reaction (PCR) a DNA test widely used in criminal investigations, disease diagnosis, biological research and other applications. The new method could lead to expanded use of PCR in medicine, the criminal justice system and elsewhere, the researchers say. Their study is scheduled for the July 15 issue of Analytical Chemistry, a semi-monthly journal.
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NASA Tests Alternate Launch Abort System For Astronaut Escape
NASA has successfully demonstrated an alternate system for future astronauts to escape their launch vehicle. A simulated launch of the Max Launch Abort System, or MLAS, took place Wednesday morning at 6:26 a.m. at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility, Wallops Island, Va.
The unpiloted launch tested an alternate concept for safely propelling a future spacecraft and its crew away from a problem on the launch pad or during ascent. The MLAS consists of four solid rocket abort motors inside a bullet-shaped composite fairing attached to a full-scale mockup of the crew module.
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The unpiloted launch tested an alternate concept for safely propelling a future spacecraft and its crew away from a problem on the launch pad or during ascent. The MLAS consists of four solid rocket abort motors inside a bullet-shaped composite fairing attached to a full-scale mockup of the crew module.
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Supersonic Technology Named Nasa Commercial Invention of 2008
The 2008 NASA Commercial Invention of the Year is a high temperature resin designed to create composites through low-cost manufacturing processes -- ideal for advanced aerospace vehicles.
Researchers at NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va., were able to create the unique material, which is ideal for the high temperatures of supersonic flight. The material, known as PETI-330, is used in the development of advanced composite fabrication technology for the agency's aeronautics supersonics program. PETI-330 is patented as "Composition of and Method for Making High Performance Resins for Infusion and Transfer Molding Processes."
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Researchers at NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va., were able to create the unique material, which is ideal for the high temperatures of supersonic flight. The material, known as PETI-330, is used in the development of advanced composite fabrication technology for the agency's aeronautics supersonics program. PETI-330 is patented as "Composition of and Method for Making High Performance Resins for Infusion and Transfer Molding Processes."
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Cyclone Biomass Engine Takes Next Step in Powering DARPA's EATR Bot
A DARPA-funded robot that refuels itself on wood, grass--even decaying biomatter--whatever it can consume has met its perfect match--a biomass engine system called the Cyclone which we featured last year in our annual Invention Awards. Cyclone has just completed trials of their engine that will eventually digest EATR's foraged meals into power, just like Mr. Fusion.
The Energetically Autonomous Tactical Robot (EATR) is a prototype military reconnaissance 'bot that could keep going and going, except that it's not dependent on long-lasting batteries. The robot would instead use a waste heat engine developed by Cyclone Power Technologies to continually fuel itself on plants and other biomass from the surrounding environment.
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The Energetically Autonomous Tactical Robot (EATR) is a prototype military reconnaissance 'bot that could keep going and going, except that it's not dependent on long-lasting batteries. The robot would instead use a waste heat engine developed by Cyclone Power Technologies to continually fuel itself on plants and other biomass from the surrounding environment.
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Printed silicon-nanoparticle transistor reaches amorphous-silicon performance
NanoGram Corporation (Milpitas, CA) announced the first fabrication of a thin-film transistor (TFT) produced from ambient printed nanosilicon to reach a carrier mobility of 2.0 cm2/Vs. The TFT is based on a nonpyrophoric material and was produced by Sharp Laboratories of America (Camas, WA), a subsidiary of Sharp (Osaka, Japan).
NanoGram's printable silicon material is based on nanoscale crystalline silicon particles formulated into inks, which can be ink-jetted or spin-coated onto a substrate and then fabricated into a TFT. The proprietary ink technology was developed as part of NanoGram's technology-development agreement with Teijin Limited (Osaka, Japan).
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NanoGram's printable silicon material is based on nanoscale crystalline silicon particles formulated into inks, which can be ink-jetted or spin-coated onto a substrate and then fabricated into a TFT. The proprietary ink technology was developed as part of NanoGram's technology-development agreement with Teijin Limited (Osaka, Japan).
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Forget gas, batteries — pee is new power source
Scientists can create cheap hydrogen from urine for use in fuel cells.
Urine-powered cars, homes and personal electronic devices could be available in six months with new technology developed by scientists from Ohio University.
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Urine-powered cars, homes and personal electronic devices could be available in six months with new technology developed by scientists from Ohio University.
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Google's Operating System Escalates Microsoft Duel
Google Inc. is hoping to gain greater control over how personal computers work by developing a free operating system that will attack Microsoft Corp.'s golden goose — its long-dominant Windows franchise.
The new operating system will be based on Google's 9-month-old Web browser, Chrome. Google intends to rely on help from the community of open-source programmers to develop the Chrome operating system, which is expected to begin running computers in the second half of 2010.
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The new operating system will be based on Google's 9-month-old Web browser, Chrome. Google intends to rely on help from the community of open-source programmers to develop the Chrome operating system, which is expected to begin running computers in the second half of 2010.
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