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NEWS
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Plastic
power
A special plastic can store
large amounts of electricity and discharge it rapidly,
two key qualities of the capacitors used in electronic
devices from computers to electric vehicles. The material
could be used to make small, lightweight capacitors that
would be especially applicable to hybrid cars. (A Dielectric
Polymer with High Electric Energy Density and Fast Discharge
Speed, Science, July 21, 2006)
Biodiesel beats ethanol
A comparison
of ethanol and biodiesel shows that ethanol yields
25 percent more energy than is used in its production
and biodiesel 93 percent more. Ethanol reduces emissions
by 12 percent compared to fossil fuels and biodiesel reduces
emissions by 41 percent. Biodiesel also produces less
agricultural pollution than ethanol: 1, 8.3 and 13 percent
of the nitrogen, phosphorus and pesticides respectively.
(Environmental, Economic, and Energetic Costs and Benefits
of Biodiesel and Ethanol Biofuels, Proceedings of the
National Academy of Sciences, published online July 12,
2006)
Surround vision
A sphere
made of light-sensing optical fibers can measure light
in the entire space around it, unlike traditional light-detecting
systems and biological eyes which work in a narrow field
of view. The technique could be used to make clothing
that "sees" and enable light-controlled input for large
computer screens. (Large-Scale Optical-Field Measurements
with Geometric Fibre Constructs, Nature Materials, July
2006)
Also see Fibers
mix light and electricity, TRN, November 17/24, 2004.
Living sensors
Using parts of cell membranes to encapsulate
live cells inside silica keeps the cells alive long
enough to incorporate them in devices. The technique could
advance efforts to use cells as biochemical sensors and
biological reactors for producing drugs and other substances.
(Cell-Directed Assembly of Lipid-Silica Nanostructures
Providing Extended Cell Viability, Science, July 21, 2006)
Atom sorter
A laser
trap and optical tweezers combination makes it possible
to order and precisely position groups of individual atoms.
The technique could lead to memory devices for quantum
computers, which promise to solve certain problems like
cracking secret codes that are far beyond today's computers.
(Quantum Engineering: An Atom-Sorting Machine, Nature,
July 13, 2006)
Test tube electronics
A chemical
process for producing quantum-dot-based photodetectors
is not only less expensive and more flexible than standard
methods, it produces more sensitive detectors. The process
shows that solution-based, or "wet chemistry", fabrication
of electronics has the potential to yield high-quality
devices as well as significantly lowering costs. (Ultrasensitive
Solution-Cast Quantum Dot Photodetectors, Nature, July
13, 2006) |
FEATURES
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View
from the High Ground: ICL's John Pendry
Physics as machine tool, negative refractive
index, metamaterials, shattered wine glasses, higher capacity
DVDs, scientific backwaters, risk perception and practice,
practice, practice.
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How
It Works: Quantum computing: qubits
Photons, electrons and atoms, oh my! These particles are
the raw materials for qubits, the basic building blocks
of quantum computers. |
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"Physics
is to the rest of science what machine tools are
to engineering. A corollary is that science places
power in our hands which can be used for good or
ill. Technology has been abused in this way throughout
the ages from gunpowder to atomic bombs."
- John Pendry, Imperial College London |
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Thanks
to Kevin from
GoldBamboo.com
for technical support |
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