The title says it all…
The science journal Nature reports that this company in nearby Concord, NH has announced that they were able to produce the largest single sheet made up completely of carbon nanotubes. The sheet, which measures about 2 meters in length and 1 meter wide and is about as thick as a sheet of paper, has almost half the breaking strength of a similar-sized sheet of aluminum. The company says that they expect to find markets in companies that make EMI shielding, electrical conductors, and thermal dissipating devices. There’s probably some future use for materials like this in the space program, I would imagine.
Meanwhile, this story in EETimes says that a California company has announced that they’ve perfected a manufacturing process to make catalytic nanoparticles that could be used in place of metals in hydrogen fuel cells and other things that use electrolysis to produce energy. They claim that due to the vastly increased surface area created by using millions of nanoparticles, the efficiency of the electrolysis can be improved to 85%, besting the Department of Energy’s 75% efficiency 2010 goal for hydrogen fuel cells, and holds the potential of reaching an unheardof 96% efficiency. Efficiency of energy production is critical in taking alternative fuel technologies beyond the experimental stage, and the relative inefficiency of standard electrolysis has been a serious stumbling block for hydrogen-based fuel cells.
I recently received an Apple iPod Touch as a present. On one hand, it’s a serious fun gadget to have; we took it with us on our recent trip to New York City and used the Google Map location feature to find our way around all over Manhattan (thanks to all the unsecured wireless networks people have in NYC), as well as looking up restaurants, bus schedules, and other points of interest. On the other hand, the limitations built into the iPhone/iTouch by Apple are sometimes infuriating (no Flash player, no Windows support, etc). I will undoubtedly go the route of “jailbreaking” my iTouch in the very near future so that I can make use of some of the third-party apps that work when you wrest control from Steverino’s icy clutches.
I read this morning that Apple says it won’t prevent VoIP applications from working on the iPhone/iTouch, which means that I should be able to install Skype or some Skype-like application and add the ability to make phone calls from my otherwise phone-less iTouch. I purposely did not want an iPhone because I wasn’t interested in having to sign on for a 2-year contract with AT&T (or to have to try getting it to work with some other provider), but if I can use Skype, I definitely would give that a go.
I also came across this post at OpenCulture that says that all incoming freshmen at Abilene Christian University in Texas this fall will receive either an iPhone or an iTouch and be able to use the school’s online services via the device to check food service accounts, class schedules, look up faculty/staff directory information and eventually even register for classes and purchase textbooks. They’ll also have access to podcasts of their lecture classes, be able to submit homework, and potentially even participate in class by submitting questions in writing (though I think this means the professors need to brush up on their IM-speak to be able to read the questions). While most colleges and universities have computer requirements these days, and many of them give their students a computer, this is certainly an interesting step up from those kinds of programs.
Remember the satellite that the Navy shot down a couple of weeks ago? Space expert James Oberg posted this article at MSNBC debunking some of the rumors that have already emerged about the shootdown and clearing up some other technical misconceptions that were widely mentioned in the MSM.
Lastly, Science Daily reported that researchers at the University of Alberta have found that humans have a gene that is capable of preventing HIV from assembling inside cells, effectively shutting down the disease. However, the gene is “turned off” by default in our DNA. They don’t expect to be able to turn that gene “on” (might I suggest some soft music, flowers, and dancing?), but they do hope to be able to develop drugs that mimic the effect of the gene and could indeed halt the progression of HIV. If you’re the sort who likes to read this stuff for yourself, the full report can be found here. (I read the abstract, but gave up after that)
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