SOLAR IMPULSE - Solar Impulse 2 Whereas the prototype uses existing technologies, Solar Impulse HB-SIB requires the development of new materials and new construction methods. Solvay has invented electrolytes that allow the energy density of the batteries to be increased; Bayer MaterialScience is allowing the project to make use of its nanotechnologies; and Décision is using carbon fibers that are lighter in weight than any previously seen. The first wing spar section was delivered to Dübendorf in March 2012. After the official presentation of Solar Impulse 2 to the public on April 9th, the airplane will be rigorously tested during 2014, and the Round-The-World flight will be attempted between March and July 2015.
The future: MakerBot’s badass 3D scanner prototype lets you replicate real-world objects MakerBot has announced a new Digitizer 3D Desktop Scanner prototype that analyzes real-world objects and generates designs compatible with its 3D printer line. A preview page for the scanner, which uses lasers and cameras to essentially create a 3D CAD model, is up on the MakerBot site, but the project is still in prototype stage, so it’s likely going to be a while before this thing is released. “We are super excited to be able to announce at SXSW Interactive that we are developing the MakerBot Digitizer Desktop 3D Scanner,” MakerBot CEO Bre Pettis said in a statement. “It’s a natural progression for us to create a product that makes 3D printing even easier. Pettis went on to note that “archiving, prototyping, replicating, and digitizing prototypes, models, parts, artifacts, artwork, sculptures, clay figures, jewelry, etc.” are all possible uses for the scanner. “If something gets broken, you can print it again,” he said. Image credit: iStockphoto
Great Lakes Science Center Great Lakes Science Center is funded by the citizens of Cuyahoga County through Cuyahoga Arts and Culture, grants, funds, and corporate and individual gifts. The museum opened in July 1996. The center's exhibits support STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) with exhibits including the BioMedTech Gallery, advanced energy, science phenomena and space. The Science Center is home to the NASA Glenn Visitor Center, one of only 11 such Visitor Centers in the country.[2] Also, Science Center staff conduct daily science demonstrations. Throughout the school year, the Science Center provides STEM education to field trip students each year with programs and exhibits supporting classroom curriculum by meeting Ohio Revised Standards in Science. The Science Center installed a wind turbine in its front yard in summer 2006. NASA Glenn Visitor Center[edit] The Skylab 3 Apollo Command Module is on display in the visitor center. OMNIMAX Theater[edit] Steamship William G. Great Science Academy[edit]
MakerBot Unveils Digitizer Desktop 3D Scanner MakerBot opened this year's SXSW in Austin by unveiling the MakerBot Digitizer Desktop 3D Scanner, a device intended to facilitate 3D printing on the company's flagship devices. "It's a natural progression for us to create a product that makes 3D printing even easier," Bre Pettis, CEO of MakerBot, said in a statement. "With the MakerBot Digitizer Desktop 3D Scanner, now everyone will be able to scan a physical item, digitize it, and print it in 3D – with little or no design experience." At this point, the Digitizer 3D scanner is still a prototype, and MakerBot said it will spend time testing, scanning, and 3D printing the items scanned with it. "The MakerBot Digitizer Desktop 3D Scanner is an innovative new way to take a physical object, scan it, and create a digital file – without any design, CAD software or 3D modeling experience at all – and then print the item again and again on a MakerBot Replicator 2 or MakerBot Replicator 2X Experimental 3D Printer," Pettis said.
learn morse code Berkeley creates the first graphene earphones, and (unsurprisingly) they’re awesome Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley have created the first ever graphene audio speaker: an earphone. In its raw state, without any kind of optimization, the researchers show that graphene’s superior physical and electrical properties allow for an earphone with frequency response comparable to or better than a pair of commercial Sennheiser earphones. A loudspeaker (or earphone or headphone) works by vibrating a (usually) paper diaphragm (aka a cone), creating pressure waves in the air around you. Depending on the frequency of these waves, different sounds are created. Human ears, depending on their age, can usually hear frequencies between 20Hz (very low pitch) and 20KHz (very high). In Berkeley’s graphene earphone, the diaphragm is made from a 30nm-thick, 7mm-wide sheet of graphene. Graphene earphone frequency response (top), vs. Now read: Hype-kill: Graphene is awesome, but a very long way from replacing silicon
atlantiksolar | A UAV for the first-ever autonomous solar-powered crossing of the Atlantic Ocean UCL Hazard Centre Collecting Lava Samples on Kilauea, Hawaii Pyroclastic Flow at Montserrat Novarupta Dome, Katmai National Park, Alaska Communities at risk from coastal flooding and storm surge, Albay Province Sakurajima eruption 21st July 2013 The UHC at University College London (UCL) is one of Europe’s leading multidisciplinary academic centres for hazard and risk research, education and knowledge exchange. The UHC is always interested to hear from those aiming to integrate scientific knowledge and research into their risk reduction and natural resource management programmes.
Solve Puzzles for Science | Foldit climateprediction.net | The world's largest climate modelling experiment for the 21st century Deadly Shadow of Vesuvius | Can We Predict Eruptions? by Peter Tyson In a word, yes. But that assertion, like saying we can predict the weather, bears significant caveats. Still, under ideal conditions, volcanologists have recently met with a great deal of success in foretelling eruptions. Not surprisingly, volcanologists have had the most success at volcanoes that host their own observatories. They know when and how Kilauea will erupt because it does so frequently and predictably, and because after decades of intensive study they know the volcano inside and out. Satellite data can greatly aid such mapping, and volcanologists are looking forward to using images generated by the Earth Observing System after it is launched in 1999. The Volcanologist's Toolkit When a volcano's eruptive history is known, researchers can more confidently turn to modern techniques to help them call the next eruption. Seismic networks can transmit data by radio 24 hours a day to computer-equipped monitoring stations well out of harm's reach. Measuring Vapors
Pacific Sea Level Monitoring Project The Pacific Sea Level Monitoring (PSLM), operates under the Climate and Oceans Support Program in the Pacific (COSPPac). It is a continuation of the 20-year South Pacific Sea Level and Climate Monitoring Project (SPSLCMP) The 14 Pacific Island countries participating in the project are the Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. The primary goal of the project is to generate an accurate record of variance in long-term sea level for the Pacific region. The project also provides information about the processes, scale and implications of sea-level rise and variability of extreme events on South Pacific communities. Pacific Region Data Products and Reports Archived Data Products Pacific Sea-Level Monitoring Network Twelve of the participating countries host a permanent tide gauge facility, which provides information on sea levels and tides.
Nanotubes and Buckyballs Home > Introduction > Nanotubes and Buckyballs Last Updated: Tuesday, 29-May-2012 06:53:42 PDT Go directly to Websites Nanotube: "Conceptually, single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) can be considered to be formed by the rolling of a single layer of graphite (called a graphene layer) into a seamless cylinder. A one dimensional fullerene (a convex cage of atoms with only hexagonal and/or pentagonal faces) with a cylindrical shape. Strictly speaking, any tube with nanoscale dimensions, but generally used to refer to carbon nanotubes, which are sheets of graphite rolled up to make a tube. Nanotubes can be either electrically conductive or semiconductive, depending on their helicity, leading to nanoscale wires and electrical components. A nanotube's chiral angle--the angle between the axis of its hexagonal pattern and the axis of the tube--determines whether the tube is metallic or semiconducting. A graphene sheet can be rolled more than one way, producing different types of carbon nanotubes.
CAVE | Projects: Self-Powered Camera We have designed a simple pixel circuit, where the pixel’s photodiode can be used to not only measure the incident light level, but also to convert the incident light into electrical energy. A sensor architecture is developed where, during each image capture cycle, the pixels are used first to record and read out the image and then used to harvest energy and charge the sensor’s power supply. We have conducted several experiments using off-the-shelf discrete components to validate the practical feasibility of our approach.