Now, a team of MIT researchers has come up with a very different approach: building cubes or towers that extend the solar cells upward in three-dimensional configurations. Amazingly, the results from the structures they’ve tested show power output ranging from double to more than 20 times that of fixed flat panels with the same base area.
via Solar ‘towers’ beat panels by up to 20x | ScienceBlog.com.
GOING UNDERGROUND ON CAMPUS
Tapping the Earth for Clean, Efficient Heating and Cooling
“Using neutrinos, it would be possible to communicate between any two points on Earth without using satellites or cables,” said Dan Stancil, professor of electrical and computer engineering at NC State and lead author of a paper describing the research. “Neutrino communication systems would be much more complicated than today’s systems, but may have important strategic uses.
via Researchers send instant message with neutrinos | ScienceBlog.com.
From Wiki.
A neutrino detector is a physics apparatus designed to study neutrinos. Because neutrinos are only weakly interacting with other particles of matter, neutrino detectors must be very large in order to detect a significant number of neutrinos. Neutrino detectors are often built underground to isolate the detector from cosmic rays and other background radiation.[1] The field of neutrino astronomy is still very much in its infancy – the only confirmed extraterrestrial sources so far are the Sun and supernova SN1987A. Neutrino observatories will “give astronomers fresh eyes with which to study the universe.”[2]
Are ESLs A Mercury-Free Replacement for CFL Lights? | Green Prophet.
If only there were a light bulb as efficient as a compact fluorescent light (CFL), but without the ghastly green light and brain-eating toxic mercury. Am I asking too much? The inventors of the Electron Stimulated Luminance (ESL) lights don’t think so. A company called Vu1 plans to sell ESL bulbs in Europe and the Mideast in 2013. Vu1 lights are based on cathode ray tube (CRT) technology, are dim-able and have the cozy glow of incandescent light bulbs. How did Vu1 accomplish this magic? It helps that I know a little bit about CRTs from the days when my brother and I repaired old televisions.
We analyzed usage data of the www.calcudoku.org number puzzle website for the years 2010 and 2011, consisting of over 1 million solved puzzles, attempting to determine the numerical intelligence of users of Internet Explorer (IE), Firefox, and Chrome (insufficient data was available for users of other browsers).
It may be possible to travel to space in an elevator as early as 2050, a major construction company has announced.
In contrast to conventional computers that are based on transistors with distinct “on” and “off” or “1” and “0” states, quantum computers are built from devices called qubits that exploit the quirky properties of quantum mechanics. Unlike a transistor, a qubit can represent a multiplicity of values simultaneously.
via Physicists Create a Working Transistor From a Single Atom – NYTimes.com.
Rather than trying to merge flat chips with round optical fibres, the team of scientists used high-pressure chemistry techniques to deposit semiconducting materials layer by layer directly into tiny holes in optical fibres. This bypasses the need to integrate fibre-optics onto a chip, and means that the data signal never has to leave the fibre.
via Soton boffins embed electronic components into optical fibres – Techworld.com.
Meanwhile, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology announced in Novemebr that they had developed photonic chips that use light beams rather than electrons. The arrival of photonic computers could help speed traffic across fibre optic networks by eliminating a conversion process, the researchers said.
The Makani Airborne Wind Turbines, which resemble a fleet of mini airplanes, are launched when wind speeds reach 3.5 meters per second. Rotors on each blade help propel it into orbit, and double as turbines once airborne. The blades are tethered to the ground with a cord that delivers power to throw them into the sky and receives energy generated by the turbines to be sent to the grid-connected ground station.
via Kite-Like Turbines Harness Wind Power At Altitude | TechCrunch.
The Internet Real-Time Lab (IRT) in the Computer Science Department at Columbia University conducts research in the areas of Internet and multimedia services: Internet telephony, wireless and mobile networks, streaming, quality of service, resource reservation, dynamic pricing for the Internet, network measurement and reliability, service location, network security, media on demand, content distribution networks, multicast networks and ubiquitous and context-aware computing and communication.