Cool Earth Solar’s Party Plan

Cool Earth Solar’s Party Plan

Author JoeDigital | 16.12.2008 | Category Science, Technology, world news

It look’s like a giant party balloon but like many things in life, looks can be deceiving. The big shiny balloons aren’t for a party though the company has reason to celebrate.

The huge balloons set to go up near the national library of Livermore are the main component in Cool Earth Solar’s efforts to economize solar power. The objects described by Rob Lamkin Chief exectutive at Cool Earth Solar as “an inflated solar concentrator that’s made of thin-film plastic.” The basic theory being that concentrated sunlight produces more power than conventional sunlight.

The device which measures 8 feet in diameter comprises of one reflective and one clear side focuses sunlight 500 times its usual intensity onto a solar cell placed inside the balloon. This along with a tracking and cooling system is the heart of the entire operation. These balloons are then attached onto poles or on a grid.

The balloons which are made from same packing material used in Lays and Powerbar. This frugal approach towards materials used is helping the company achieve power generation on a very economical scale. With each balloon producing 1 Killowatt of power the company aims to deliver power at 1$ per watt.

SETI But For The Sun

Author JoeDigital | 10.12.2008 | Category Computers, Science

Using Idle computers to search the Sun

Scientists at Harvard University and IBM are hoping to harness the power of a million idle computers to develop a new, cheaper form of solar power that could revolutionize the green energy world. Researchers have launched the project using IBM’s World Community Grid, which taps into volunteers’ computers across the globe to run calculations on a myriad of compounds — potentially shortening a project that could take 22 years to just two years.

Harvard scientists are hoping the project will allow it to discover a combination of organic materials that can be used to manufacture plastic solar cells that are cheaper and more flexible than the silicon-based ones typically used to turn sunlight into electricity.

With more than a million volunteers currently linked to the World Community Grid, IBM said it had created a network with a massive calculating capability that would rank it among the top 10 most powerful supercomputers in the world. Members of the grid download software to their personal computers that run the calculations as a screensaver program on the machine when it is turned on but not in use. IBM includes security software to protect the participants’ computers.

Such virtual networks are also in place to crunch data for other projects, such as SETI’s effort to sift through radio telescope signals for signs of extraterrestrial life in the universe.

Source:- Reuters

Superhuman Strength Through A Bio-suit

Author JoeDigital | 18.09.2008 | Category Japanese Technology, Science

Remember the cool looking robotic lift that Sigourney Weaver used to battle the Alien?  It was such a futuristic device that we all knew something like that could never exist. well, Japan’s CYBERDYNE, Inc has done one better.  Instead of a huge and cumbersome machine you strap yourself into, the bio-suit looks more like the uniform of an Imperial Stormtrooper, but it promises to magnify the natural strength of a human being many times over.

Gaining strength through technology

And while we’re talking science fiction, we should also point out tht Cyberdyne is the name of the company responsible for the machines trying to take over the world in the Terminator movies.  But this is real, and it’s happening now.  The prototype of the exoskeleton suit is only five feet, three inches (1.6 m) tall, and the suit weighs 50.7 pounds.  (23 kg).  Depending on how much use it is put to, the 100 volt AC battery can last for as much as 5 hours between charging.

Several other companies are also trying to develop similar bio-suits, including MIT.  Projected uses are to enable the disabled, and perform tasks that the human body is much too soft and weak to perform on its own.  I just hope this doesn’t mean the Aliens are coming.

EarPopper - Non-Surgical Ear Treatment

Author ColGlobe | 27.08.2008 | Category Innovation, Science

The EarPopper is a truly innovative solution to common ear problems

Every year, hundreds of thousands of children are afflicted with inner ear problems, which have until now been commonly treated with surgically implanted tubes, or even more intensive treatments.  Now, two U.S. doctors have developed a better solution, called the EarPopper™.  It consists of a small, hand-held and battery operated unit, the tip of which is inserted into the nostril.  When the user activates the device and then swallows, air is passed upwards through the nasal cavity and into the ear canal, where it causes the ear to pop in much the same way as an ear pops when you yawn during an airplane flight.

The EarPopper is only slightly larger than a nasal spray bottle

At a cost of around $200 for the home use version, and only $300 for the office version (which has disposable tips to allow multiple uses by different people), this little device has the potential to save thousands of dollars, and reduce doctor visits dramatically.  It is safe for infants, children, and adults, and contains absolutely no drugs or chemicals, just an injection of ordinary air accompanied by an audible buzzing sound.

This revolutionary treatment device was invented by two doctors from New York City, an ENT Surgeon, and a professor of Audiology.  It offers a solution that is cheaper and safer than tubes and the inconveniences associated with then. If you, or someone you know, has to deal with ear problems, the EarPopper is available worldwide, and is marketed directly through the EarPopper™ website.

Golden Shellback - Moisture Proof Coating

Author ColGlobe | 30.07.2008 | Category Innovation, Science

Have you, or someone you know, been caught in the rain, and had a digital device ruined?  Golden Shellback to the rescue!  This moisture proof coating is repellent to water and oils, resistant to dust and dirt, and won’t cause cancer in laboratory mice.  Okay, I made the last part up, but the website says that it isn’t flammable or harmful.  It probably won’t help some of the people I know, who’ve dropped their phones in water or the Throne, but the picture DOES show a cellphone half immersed, which is an intriguing concept to ponder.

DelFly Micro - Dragonfly Sized Ornithopter

Author ColGlobe | 30.07.2008 | Category Robotics, Science, Technology, cameras

This could be one of the coolest flying machines to come along since flying machines have been coming along.  It’s an ornithopter, which means that it flies the way a a bird would fly, with flapping wings.  What makes it especially interesting is that it is tiny, measuring only 10cm from wingtip to wingtip, and it weighs a whopping 3 grams.  It is remote controlled, and contains a miniature camera, and holds the title of the smallest flying machine with a camera in the world.  Mimicing flight has been a challenge for humanity for as long as we’ve been self-aware, and realized that we couldn’t do it it ourselves.  Greek mythology is credited with the first story of human flight, and inventors have taken stabs at flying machines doazens of times over the centuries, even such notable names as Leonardo DaVinci.  But no one has ever built a machine this small that could fly under it’s own power.

This one has quite a few traits in common with insects.  The Delfly Micro’s wings that actually resemble those of a dragonfly, which is credited with being one of the first flying animals to ever exist.   In fact, it has quite a few similarities to insects, including antennae and filmy wings.  It can fly forward at a rate of 15m/s, is able to compensate for light winds, and has the amazing ability to fly backward at the smail’s pace of .5m/s

As a scientific device, the DelFly promises to be a boon for areodynamics, and has already required the sciences of mechanics, areodynamics, and phototechnology to cooperate.  Plans are to use it for research in flight and micromechanics, but we can only wait to see how long it takes government powers to snatch it up and hide it away from the public eye.

Exhibits Embrace Bone Conduction Technology

Author ColGlobe | 10.07.2008 | Category Innovation, Science, Technology

Ready for this?  Bone conduction technology has advanced to use in public exhibitions.  Imagine, placing your hands over your ears to HEAR the sound of a tour exhibit, without disturbing those who don’t want to hear it.  Have you ever been annoyed in a large museum by the constant monotone droning of various exhibit recordings all going at once?  Using this form of sound distribution, the vibrations of sound are contained within contact points, and travels to your eardrums through your body, giving you a full experience of the discussion that seems to.. literally.. travel through your bones.

Mars Rovers: 4 Years Old And Going Strong

Author JoeDigital | 19.06.2008 | Category Gadgets, Innovation, Science, Technology

In January of 2004, two of the most sophisticated pieces of robotic equipment ever made landed on the planet Mars. These two Remote Operated Vehicles, or ROVers, began was expected to be no more than a 90 day mission on the Red Planet, but as of May of this year, they are still in operation. Four years into the 90 day project, and troves of information about the Mars has been learned, and there are high hopes that still more amazing discoveries can be made. Granted, the machines aren’t operating at full efficiency anymore, as they’ve been hammered by dust storms and endured conditions that can only be termed as out of this world, but these tiny robots gave us the first pictures from the surface of Mars we’ve ever seen.