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Nuclear battery for new technology gadgets

Posted by upendra singh rathore | Educational,Technology | Monday 19 October 2009 9:40 am

Nuclear battery technology began in 1913, when Henry Moseley first demonstrated the Beta Cell. The field received considerable research attention for applications requiring long-life power sources for space needs during the 50s and 60s. Over the years many types and methods have been developed. The scientific principles are well known, but modern nano-scale technology and new wide bandgap semiconductors have created new devices and interesting material properties not previously available.Batteries using the energy of radioisotope decay to provide long-lived power (10–20 years) are being developed internationally. Conversion techniques can be grouped into two types: thermal and non-thermal. The thermal converters (whose output power is a function of a temperature differential) include thermoelectric and thermionic generators. The non-thermal converters (whose output power is not a function of a temperature difference) extract a fraction of the incident energy as it is being degraded into heat rather than using thermal energy to run electrons in a cycle. Atomic batteries usually have an efficiency of 0.1–5%. High efficiency betavoltaics have 6–8%.mizzou-battery-nuclear

The batteries have always been the Achilles’ heel of the mobile devices. Usually, the designers of electronic devices for mass consumption (like laptops or media players) use small displays or screens that are not very bright in order to save the scarce energy resources that are provided from the regular batteries. But the new nuclear battery would bring a solution based on a liquid semiconductor (rather than a solid semiconductor) that will produce a much longer lifetime for the battery. The reason is the solid semiconductors are attacked constantly by some radioactive elements used by other types of batteries, while the liquid semiconductor is quite resistant  to these attacks. Although the term “nuclear” can be a little perturbing, the fact is that these batteries are not very different from those batteries used in, for example, medical pacemakers.

One important thing is the batteries need to be small and thin in order to be practical and useful; this way, they could be used to power watches and small electronic devices. As mentioned before, the prototype (which you can see in the picture below) has the size and thickness of a penny, but the researchers think they can achieve a thinner battery. In order to do this, Kwon has required the collaboration of another professor: J. David Robertson (chemistry professor and associate director of the MU Research Reactor). Together, they hope to maximize the power of the nuclear batteries as well as reduce the size and test other materials to make additional improvements. Kwon thinks that the final battery, which would be used in commercial gadgets, could be thinner than a human hair. For the moment, the research team have required a provisional patent in order to protect the exclusive right to use this invention.

World’s Fastest Hydrogen Car!

Posted by upendra singh rathore | Educational,Technology | Monday 19 October 2009 3:49 am

World-039-s-Fastest-Hydrogen-Car-2The most interesting automobile to hit the “market” of incredible prototypes that actually work is the BMW H2R Record Car. You wouldn’t think a hydrogen car could do so much, but this is not just an electric car.

She’s a fine example of German craftsmanship combined with the latest technology in the field of alternative fuel sources and it was built with the intention of setting new records in hydrogen performance.

After spending incredible amounts of time, money and energy to spearhead the production of hydrogen-powered vehicles, the result is worthy of the name BMW. The groundbreaking result set nine world records and proved that hydrogen has the best chances to become the fuel of the future.

The exterior design is as futuristic as the general theme of the car. Having smooth lines, aerodynamic design and gleaming silver body, it looks more like a
marine predator from the future. The car has a lightweight aluminum chassis, a monocoque aluminum space frame and an outer skin composed of carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic.

This gives her a superb stability and a truly impressive top speed, with a greatly appreciated support from the 245/40/19 tires and from the suspension system, which uses a double-wishbone, spring-strut front axle, rack-and-pinion steering, forged-aluminum track control arms (with two ball joints for superior wheel guidance and directional stability), a tie bar and an anti-roll bar.

Technical specifications are also remarkable, as she uses a 6-liter V12 liquid-hydrogen-powered engine, generating 232 horsepower. This technological wonder can propel the car to a top speed of over 187 mph (301 km/h) and makes her accelerate from 0 to 62 mph (0-100 km/h) in 6 seconds, which is quite a performance for most cars using the classical internal combustion engines.

The H2R attained world best times and speeds for a hydrogen-powered car in the flying-start kilometer, flying-start mile, standing-start 1/8 mile, standing-start 1/4 mile, standing-start 1/2 kilometer, standing-start mile, standing-start 10 miles, standing-start kilometer and standing-start 10 kilometers.

China telecoms market to surpass Japan by 2014

Posted by upendra singh rathore | Technology | Monday 19 October 2009 3:45 am

China’s telecommunications market is on track to generate $187 billion by 2014, fueled by mobile uptake in its rural areas and by 3G technology, according to Pyramid Research.

The latest annual report from the analyst firm estimated that the country’s telecoms market generated $110 billion last year, “making it the second largest telecommunications services market in the Asia-Pacific region after Japan.”

Pyramid estimates that the Chinese market will surpass Japan by 2014, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 8.8 percent between this year and then.

Daniel Yu, Pyramid Research analyst said: “China, like many emerging markets, is becoming an increasingly mobile market, adding 71.2 million mobile subscriptions in 2008, roughly 12 percent of all additions worldwide and second only to India’s 113.3 million net additions.”

Rising penetration of mobile services will push revenue growth from 58 percent at year-end 2009 to 80 percent at year-end 2014, with mobile services expected to account for more than 76 percent of total services revenue in the country by then.

The growth of China’s mobile industry will weather the economic decline, driven by the rollout of 3G networks and extended coverage into rural areas. Yu highlighted China Mobile dedicating 30 percent of its total capital expenditure to 2G network expansion, and 70 percent of that allocation to the rural market.

Another analyst firm, Gartner, remarked last year that China’s growth in broadband penetration will lead the next wave of growth in the region. However, Gartner’s report also noted that service providers in the emerging markets will focus on increasing connections and will not be able to raise the level of additional services to match that of mature markets.

Since the awarding of the country’s 3G licenses in January, China’s operators have been working to accelerate roll out of the faster networks. This is expected to spark a new wave of 3G investments in the market, although China’s delay to award the licenses was said to have stalled investment, as carriers remained cautious

What is i-Mode

Posted by upendra singh rathore | Technology | Monday 19 October 2009 3:43 am

imode_big5i-Mode is the packet-based service for mobile phones offered by Japan’s leader in wireless technology, NTT DoCoMo. Unlike most of the key players in the wireless arena, i-Mode eschews the Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) and uses a simplified version of HTML, Compact Wireless Markup Language (CWML) instead of WAP’s Wireless Markup Language (WML). NTT DoCoMo has said that eventually it will support WAP and WML, but the company has not said exactly when this will happen.
First introduced in 1999, i-Mode was the world’s first smart phone for Web browsing. The i-Mode wireless data service offers color and video over many phones. Its mobile computing service enables users to do telephone banking, make airline reservations, conduct stock transactions, send and receive e-mail, and have access to the Internet. As of early 2000, i-Mode had an estimated 5.6 million users

Top 10 Upcoming Technologies that can Change your Life

Posted by upendra singh rathore | Technology | Monday 19 October 2009 3:40 am

Here is a list of 10 top and most potential upcoming technologies than can transform your life.

mobile-robotHydrogen Economy: With the increasing hike in fuel prices the best alternative option for fossil fuel is to use hydrogen. This can be done by converting water into hydrogen which can be used as fuel for various purposes. Water is the only byproduct obtained as a result of combustion of hydrogen. But the major problem faced is the storage of hydrogen.

Therapeutic Cloning: The major concept behind cloning is to clone organs mainly for replacement purpose. The main benefit of organ cloning is that it will reduce the risk of rejection of replaced organ by the body. With the development of this technique damaged or cancerous organ can be easily replaced by diseased free cloned organ.

Desktop 3-D Printing: With the help of 3-D printing you don’t need to visit store for latest and upcoming gadget. You can easily select a design and generate the whole gadget on your desktop with 3-D printing. Your next step could be designing, posting them or even marketing your own designs. With the help of 3-D printing you will be able to design kitchenware, toys and other household decorative items.

Location Based Computing: In near future for getting information about any object you simply need to point your mobile phone to that object. And within seconds all the information will be in your cell phone. Along with servers with Internet addresses you will also find servers with geographic coordinators.

Moore’s Law Upheld: In the year 1965 Gordon Moore cofounder of Intel stated that “the available computer power can be expected to double every other year.” Since last 2 decades computer pundits and chip industry are smashing all the barriers in the way of fulfillment of the law.

Cheaper Solar Cells: Gradually the cost of photovoltaic or solar cell is decreasing. In less than a decade it is estimated that the cost of solar energy will be almost equivalent to cost of electricity. And solar cells will be become one of the standard feature in all the residential construction. In that case your house will power itself within 1/3rd of time.

Mobile Robot: With the invention of mobile robots you simply need to send your car to pick your parcel from the city center. The recent challenge faced by DARPA is to develop robot cars which can easily navigate through suburban traffic.

Pervasive Wireless Internet: This technology enables you to be online anywhere and anytime. Recently all mobile devices like WiMAX, 4G, 3G, etc, designed keeping in mind the future of pervasive wireless interne. With this technology you will be able to check your burglar alarm through your phone.

Stem Cell or Gene Therapy: There are many disease conditions which are related with your family history. Or you can say that it is in your genes. Scientists are working hard to change all the defective genes and trick to grow the cells correctly. In near future you might see that genetic diseases can be as easily curable like pneumonia.

Digital Libraries: Digitization of accumulated work will make it easier to find an answer of factual based question online immediately. Moreover there are various institutes which are providing their courses online.

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