Randy's Winding Road BLOG

Practical Technology - Potpourri

 

   ... Thoreau "Men have become the tools of their tools."

 

February 2012

Graphene Frontiers

January 2012

A TED presentation: "Lisa Harouni: A primer on 3D printing"

 

 

From Nano Patents and Innovations - "Wonder Material Graphene Reveals Its Magnetic Personality"

From A Z Nano - "Graphene Nanowiggle Study Helps Develop New Era of Nanoelectronics"

December 2011

• Science Blog "GRAPHENE AS DEFENSE SHIELD FROM LASER CANONS?"
• "Graphene spun into metre-long fibres" Nature
  
  
• "New Graphene Lithium-Air Batteries Increase Energy Density and Decrease Costs" Inhabitat
  
  
• "Cambridge researchers translate graphene into printable circuitry material, bring basic 'Skynet' factory to you" endgadget
  

• "IBM Extends Graphene to Silicon Scales" IEEE Spectrum
• "Researchers enhance graphene to enable multicolor photodetection" Nanowerk

November 2011

 

• Electronics Industry Market Research and Knowledge Network

"Applications of Graphene by End User Markets"

Worth reading!

 

Honda's Asimo

 

• WOH! - Technical University of Denmark

 

 

Concept phone with nanoscale grass sensors :)

 

 

October 2011

The Honda Channel

 

"BIG MAC"  "Graphene Research Leaps Ahead with ‘Big Mac’ Architecture" (IT Pro Portal)

 

• Printed Chip - "New printed chip could spark cheaper sensor networks" (GIGAOM)
• The Prize goes to 'Graphene' "Graphene: Nobel Winners' Thin, Mighty Material Holds Much Promise" (PBS Newshour)

 

"Graphene Chemistry: Synthesis and Manipulation"

 

New Carbon Composite of Nanotubes and Graphene : DigInfo

 

Synthesis of Carbon nanotube

 

September 2011

 

• 3D Printing (The Atlantic Wire)

• "Graphene Based Metamaterials Now Possible" (Softpedia)

• "Graphene Flash Memory" (NextBigFuture)

Future Applications of Graphene (Samsung)

 

• "Super conductor graphene set for industrial production" (Reuters Video)

 

• "Nanometer Graphene Makes Novel OLEDs Display" (Graphene World)

 

• "MIT Creates New Center for Graphene Devices and Systems" (Green Car Congress)

August 2011

 

• Dr. Michio Kaku - "The World in 2030"
  CNUY Queensborough 

 

 

• Short Documentary by George Utsin featuring Hany Aziz Nano Technology Program at University of Waterloo

 

 

• Stanford University - "nanotubes + ink + paper = instant battery"

 

 

• " Taiwan unveils eco-friendly rewritable 'paper' "   (Bangkok Post )

 

• "Dream touch-screens from graphene at Rice University"

 

 

• "One Box of Girl Scout Cookies worth $15 Billion" (Rice University)

 

 

• "Graphene's first commercial use will be in flexible touchscreens" - Tech Eye
  
  Click here for a NOKIA video clip on their flex-screen phone research
  
  
• Graphene-based transparent touchscreens and solar pannels a step closer - gizmag

 

July 2011

• "'Wonder material' graphene boosts speed of electronic memory devices"  - NewKerala.com

 

• "Researchers use graphene to draw energy from flowing water, self-powered micro-robots to follow?" - endgadget

 

• Nanotechnology - Disruptive Technology

*Disruptive Innovation: Nanotechnology and the Future of Computing"

 

• "Nanocarbon Production Capacity to Exceed 12,300 Tons in 2015" - marketwire

 

• Graphene - Microsensors - Oil/Gas Exploration (redOrbit)
   "New Graphene Discovery Boosts Oil Exploration Efforts, Could Enable Self-Powered Microsensors"

 

• Pssst... want to charge that iPhone battery in a couple of seconds?
  
  Coming soon: 'Super batteries' - ZEENEWS

 

• "IBM NANOTECHNOLOGY VERY COOL! Moving Individual Atoms with Tuning Forks for Memory"

 

• "Carbon Nanotube Electronics" video
  
  

 

 

• Breakthrough - Rice University - Archair Quantum Wire
  A "weave of metalic nanotubes"...
  "Amplified nanotubes may power the future"
• MIT researchers working on heat bank technology:

        MIT News "Research update: New way to store sun’s heat"

• Solar Aircraft 

        Solar Impulse flys around the world

 

• Phone of the Future at NOKIA (flexible electronics)

        "Nokia banks on graphene for future tech"

 

•  Graphene "Paper" ("As Strong as Steel")

        "New Graphene Paper: Light, Strong, and Crazy Flexible"

 

Nanotubes + ink + paper (Stanford University)

• Russia (RT Forum -Brave New Nano: Flexible phones & graphene gadgets in RT's Technology Update)

 

 

Graphene and Nanotechnology Links...         

• grapheneworld.org
• graphene-info.com
• nanotech-now.com
• Science Daily Nanotechnology News
• Nature Nanotechnology
• NANO WERK
• PHYSORG.com Nanotechnology News

Academic Links:

• University of Washington Center for Nanotechnology

STOP SOPA - SAVE THE INTERNET

INTERNET

BLACKOUT

1/18/2012

Wearable AR Guidance System #DigInfo

via www.youtube.com

Hmmm... part of a new interface.

Bipedal Cycling Robot Can Balance, Steer and Correct Itself #DigInfo

via www.youtube.com

I need you to go to Safeway and pick up a dozen eggs and a pound of butter.

WOH! - Must Read: Move over graphene? Erbium will boost fiber optics, solar cells, computer chips… | ExtremeTech

It seems graphene, the single layer of carbon atoms that can supercharge computer chips, optical circuits, lithium-ion batteries, and solar power generation, might have a competitor: a rare earth element called erbium. Erbium salts, like graphene, have very desirable optical properties — and today’s discovery is a new erbium compound that will allow photonic and material engineers to use up to 1,000 times more erbium in optical fiber, photonic switches, and solar power cells.

via www.extremetech.com

More reason to secure rare earths supplies. Who is the world's major supplier of Erbium? (China)

http://www.baotou-rareearth.com/er.html

 

Congressional supercommittee set to admit failure in deficit-reduction talks - NYPOST.com

via www.nypost.com

Surprise - Surprise :)

Note to the Committee: Our Government or the lack there of has become extremely frustrating.

How many incumbents can we throw out in 2012?

Practical Technology - The Robots are Coming

When people discuss technology and the exploitation of technology, they frequently use descriptive terms like disruptive, and revolutionary.

Our technology based revolution continues with revolutionary new materials, advances in computing, and our knowledg of robotics. Technical change is moving fast, and may be accelerating, and there's no evidence it's going to slow down any time soon. 

Markus Fischer - Robot Seagull: TED

 

We now have robots trading stocks and currencies, assisting in surgery, flying missions in war, and watching our borders, delivering medecine, parts, food, and newspapers, and lost in space.

What tasks can a robot perform?" - eHow

What's next?

 

 

Stuck in my head today... one scene from a classic movie, with a 2011 twist...

"I just want to say one word to you. Just one word.
...
Are you listening?" - GRAPHENE!
(ala "The Graduate" 1967)

Disruptive Technology...

Practical Technology - RockMelt Social Web Browser

I made RockMelt my default browser this week, so I thought I would share one of the features I have come to like.

(RockMelt)    

One feature I really like is the ability to translate foreign language web pages. I have been using this feature for awhile now with Chinese language sites.

The screenshot below is of tech.hexun.com in Chinese. Even with the 20 plus tabs open, it takes around two seconds to translate a page like this.

The result is a translated page that is understandable:

 

 

Must Read - Air China's Zhihang Chi at a Town Hall in LA

"Air China Zhihang Chi Opines on Future of U.S.-China Relationship" - The Planning Report

The relationship between the United States and China has many faces - many dimensions. With the current political turmoil in Washington D.C., and our increasing co-depencencies based on trade, it's particularly important to understand China. RL

Air China Zhihang Chi Opines on Future of U.S.-China Relationship

 

In my own view, there is one thing we could do to improve our relationship with China and boost our economy. The United States should relax VISA requirements for Chinese toruists, provide a wavier program as Zhihang Chi suggested and the US should actively encourage Chinese tourism.

 In fact, the US State Department has made getting a VISA for a Chinese citizen very difficult, and there's a tendency to use the VISA application process for political purposes.   JMHO RL 

 

Practical Technology - Down the Road a Piece

Graphene - Miracle Material - A global race is now underway to understand and exploit the incredible possibilities associated with graphene. A recent Business Insider article mentioned research in India on solar power, Texas research aimed at developing an "active, dynamically tunable invisibility cloak", and the material is being projected as a replacement for silicon, and component in batteries.

There are a number of informative videos on graphene. 

• YouTube clip below featuring Dr. Jhonathan Hare

 

• YouTube clip with Andrew Griem (A more technical introduction)

 

• Future Applications of Graphene (Cool :)

 

 

As the Business Insider article indicated, graphite is rare.  It follows that it is also expensive (Resource Investor article). I wonder if there's and graphite on the moon :)

 

References:

Graphene Info: Graphene-Info.com

PHYSORG: "Rechargeable lithium-sulfur batteries get a boost from graphene"

 

 

'Don't Look Down' - Theme for Our Economic Destiny this Summer: The Obama/Boehner/Ryan/ Script

It's early June, 2011, and the 'market' is looking like 2008. Yesterday, it was reported that there were "No net new jobs" created on Main Street in May (CNBC - Dunkelberg), and today our President made some comments on jobs that just failed to resonate.

All our President had to offer was more rhetoric: Obama on Jobs.

Rhetoric by Washington politicians on jobs should not be a surprise, since we have not added any net new jobs in the US in over a decade, as David Stockman recently noted on MSNBC.  

 

For Republicans, job are an afterthought. Republicans advocate firing a million additional workers and spending 4 or five trillion additional dollars on tax breaks.  

Speaker Boehner:

... the Ryan budget is in fact a massive spending plan. Ryan would spend trillions on tax breaks and fire a million or so government workers. 

Wonderful!

Shrinking the economy will shrink the economy. Reduce the number of people employed. Increase unemployment and reduce contributions to social security, unemployment compensation and medicare. That's Ryan's plan. 

In my opinion it's a plan to put the pedal to the floor, accelerate the creation of a massive, global financial crisis, and drive us off the cliff.

With China fighting their own housing bubble, and Asian economies slowing down, and the economy headed for the cliff, my best advice this Summer is, "Better Not Look Down". We are, it seems at the end of the movie...

"Thelma & Louise" 

 It's the Obama/Boehner/Ryan script - Put the hammer down - Full Speed Ahead :)

 

No Truth to Rumor - Wall Street Regulation

There is no truth to the rumor that US Government regulators will require new uniforms on Wall Street: Rumored New Wall Street Uniforms :)

 

"Mad as Hell" Mr. Beale - Government Shutdown and other 2011 Political Obscenities

Reading about the disgusting political posturing over US budget issues today, and watching the media circus on cable news shows this evening, I was reminded of a couple of scenes from one of my favorite films, Network (1976 MGM).

My disgust with our government, our political parties, congress and the executive branch, is pretty well summed up by Howard Beale in this scene:

 

The next thing you know we will wake up and discover we no longer live in a Democracy. [Wait a minute! Isn't America now a "Plutocracy"?]

Perhaps we should just cancel elections. Hell yes, source that service to American Idol and FOX for the next election and MSNBC two years later. Take that un-wanted "reality" virtual! 

I like it!

 

Practical Technology - $500 Telepresence Robot

Take a look at Johnny Lee's YouTube video, and visit his blog for detail on his innovative project.

 

... more information here:

http://procrastineering.blogspot.com/2011/02/low-cost-video-chat-robot.html

There's also an interesting Google site for iRobot Create Projects.

iRobot Create Projects

Practical Technology - The Willow Garage PR2 BEER Robot :)

Do you crave technology, dig new toys, experience strange gaps in real time wandering the aisles at Fry's Electronics?

 

Awesome!