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POPSSpray-on solar cells
continues: "I think these materials have a lot more potential than traditional silicon," Jiang said. "They could be sprayed on any surface that is exposed to sunlight — a uniform, a car, a house." Another type of solar cell scientists are trying to develop are dye-sensitized cells, which so far are slightly less efficient than silicon cells, which convert about 12 percent of the sunlight that hits them into electricity. Typical organic cells only manage about 3 percent, prompting some scientists to caution praise for their use. Jiang and her colleagues made 20 tiny cells — each the size of a lower case "o" in standard 12-point print — and joined them together in an array to power the microscopic detector. The detector needs a 15-volt power source to work, and so far Jiang's solar cell array can provide about half of that — up to 7.8 volts in the lab tests she and her colleagues did. The next step, Jiang said, is to increase the voltage and then combine the tiny solar array
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POPSStop Alien Abductions! Trivia titbit of the day! Tin foil hats are now officially called thought screen helmets! *LOL* (Note to self: Avoid Velcro at all costs!)
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POPSOne hundred tesla without self-destructing Why would anyone need a magnet that strong? Greg Boebinger, director of the Magnet Lab, says that this magnetic field strength is the only way to test the properties of newly discovered high-temperature superconductors like iron oxyarsenide, which may improve the performance of MRI machines and high-voltage power lines while lowering their cost. A 100‑T magnet would also let you conduct certain zero-gravity experiments without traveling into space and let you develop magnetic propulsion systems that could eventually replace those that burn rocket fuel.
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POPSWhat if Electricity Was FREE??? The life story and work of Nikola Tesla. He invented AC electricity, Neon Lights, Radio transmission, The Electric motor, Wireless electricity transfer, Remote control, Hydraulics, Lasers, Space weapons, Robotics, and many, many more things. As Tesla claimed to have invented a way to harness free energy from the voltage difference in the ionosphere that causes lightning, he was seen as a threat to the world energy economy and most of his inventions were classified for national security by the US government. A lot of his discoveries in physics have not been released to the public, despite being invented nearly 100 years ago. In 2006 the first company publicly announced it could successfully power items by remote power without wires, (news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6129460. stm) something Tesla had invented nearly a century ago.
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POPSHuman-frog hybrids reveal autism's secrets To see if abnormalities in neurotransmitter signalling also underlie autism, Miledi's team collected brain samples from six deceased autistic patients, aged eight to 39. They fused brain-cell membranes, which house neurotransmitter receptors, together with Xenopus egg membranes. As a control, they did the same thing with brain cells from patients with no history of mental disorder. Miledi's team then doused the frog eggs in neurotransmitter chemicals, and measured the voltage generated within each egg. The neurotransmitter chemicals tell brain cells to pump charged molecules in and out the membrane, creating a voltage across the membrane. Since Xenopus eggs do not respond to the neurotransmitters, the human proteins are completely responsible for any electric current generated. Four of six autistic brains responded to neurotransmitters chemicals less vigorously than the controls.
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POPS30 Upcoming Movie Sequels to say Why??? Maybe I am jaded from working on movies (and many of them went straight-to-video) but the on;y ones I see with positive potential outside the stars are National Treasure 3, The Descent 2 (read the Book -they may get it right for once!), Ice Age 3 (2 was great no matter what they say), Ghost Rider 2 (It's Cage but it is a damn good story too), The Untouchables: Capone Rising (a prequel to the 1987 hit) and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (face it folks, Archeology and Pulp-Style cliffhangers will rock because of Indiana Jones!) My biggest disappointment on this list? Easily, People Under the Stairs 2. It was a horrible movie in 87 and I do not see how a sequel will help.
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POPSWant to Enhance Your Brain Power? Give Your Neurons an Electrical Jolt Very little is known about how TDCS works. Scientists theorize that the mild current primes the neurons for action but does not trigger the voltage spikes that neurons use to communicate. "Presumably, it is polarizing neurons and making them more or less likely to respond to inputs," Cognitive enhancement with drugs such as Ritalin, prescribed for attention deficit disorder, is already widespread, of course. A survey published online at Nature in April found that one in five respondents, most of whom were academics and scientists, reported using such drugs for nonmedical use. Electrical stimulation may prove even easier to access. "Half the people in this room could build this type of device with parts from RadioShack," Wassermann told a crowd at a neurotechnology conference in Cleveland last week.
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POPSNintendo Launches WiiWare Nintendo has a lot of catching up to do in the downloadable game space -- until now, all it has sold is ports of its own old console games. It's interesting to see the company focusing on new and indie developers, but that may not deliver enough buzz to make the service popular.
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POPSWhere the Real Power Lies- in the Distribution Network This article touches on one of the great strengths of solar energy - the ability to produce power in many de-centralized locations and distribute it widely with very little loss. And as in the spread of telephones, electricity, tv and railway, the real power is held by those who own the distribution network. What's especially interesting here is that you can draw parallels between solar power and the biggest network around at the moment - the internet. The way in which both these mediums are alike is that they inherently resist centralized control. While you can build giant solar power stations, there is still the capability for a homeowner to have their own mini-power station on their roof. This democratization, of information by the internet, and electricity by solar power, is, I think ,a good thing. Both for the environment and for the individual.
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POPSNanowires prefer Deep Purple The band, not ultra violet, but apparently they weren't offered a very wide selection, and the wires grown by exposure to Deep purple are described as kinky. The intention is for wires to grow straight,which can be done more easily with the standard plasma. But they also said, if they ever find a use for kinky nanowires, they know what to do. There was no mention of the way the wires grew with the other music, but I imagine the growth can be as varied as the type of music. They mention that it didn't like the German music. I wondered if nanowires like polkas
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POPSTech Info of "Fender PD250PLUS" The Passport PD-250 PLUS is perfect for use in groups up to 300-500 people in size, corporate presentations, health and fitness classes, mobile DJ’s, schools and sporting events. I would recommend this system, for the first reason that it already consists of both input and output sources. Its’ six-channel mixer are distributed to 4 mic/line, 1 stereo and 1 CD-player. The stereo amplifier, which has 250 watts of power, has 125 watts per channel. There’s two 5.5” woofer and dual arrayed 2.75” tweeters per speaker enclosure. It comes together with two P-51 mic kits and two 9m speaker cables, and it’s compatible with Passport wireless accessories. Additionally, it also has a master reverb control.
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