NASA Technology at 11:15 AM

NASA's centers individually and in combination have developed technology that has had big impacts on general aviation, commercial and military aircraft. The following 10 technologies are examples:

1. Computational fluid dynamics - During the 1970s, NASA developed sophisticated computer codes that could accurately predict the flow of a fluid using complex simulations, such as air over an aircraft's wing or fuel through a space shuttle's main engine.

Those codes became computational fluid dynamics, or CFD, which today is considered a vital tool for the study of fluid dynamics. CFD greatly reduces the time required to test and manufacture nearly any type of aircraft.

2. Composite structures - NASA first partnered with private industry during the 1970s to conduct research on how to develop strong, nonmetallic materials that could replace heavier metals and aluminums on aircraft.

Composite materials have gradually replaced metallic materials on parts of an aircraft's tail, wings, fuselage, engine cowlings, and landing gear doors. Using composite materials can reduce the overall weight of an aircraft and improve fuel efficiency.

3. Winglets - During the 1970s and 1980s, NASA studies led to the development of vertical endplates, or "winglets," that are now seen on many aircraft wings. This innovation is the first of three efforts on this list that were led by NASA Langley Research Center's pioneering scientist Richard Whitcomb, who was chief of the Transonic Aerodynamics Branch at Langley in Hampton, Va.

Winglets reduce vortices and drag, thereby improving airflow and fuel efficiency. The first aircraft to adopt winglets were within the general aviation and business jet communities. In the mid-1980s, Boeing produced the 747-400 commercial jetliner, which used winglets to increase its range.

A winglet flight test program at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, Calif., in 1979-80 first validated Whitcomb's research when the test aircraft - a military version of the Boeing 707 jetliner - recorded an increased fuel mileage rate of 6.5 percent.

4. Lightning protection standards - During the 1970s and 1980s, NASA conducted extensive research and flight tests to identify the conditions that cause lightning strikes, the types of currents, and the levels of threat.

The research confirmed the data that were incorporated into design guidelines that are used in new aircraft and in flight operations to protect critical digital systems.

5. Area rule - In the 1950s, Whitcomb discovered one of the most revolutionary aeronautics technologies when he researched "area rule," a concept that helped aircraft designers avoid the disruption in airflow caused by the attachment of the wings to the fuselage.

Whitcomb deduced that removing the equivalent wing cross-sectional area from that of the fuselage cross-sectional area avoided the abrupt bump and improved the distribution of flow across the longitudinal area of the aircraft. By using the area rule, aircraft designers for decades have been able to allow aircraft to fly higher, faster, and farther.

6. Turbo AE code - During the 1990s, NASA developed a computer code that generates two-dimensional simulations of potential aeroelastic problems that can occur in jet engine blades. Such problems include flutter or fatigue that can eventually cause engine fan blades to stall or fail.

With TURBO-AE, engineers can more efficiently design thinner, lighter, faster rotating blades for today's jet engines built for higher performance, lower emissions and lower noise.

7. NASA structural analysis (NASTRAN) - In the 1960s, NASA partnered with industry to develop a common generic software program that engineers could use to model and analyze different aerospace structures, including any kind of spacecraft or aircraft.

Today, NASTRAN is an industry-standard tool for computer-aided engineering of all types of structures.

8. Digital Fly-By-Wire - During the 1960s and 1970s, Dryden researchers developed and flight test the digital fly-by-wire system, which replaced heavier and less reliable hydraulics systems with a digital computer and electric wires to send signals from the pilot to the control surfaces of an aircraft.

The F-8 Digital Fly-By-Wire flight research project in 1972-73 validated the principal concepts of all-electric flight control systems now used on nearly all modern high-performance aircraft and on military and civilian transports. It was the forerunner of current fly-by-wire systems used in the space shuttles.

9. Glass cockpit - During the 1970s and 1980s, NASA created and tested the concept of an advanced cockpit display that would replace the growing number of dial and gauge instruments that were taking up space on an aircraft's flight deck.

Called a "glass cockpit," the innovative approach uses flat panel digital displays to provide the flight deck crew with a more integrated, easily understood picture of the vehicle situation. Glass cockpits are in use on commercial, military, and general aviation aircraft, and on NASA's space shuttle fleet.

10. Supercritical airfoil - During the 1960s and 1970s, Whitcomb led a team of researchers to develop and test a series of unique geometric shapes of airfoils, or wing designs, that could be applied to subsonic transport to improve lift and reduce drag.

The resulting "supercritical airfoil" shape, when integrated with the aircraft wing, minimizes drag and helps improve the aircraft's cruise efficiency. Compared to a conventional wing, the supercritical wing is flatter on the top and rounder on the bottom with a downward curve at the trailing edge.

Results of the NASA flight research at what today is known as Dryden demonstrated that aircraft using the supercritical wing concept would have increased cruising speed, fuel efficiency (about 15 percent), and flight range over those using conventional wings. As a result, supercritical wings are now commonplace on virtually every modern subsonic commercial transport.

The Future Of The Telecommunications Industry What's next? at 12:24 AM

The future of the industry is simple. Look at what has happened over the last say 2 years.....we have had an outstanding amount of devices and applications directed towards being able to connect with others.
If its going to be wireless vs wireline then its wireless hands down. But going deeper in to that I will have to say that the future will not be in just cell phones or BlackBerry's or the iphone. I think you have to look deeper into it, think of a world with readers, tablets etc ...... but at the same time being able to still connect your ever day life into these devices. The industry is evolving and a wind of change is coming too.
The telecommunication industry will go to another NEW ERA with new high speed data services enabled by LTE/WiMax/IMS, IP end-to-end. For the end-users it will mean more information to exchange, for the operators more money to make, and for the equipment vendors (Infrastructure/handset..) it will mean more complex equipment to design and deploy.

Welecome to the information age.

The ex IBM CEO, Louis Gerstner, was asked once about the future of computing. He gave a very interesting analogy as a means to answer the question. He said .... before the invention of the electrical motor, factories used to have steam engine rooms outside the plant with shafts connected to the machinery inside. After the invention of the electrical motor, all machines have their motors embedded in them.

He said .... in today's world, there are computers everywhere serving specific functions. In the future, he predicted, computing capabilities will be embedded in everything from clothes and wall paints all the way to big robots and apparatus. I don't recall if he specifically mentioned nano technology as the enabler for this evolution. But I believe it is.

Let’s take this analogy one step further and deduce the future of telecommunications. If computing is embedded in everything and connectivity becomes everywhere, then we can imagine a world in which communication devices are less visible and information flows less intrusively.

If we look at telecommunication, the primary intent has been to communicate across a distance.

From just standalone voice and data communication, the industry has over the past few years evolved to provide communication backbone for multimedia - voice, data, image and video.

To do so the initial battle between, wired (copper and optical) and wireless (multiple technologies), cable has now become a driver for convergence and coexistence.

The business will be driven by the value that is available through seamless connectivity. It is very likely that connectivity will be taken for granted in fact like any commodity could become free (see the cost of voice communication going southward).

Different industries like health care (seamless access and connectivity for health care), entertainment ( mobile access to movies, music and games), financial institutions (secure and mobile access to money transactions, shares), manufacturing (seamless access to the supply chain) would drive telecom technologies and solutions.

The requirement of seamless access would vary from very small distances (the tele part of telecommunication) to across the globe would be another driver.

So these are exciting times for any one who can create innovative that provide tangible benefits to the end user who now has access to varied options of multi media connectivity.

If you are working in this area or this topic is very important for you visit Hudson & Yorke

The Internet: Modern Technology For Cheap Calling at 4:11 PM

By bidding adieu to 20th century, the present century is blessed by modern technology. In this century, people enjoy calling at any corner of the world with a great ease and sophistication. Communication is one of the most important tool of human being, as without it one can not survive in this world. Calling over Internet is the best solution to overcome monthly telephone bills, as they can save up to 40 to 60 percent when compared with PSTN services.
People who were worried about bills are now enjoying long-distance and international calls for free or by paying very less. The voice over or IP or Internet telephony solutions has become a very popular among masses. The reasons behind the popularity is cost and simplicity. Therefore, it can be said that the Internet calling has created new horizons in the telecommunication industry. Moreover, companies big or small are reaping profits by almost double folds when compared to PSTN services. After all, calls over the Internet reduces the costs of communications, as nowadays many individuals and businesses are going for this system worldwide.

The users can easily make internet telephone calls using the packet switching technique. This type of telephone service is ideal for people who makes large number of international calls. To make internet calls one needs a high speed Internet connection, a computer, a sound card, speakers and a microphone. For making a call over Internet, one requires some special software which are used for setting up an Internet phone connection. Popularity of making calls over Internet has led many users to switch to VoIP services. Some of the reasons for gaining popularity are as follows:

1.Free calling: With the adoption of IP services, the users can enjoy free calling across the globe. One can save significant amount of money on their monthly telephone bills. As a matter of fact, by dropping traditional phone service, the users can save around 40 to 60 percent each month on their phone bill.

2.Affordable long distance calling: The users can enjoy making long distance and international calls. This is because VoIP calls are based on the packet switching technique wherein calls are routed over the Internet. The calls are charged according to the per-second instead of minutes.

3.Unified communication: In this advanced unified solution, the users can share the data, video, images and text with their near and dear ones. The Internet calling provides unified communication with others as it is backed with packet switching technique.

4.Free Calling Features: Calls over the Internet provide the users to enjoy variety of free calling features. Unlike traditional PSTN services, the Internet telephony solutions offer value added calling features including voice mail, caller ID, call conferencing, call waiting and call forwarding.

5.Convenience: Apart from the value-added features, the users enjoy convenience of call. They can access Internet calls without incurring any additional charges, regardless of geographical domain.

Many people have their priority of saving money for making telephone calls. The service providers offer users an cheaper calling rates than the normal telephone calls. But, sometimes they do offer absolutely free international calls to the users. The services offered by the companies include unlimited PC to phone calling, PC to PC and so on.

The VoIP technology is being used to make free calls across the world. By using this technology, the users will be able to make calls while surfing the Internet. As a matter of fact, calls over the Internet has become relatively cheaper than the normal phones. The users will also get their existing PSTN phone number, if the service provider has this facility.

To conclude, Internet is the most important and revolutionized communication technology. The benefits and features of making Internet calls are purely depended upon the service providers. Moreover, the Internet calls contribute in increasing the efficiency while, at the same time it low down the monthly telephone bills. It also improve productivity as it ensures excellent voice quality without any latency.

You can make such calls for example at: Conference Genie

The exhaust system at 11:03 PM

Summary: Keeping your exhaust system in good working condition is vital for fuel mileage, the environment and your safety. We will discuss how the exhaust system works, how it usually fails, and the best way to repair it.

Before you start working, make sure you have a good exhaust system if not get one at Design 911.

Your car's exhaust system carries away the gases created when the fuel and air are burned in the combustion chamber. These gases are harmful to humans and our environment. Frequent checks of your exhaust system is a must to provide for you and your family's safety. Make sure there are no holes in the exhaust system or in the passenger compartment where exhaust fumes could enter. Let's begin by listing the parts of the exhaust system and their functions.

• Exhaust manifold: The exhaust manifold attaches to the cylinder head and takes each cylinders exhaust and combines it into one pipe. The manifold can be made of steel, aluminum, stainless steel, or more commonly cast iron.
• Oxygen sensor: All modern fuel injected cars utilize an oxygen sensor to measure how much oxygen is present in the exhaust. From this the computer can add or subtract fuel to obtain the correct mixture for maximum fuel economy. The oxygen sensor is mounted in the exhaust manifold or close to it in the exhaust pipe.
• Catalytic converter: This muffler like part converts harmful carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons to water vapor and carbon dioxide. Some converters also reduce harmful nitrogen oxides. The converter is mounted between the exhaust manifold and the muffler.
• Muffler: The muffler serves to quiet the exhaust down to acceptable levels. Remember that the combustion process is a series of explosions that create allot of noise. Most mufflers use baffles to bounce the exhaust around dissipating the energy and quieting the noise. Some mufflers also use fiberglass packing which absorbs the sound energy as the gases flow through.
• Exhaust pipe: Between all of the above mention parts is the exhaust pipe which carries the gas through it's journey out your tail pipe. Exhaust tubing is usually made of steel but can be stainless steel (which lasts longer due to it's corrosion resistance) or aluminized steel tubing. Aluminized steel has better corrosion resistance than plain steel but not better than stainless steel. It is however cheaper than stainless steel.

Common Problems:

Well the worst enemy of your exhaust system is corrosion.... or more commonly known as rust. Rust is caused by moisture reacting with the iron in the steel and forming iron oxide. Moisture, or water vapor is present in the exhaust as a by-product of combustion and the catalytic converter. Moisture can also come from the outside in the form of rain.

Short trips in your car can shorten the life of your exhaust system. When you shut down your engine whatever water vapor is in the pipes condenses and turns back into a liquid. On a short trip the water never has a chance to get hot enough to turn back into water vapor and just stays in the system and rusts away the pipes. If you drive for short distances consider replacing your exhaust system with stainless steel when the plain steel one rusts through. If you drive more than 15 miles at a time then you should not have to worry about this.

If you live in an area which uses salt on the roads in the winter time, make sure to wash the underside of you car with water every few weeks. Salt speeds up the corrosion process and getting it off as soon as possible will help stop the corrosion. Make sure you run the engine after washing to drive off all of the water on the pipes.

Noticing a decrease in your gas mileage? Your oxygen sensor could be going south on you. As time goes on the oxygen sensor begins to wear out and becomes less accurate. This sometimes results in a rich fuel mixture where your engine burns more fuel than is needed. Most of the time your check engine light will come on and alert you to a failing oxygen sensor. I suggest changing the oxygen sensor every 60,000 miles just to be safe. Even though your check engine light might not be on, you could be using more gas than is needed. Pay a few bucks and change the sensor, your wallet will thank you when you have to buy less gas down the road.

The next part in line to go is the muffler. Most of the time mufflers rust through and need to be replaced. There are allot of options out there for replacement mufflers. Some cheap and some expensive. It holds true..... you get what you pay for. If you plan on keeping your car for any period of time, spend the extra cash and get an OEM muffler or a high quality name brand muffler.

On rare occasions the catalytic converter will become clogged and need to be replaced. Symptoms include loss of power, heat coming from the floor of your car, glowing red converter or a sulfur smell. Never let a mechanic tell you that you can do without the catalytic converter. Removing this component is illegal in most states and can lead to a hefty fine to the government if you are not careful.

That's about it for the exhaust system, just remember that rust is the biggest enemy to your exhaust system. Take the above mentioned steps and your exhaust system will last a long time.

WHAT IS BIODIESEL? at 6:25 PM

• Biodiesel is a clean burning renewable fuel made using natural vegetable oils and fats.
• Biodiesel is made through a chemical process which converts oils and fats of natural origin into fatty acid methyl esters (FAME). Biodiesel IS NOT vegetable oil.
• Biodiesel is intended to be used as a replacement for petroleum diesel fuel, or can be blended with petroleum diesel fuel in any proportion.
• Biodiesel does not require modifications to a diesel engine to be used.
• Biodiesel has reduced exhaust emissions compared to petroleum diesel fuel.
• Biodiesel has lower toxicity compared to petroleum diesel fuel.
• Biodiesel is safer to handle compared to petroleum diesel fuel.
• Biodiesel quality is governed by ASTM D 6751 quality parameters.
• Biodiesel is biodegradable.

What is NOT Biodiesel

Look Carefully! Many companies and groups improperly use the word biodiesel to describe diesel fuel replacement products they have developed. This creates significant confusion for consumers looking to purchase and use biodiesel. Some of these alternatives have not been properly tested and could lead to damage to vehicles. Below is some information to help distinguish real biodiesel from imposters.
What biodiesel IS NOT:

• Biodiesel is not vegetable oil.
• Biodiesel is not vegetable oil diluted with solvents, i.e. diesel fuel or alcohols.
• Biodiesel is not vegetable oil with “special additives” to make it run better.
• Biodiesel is not vegetable oil refined through a conventional oil refinery process.
• Biodiesel is not vegetable oil refined through thermal depolymerization (renewable diesel).
• Biodiesel is not a fuel that requires costly modifications to your diesel engine (straight vegetable oil).
• Biodiesel is not crude methyl esters which have not been refined or minimally refined.

Unlike biodiesel, none of the fluids listed above have undergone renewable fuel certification, emissions or toxicity testing, or long-term reliability testing in engines and vehicles.

How to Make Sure You are Getting Biodiesel

In order to be called biodiesel and receive certain tax credits specifically intended for biodiesel:

• Biodiesel must be produced from naturally occurring fats and oils using transesterification.
• Biodiesel must be composed of fatty acid methyl esters.
• Biodiesel must be refined to remove all trace impurities.
• Biodiesel must meet the ASTM standard D6751-07b “Specification for Biodiesel (B100)”.

If a fuel product does not meet these requirements it IS NOT biodiesel, and does not quality for tax credits relating to biodiesel. The most important thing to ask your fuel provider is if the biodiesel is ASTM certified.

PhoneShield - The gadget that protects you at 8:01 PM

Increasingly more and more of us are concerned about the possible side effects of radiation from our daily use of our mobile phone and computer.

These anxieties include worries over mobile phone radiation or cordless phone radiation and side effects such as headaches and fatigue.

Or you may be concerned about future effects on your children or grandchildren due to their regular use of such equipment.

In fact, radiation from mobiles and computers is suspected of causing:

• fatigue
• reduced concentration
• tiredness
• headaches
• disturbed vision
• memory loss
• muscle weakness
• reduced immunity to illness

Yet in spite of our very real anxieties, most of us need to use these tools every day to communicate with our family, friend and colleagues - or just to do our job.

Experts are at a loss to explain the increase in this condition which has seen a surge in demand for pre-senile dementia units across the country. But can we really be surprised when a study at the Institute of Environmental Medicine in Sweden confirmed this month that exposure to EMFs significantly accelerates brain degeneration?

So what's the alternative? The answer is a small round device called The Quartz PhoneShield that has been scientifically designed to reduce the harmful side effects of radiation from mobiles, computers and cordless phones. (The computer version, also used for cordless phones, is called The CompuShield )

These tiny shields are highly effective yet are quick and easy to fit, require no technical expertise and are very affordable.

What is Scalewatcher? at 7:46 PM

Scalewatcher is the original electronic conditioner launched over 18 years ago and remains the highest quality and most effective product of its type on the market.

Whilst we are flattered by the number of copies that have appeared on the market, when comparing other products it is worth considering the following points.

How long on the market? - Scalewatcher has 18 years market experience and product improvement.

Success rate - Scalewatcher has a proven 98% success rate.

Tested or reported on by Which! Perfect Homes, Home Building and Decorating, Build It, Practical Householder, Kitchens Bedrooms and Bathrooms, Essential Living and Garden Answers. No other product has this test record and some have no consumer tests.

Audio or radio frequency - Scalewatcher uses a patented audio frequency system. Most other products therefore use radio frequency. This is not as effective and needs more space for two coils and can interfere with radio and TV.

Designed to Last - Scalewatcher is built of the highest quality components and has a computerised circuit board protected by resin encapsulation with an estimated life of twenty years. Most others have no protection and therefore are prone to corrosion, with an expected life of around five to ten years.

Transformer - Scalewatcher has a built in transformer - others often use external transformers built into plugs. These have a limited life, usually five years, are difficult to replace and can run hot.

External Box - Scalewatcher is boxed in a high quality box designed for a twenty year life. Others are usually a very thin plastic with a life of around five to ten years.

If you are one of the 60% of households living in a hard water area scale is costing you money in extra energy and maintenance. Just one Scalewatcher fitted to the rising main will descale and protect your whole house. Existing scale is reduced and formation of new scale is prevented so you save money from the moment it is installed.

CES product releases indicate 2010 will be a great year for cutting-edge technology at 12:17 PM

The internet is abuzz with articles and blog posts about the more than 20,000 cutting-edge products released at this year's Consumer Electronic Show (CES).

The event is a strong indicator of future technology trends set to dominate the consumer electronics market in the coming year, and all eyes were fir

mly fixed on where the future of the industry might be headed.

Highlights of this year's event included a strong line-up of tablet computers, touch-screen laptops, 3D technology and a wave of e-readers.

"The 2010 CES featured a record number of new exhibit areas on the show floor highlighting cutting-edge technology trends that will redefine our industry," said Karen Chupka, senior vice president, events and conferences, CEA.

This year's CES product releases highlighted many trends that will dominate the technology market in the future, one of which is the need to be constantly connected to the internet and social networks.

Products shown at this year's show - TVs, cars, e-readers, watches and even micro projectors - all demonstrated that future generations will live without needing to unplug from the web. Consumers will soon expect their devices to provide them with constant access to the net.

Other highlights included a large range of products running Google's Android operating system, HP's "Slate," Lenovo's IdeaPad U1 Hybrid laptop and celebrity appearances by Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, Bette Midler and Drew Carey.

"The innovations unveiled this week at the 2010 International CES brought new optimism and opportunity to our industry and the global economy," said Gary Shapiro, president and CEO, CEA. "This show exceeded expectations with its innovation, optimism and excitement. What a great way to kick off the new decade."

Consumer electronics manufacturers are already preparing for the 2011 International CES that will be held in Las Vegas from January 6 to 9, 2011.

First glimpse of a planet from another galaxy at 10:35 AM

WASHINGTON (AFP) – A hot, gaseous and fast-spinning planet has been found orbiting a dying star on the edge of the Milky Way, in the first such discovery of a planet from outside our galaxy, scientists said Thursday.

Slightly larger than the size of Jupiter, the largest in our solar system, the newly discovered exoplanet is orbiting a star 2,000 light years from Earth that has found its way into the Milky Way.

The pair are believed to be part of the Helmi stream, a group of stars that remains after its mini-galaxy was devoured by the Milky Way some six to nine billion years ago, said the study in Science Express.

"This discovery is very exciting," said Rainer Klement of the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy.

"Because of the great distances involved, there are no confirmed detections of planets in other galaxies. But this cosmic merger has brought an extragalactic planet within our reach."

Astronomers were able to locate the planet, coined HIP 13044 b, by focusing on the "tiny telltale wobbles of the star caused by the gravitational tug of an orbiting companion," the study said.

They used a powerful telescope owned by the European Southern Laboratory at La Silla Observatory in Chile, located at an altitude of 2,400 meters (7,800 feet) some 600 kilometers (375 miles) north of the capital, Santiago.

The planet is quite close to the star it is orbiting, and survived a phase in which its host star went through a massive growth after it depleted its core hydrogen fuel supply, a phase known as the "red giant" stage of stellar evolution.

"This discovery is particularly intriguing when we consider the distant future of our own planetary system, as the Sun is also expected to become a red giant in about five billion years," said lead researcher Johny Setiawan of the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy.

The exoplanet is likely to be quite hot because it is orbiting so close to its star, completing each orbit in just over 16 days, and is probably near the end of its life, astronomers said.

The star may have already swallowed other planets in its orbit, making the star spin more quickly and meaning that time is running out for the surviving exoplanet.

Astronomers were mystified as to how the planet might have formed, since the star contained few elements heavier than hydrogen and helium and planets typically form out of a complex cloud of spinning space rubble.

"It is a puzzle for the widely accepted model of planet formation to explain how such a star, which contains hardly any heavy elements at all, could have formed a planet," said Setiawan.

"Planets around stars like this must probably form in a different way."

Innovative software to take the security risks out of mobile communications at 10:30 AM

Qnective AG, Zurich is set to launch a practical solution called Qtalk secure, which will enable encrypted and therefore highly secure communication for telephone calls, chats, data transfers and SMS.

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Qtalk secure encrypts calls, chats, data transfers and SMS messages via mobile phones, smartphones and PCs. Highly secure encryption and decryption are based on the Diffie-Hellmann 4096 bit, Elliptic Curve 384 bit and AES 256 bit modules. Qnective AG offers the solution as a comprehensive "box solution", which contains the preconfigured software for the server and devices (clients).

The software clients communicate with each other via their own server and are independent of mobile providers, despite the use of low-cost data networks (access via EDGE, UMTS, HSDPA and Wi-Fi). Qtalk secure can be used for a multitude of devices and can be seamlessly integrated in the existing infrastructure. The "telephony", "chat" and "data transfer" functions are available for all desktop clients such as Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7 and all mobile clients such as Blackberry OS 4.6 and higher, Symbian, Android and iPhone.

Qtalk secure was developed specifically to meet the needs of lawyers and enterprises in the financial sector, emergency services and other organisations as well as for other individuals who place the highest security demands on their mobile communications.

Industrial spies and others engaged in criminal activity are now denied a means of illegally procuring and viewing information in the area of mobile communications. Despite maximum protection against interception, the solution offers excellent voice quality, a high level of user-friendliness and simple integration in the existing infrastructure.

The development of Qtalk secure is at an advanced stage and will be available to interested companies and individuals in the 4th quarter of 2010.

'Time traveler' caught on film at 10:44 AM

Common Types of Fuel at 10:51 PM

There are several different types of fuel that can be produced, and the type of fuel depends on the type of reactor being used. To learn more about reactors, see Reactors. Pressurized water reactors use uranium dioxide as a fuel. Fast reactors use mixed oxide fuel containing uranium dioxide and plutonium dioxide. Thorium may also by used by some reactors. For more information about thorium, see New Types of Fuel.

Uranium Fuel

Uranium is the conventional nuclear fuel. Among all the radioactive elements, why was uranium chosen as the nuclear reactor fuel? There are several reasons. The safety, economy, availability, and water-cooled thermal reactors burning uranium fuel became the basis for the development of nuclear power in the world, thus uranium is widely used (1). Uranium dioxide is operationally safe and the technology has been perfected. Yet as reactor technology advances, new types of reactors allow for different types of fuel.

Uranium dioxide fuel in a light-water reactor is relatively inefficient compared to the potential utilization of natural uranium, but it has been used because it is safe and competitive with respect to power production from fossil fuels (1). Nuclear power can exist for a long time by using the concept of a closed fuel cycle with fast reactors (see Figure 1). A closed fuel cycle is one in which the used nuclear fuel is reprocessed and developed into fuel for reuse. The system becomes much more efficient and will extend the lifetime of nuclear fuel.

Figure 1: A Closed Nuclear Fuel Cycle

Image courtesy of Japan Nuclear

After low-enriched UF₆ has been enriched, it must be processed into UO₂ powder. The powder is then compressed into pellets and placed into Zircaloy (an aluminum-zirconium alloy) tubes, which is made into fuel rods. The Zircaloy canisters are shown in the figure below. The fuel rods are then bundled into a fuel assembly, shown in Figure 3.

Figure 2: Zirconium fuel rods

Figure 3: A Fuel Assembly

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Mixed Oxide Fuel

Mixed oxide (MOX) fuel was developed as a means to reuse the plutonium that remained in spent nuclear reactor fuel. MOX also provides a means to burn weapons-grade plutonium to generate electricity. Currently, MOX is the new fuel used in about 2% of reactors around the world, and this proportion is expected to rise to 5% by 2010 (2).

In all fission reactors, there is both fission of isotopes such as U-235, and there is also neutron capture by isotopes such as uranium-238. The neutron capture is demonstrated in Figure 4. The successive neutron capture of plutonium-239 will form plutonium-240, plutonium-241, and plutonium-242. Plutonium-239 and plutonium 241 are fissile like U-235, and some of it will burn in the reactor, giving off about 1/3 of the energy in a reactor in which the fuel is changed every three years. If a reactor has a higher “burn-up” more plutonium will be used. Approximately one percent of the spent nuclear fuel is plutonium. Two thirds of this remaining plutonium is fissile.

Figure 4: Production of plutonium 239 from uranium 238

Image courtesy of Hyperphysics

This leftover plutonium can be used again as nuclear fuel. However, it can also be used in nuclear weapons. To read more about the plutonium problem, see The Debate over Reprocessing. Although the half-life of plutonium-239 is long, Pu-238 and Pu-241 have shorter life-times that will decrease the fissile value of the plutonium over time. Due to the short lifetime of some isotopes, the plutonium should be reprocessed immediately. If the plutonium is recycled, 12%* more energy is derived from the uranium, and if the uranium is recycled as well, this percentage increases to 22 percent* (These numbers are based on a light water reactor with burn-up of 45 GWd/tU) (2).

How can the leftover plutonium and uranium be recycled? Please see Reprocessing.

Plutonium oxide is mixed with depleted uranium leftover at the enrichment plant, forming a new mixed oxide fuel (UO₂+PuO₂). MOX fuel consists of about 7-9% plutonium mixed with depleted uranium and is equivalent to uranium oxide fuel enriched to about 4.5% U-235, assuming that the plutonium has about two thirds fissile isotopes.** If weapons-grade plutonium is used (>90% Pu-239), only about 5% Pu would be needed in the mix.

** Reactors with higher burn-up will have a smaller percentage of fissile plutonium (2).

MOX reactors are already being used commercially in Europe. France and Japan have plans to increase their usage of MOX fuel by 2010. Many reactors use up to one-third MOX fuel. Although MOX fuel can be used in several different types of reactors, the plant must be adapted for the MOX fuel. More control rods are required in the nuclear reactor.

MOX fuel has several advantages. The fissile concentration of the fuel can be increased by simply adding more plutonium, which is much cheaper than enriching uranium. As the price of uranium itself goes up, MOX fuel will become more attractive economically. Also, by using MOX fuel, one is burning left-over plutonium that could have been used for nuclear weaponry.

MOX fuel can be compared to plutonium-thorium fuel. For more information, see New Types of Fuel.

Figure 5: MOX Fuel Production

The weapons industry is going green at 10:46 PM

Photo: Lockheed Martin

On Feb. 1, Pentagon officials testified before Congress about the threats that climate change poses to national security and geopolitical stability. The report that was presented points to climate change in regions such as Darfur as the primary cause for mass migrations, resource turf wars and even genocide.

With the about-face of the military wing of the U.S. government on climate change, it may not come as a surprise that two of the largest military equipment manufacturers — Lockheed Martin and Raytheon — are both going green.

Last week at the Carbon War Room in Vanocouver, James Kohlhaas of Lockheed Martin spoke about the company's remarkable contributions to the energy management space. Lockheed Martin is now one of the largest implementers of energy efficiency programs in the U.S. serving a number of state agencies and utilities including including Pacific Gas & Electric, Southern California Edison, Pepco Holdings, AmerenUE, Silicon Valley Power, Cascade Natural Gas, the Energy Trust ofOregon, and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority.

According to Lockheed's recent press release, the company's energy management programs have saved 400,000 megawatts of electricity and 4 million therms of natural gas in 2009, enough to power 40,000 homes (the CO2 equivalent of 55,000 cars).

Kohlhaas announced last week that the company will be taking its sophisticated energy management systems into the private sector, offering manufacturers a way to track and manage the energy efficiency of their supply chains and ultimately, the ability to attach a "carbon nutrition label" at the product level, so a consumer can chose between products based on their embodied energy and CO2 emissions.

Another military industrial leader, Raytheon just awarded Cyclone Power Technologies a contract to develop its external combustion engine. The Cyclone Engine is akin to a portable steam turbine plant that offers huge efficiencies by capturing and reusing heat and running on renewable biofuels. The contract will give the company capitol to develop several applications of the technology including household versions of the engine.

All this in the same month that Obama requested $700 billion for ongoing military operations in Afghanistan. If you subscribe to the theory that the war in Afghanistan has to do with securing foreign oil supplies, then you will probably also agree that diverting a portion of those funds to building our own made-in-America renewable energy infrastructure with the help of companies like Lockheed and Raytheon would be a better investment in both job creation and national security.