The Fount of Useless Information
Your place for useless information that just might possibly be interesting.
Stuff is related to things that draw my attention.
Sun Plus Nanotechnology: Can Solar Energy Get Bigger by Thinking Small?
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/energy/2013/04/130429-nanotechnology-solar-energy-efficiency/
It seems that there are now some ideas in the lab that might transform the photovoltaic industry in the next couple of decades. For a long time I …
Small in size, big on power: New microbatteries a boost for electronics
http://news.illinois.edu/news/13/0416microbatteries_WilliamKing.html
I haven’t looked at the paper so don’t have an opinion on the actual technology, but the idea is grand. One of the limiting factors in energy …
Nanowires increase limit of solar cell efficiency, say researchers
The researchers contend that their findings increase the so-called “Shockley-Queisser Limit,” which is the typical efficiency limit for solar cells.
http://www.sciencerecorder.com/news/nanowires-increase-limit-of-solar-cell-efficiency-say-researchers/
Not quite ready for prime time, but this is the …
Using video, scientists reveal invisible motion, and it’s freaky
http://www.geek.com/articles/geek-cetera/using-video-scientists-reveal-invisible-motion-and-its-freaky-20130228/
This is such a cool idea, all the more so because it doesn’t require new cameras or anything. Take the same old video you are already taking, just process the …
Plastic bulb development promises better quality light
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-20553143
This is interesting and hopefully will be able to quickly get to market. Using “Field-induced polymer electroluminescent technology” (not much on the Wiki page) they claim to produce more light …
Now, a shape-shifting robot that changes to anything
http://www.business-standard.com/generalnews/news/nowshape-shifting-robot-that-changes-to-anything/88714/
In case you somehow missed watching the Terminator 2, the T-1000 is the terminator that can change its shape. Made of a ‘mimetic poly-alloy‘ it can morph to nearly …
Plastic fantastic seals in speeding projectiles
Layered polymer nanomaterial wraps around penetrating particles
http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/346099/title/Plastic_fantastic_seals_in_speeding_projectiles
To me this is really interesting, beyond the raw science, as a way to potentially build better shields for spacecraft. My understanding of current space craft …
Hacker cracks 4 million hotel locks with ‘James Bond Dry Erase Marker’
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2213849/Matthew-Jakubowski-Hacker-cracks-4-million-hotel-locks-James-Bond-Dry-Erase-Marker.html
I think people just refuse to realize how completely vulnerable they are to any number of exploits. I guess it is the same with con artists, no …
Helium-filled drives announced
http://www.zdnet.com/helium-filled-drives-announced-7000004222/
Every time I think that hard drive capacity has hit a wall, I find an article like this. Six terabytes per drive is kind of hard to imagine, then raid those suckers and all the sudden …
The ‘mule-bot’ walks again
http://security.blogs.cnn.com/2012/09/12/the-mule-bot-walks-again/?hpt=hp_c2
Not exactly how useful this will turn out to be, but since it is another small step along the path to Skynet surely it is a good thing, eh?
One ‘practical’ issue I have is …