Imogolite
When think of the giant molecules and nano-technology materials we usually think of carbon based matereals made of Bucky balls and nanotubes. There is a new new kid on the block that might see some exposure in applications in the not to distant future.
Imogolite
Imogolite is nano-sized tubular aluminum silicate (outer diameter: about 2.5 nm, inner diameter: about 1 nm, length: several tens of nm -- several µm). This material has large specific surface area due to its unique shape, a high affinity for water, and excellent adsorption capability. These qualities make the material applicable to several industrial areas as a heat-exchange medium for heat pumps, a fuel-storage medium, an anti-dewing agent, and as a fast-drying desiccating agent.
Labels: Industry
How to pick yourf DAQ.
Today their are many choices for DAQ boards and modules. USB and on board. Some of the parameters that we use to choose aren't as black and white as they used to.
Embedded Technology has a nice article on how one might approach your DAQ solutions.
Today, you have a wider — and better — choice of interfaces for your DAQ system than ever before. External box systems based on 100Base-T and Gigabit Ethernet (including LXI), USB, GPIB, CAN, RS-232/485, as well as a variety of proprietary interfaces, are available. On the plug-in board side of the coil are interfaces for PCI, PXI, PCI Express, Cardbus and ExpressCard. Even boards for the original IBM PC’s ISA bus are still available. To further complicate matters, hybrid systems like UEI’s popular RACKTangle series offer the advantages of an external box with the flexibility and reconfigurability of a board system.
COMPUTERS AND ELECTRONICS AT NNEC
Register today for NASA Tech Briefs' National Nano Engineering Conference (NNEC), the premier event focused on current and future developments in engineering innovations at the nanoscale. The event returns to Boston this year on November 12-13 at the Boston Colonnade Hotel, featuring the fourth annual Nano 50 Awards, recognizing the top 50 technologies, innovators, and products that have significantly impacted the development of nanotechnology.
This year's NNEC will feature a session on Computers and Electronics to be held Thursday, November 13 at 9:00 am. The papers include: "Ballistic Electronics - Breaking the Barrier in Terahertz Speed Processing" by Martin Margala, UMASS Lowell; "Etch-A-Sketch Nanoelectronics " by Jeremy Levy, University of Pittsburgh; and "Use of Thin-Film Thermoelectrics for Cooling, Temperature Control and Power Generation" by Karl von Gunten, Nextreme Thermal Solutions.
To view the complete conference agenda and to register for the 2008 NNEC, click
http://link.abpi.net/l.php?20081104A11.
New ACE Awards Catagory
Energy cost are taking us all on a wild ride. Oil futures are at less than half of what they were just a few months ago. There are fears that the lower prices will undercut progress and into the alternate fuel and energy saving fields.
EETImes sees the issue as thus:
The drilling issue has receded somewhat as gasoline prices decline. Indeed, a spate of recent news stories speculate that steadily declining gas prices will undercut momentum for forging ahead with research and the development of new energy sources. The myopic authors of these articles assume that the internal combustion engine is the main--or only--component of the U.S. energy equation. Little or no mention is made of home heating costs (like the airlines, the suppliers of heating oil are locked into price contracts concluded before the global price of oil declined), electricity generation or the relatively high price of diesel fuel that underpins a large portion of the American transportation and distribution infrastructure.
Furthermore, the current U.S. power grid still requires a major overhaul on the scale of the U.S. interstate highway system in order to handle electricity generated by new energy sources like solar, wind and geothermal.
We must not delude ourselves. The energy imperative will not disappear just because pump prices drop below $3 a gallon. Energy independence is a paramount national security issue, and clean, renewable energy has become a real market that will generate jobs and profits for those wise enough to invest. Few other industries today can make such a claim.
We believe that many of the answers to our energy dilemma will come from a new generation of engineers who will create innovative ways to make renewable energy sources a viable economic alternative to fossil fuels. As one European expert put it at alternative energy technology conference earlier this year, the Earth's near-term energy future hinges on "fossil-assisted solar power," not the other way around.
We wish to recognize those companies and engineers who are working to develop the renewable energy sources of the future. To that end, we have added five new energy categories to our Annual Creativity in Electronics, or ACE, Awards. We will be recognizing innovative companies, individuals, investors and the technologies they have created over the last year.
Our new ACE Award categories include the most innovative photovoltaic and solar thermal technologies, along with the most promising new renewable energy source. We also will recognize the growing importance of "green engineering" through a "Best Enabler" award.
The new category for the
ACE will give recognition to those who help explore this exiting field. best of luck to the entrants.
