three Stanford researchers proposed that a new state, called the quantum spin Hall effect, could be realized without applying an external magnetic field. Since quantum wells in mercury telluride/cadmium telluride sheets can be readily fabricated, it is possible to experimentally test the theoretical predictions of Zhang, Bernevig and Hughes. A research group at the University …
The race to build an exotic material with a negative refractive index for visible light has been won by a team of researchers in Germany. The demonstration could open the door to a new generation of optical devices such as superlenses able to see details finer then the wavelength of visible light. Dolling’s metamaterial is …
India is targeting 24 GW on nuclear power by 2020 and 50 GW by 2030. Two thirds of the nuclear fuel should be thorium. As per the present plan of the Bhabha Atomic Research Corporation (BARC) and the Nuclear Power Corporation, the capacity by 2020 is expected to be increased to 24,000 MW. ‘There is …
Stephen Hawking told a BBC radio audience that if the human race were to survive, it would be necessary to go to another star. Hawking talked about using antimatter powered spaceships to go at about 86% of light speed. This is the second part of my analysis. In the first part, I talked about going …
The New Scientist, examines the efforts to reduce ship drag using tiny bubbles, slippery polymers and trapped sheets of air. As a ship moves through water it encounters three types of drag: wave drag, pressure drag and frictional drag. Wave resistance is mainly a problem at high speed, and can be minimised with a carefully …
The Chinese government supports university research and gives them money to pay for the use of the service [supercomputer grid]. That is better than to spend money on buying thousands of separate smaller systems and none of them can do significant work. China only has two supercomputer centers now. Steve Chen is recommending and apparently …