The Leading Source for Design Engineering News & Insight
Whirlpools on the Nanoscale Could Multiply Magnetic Memory
May 22, 2013 9:38 am | by Paul Preuss | News | Comments“We spent 15 percent of home energy on gadgets in 2009, and we’re buying more gadgets all the time,” says Peter Fischer of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab). Fischer lets you know right away that while it’s scientific curiosity that inspires his research at the Lab’s Advanced Light Source (ALS), he intends it to help solve pressing problems.
Homes Next to Florida Sinkhole to be Demolished
May 22, 2013 9:27 am | by Tampa Bay Times | News | CommentsThe homes on either side of the Tampa area house where a sinkhole opened under a man's bedroom are being demolished. Officials say the demolition will take place Wednesday in Seffner, Fla. The homes were condemned April 1, a month after the sinkhole opened under the house next door, killing 37-year-old Jeffrey Bush.
New Method for Producing Clean Hydrogen
May 22, 2013 9:25 am | by Duke University | News | CommentsDuke University engineers have developed a novel method for producing clean hydrogen, which could prove essential to weaning society off of fossil fuels and their environmental implications. While hydrogen is ubiquitous in the environment, producing and collecting molecular hydrogen for transportation and industrial uses is expensive and complicated.
Should We Let Wunderkinds Drop Out Of High School?
May 22, 2013 9:09 am | by Beth J. Harpaz, Associated Press | News | CommentsIt's one thing to say tech geniuses don't need degrees. After all, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg all dropped out of college. But now we've got David Karp, who doesn't even have a high school diploma. Karp, 26, founded Tumblr, the online blogging forum, and sold it to Yahoo for $1.1 billion.
Japan Watchdog: Nuclear Plant Sits on Active Fault
May 22, 2013 7:18 am | by Mari Yamaguchi, Associated Press | News | CommentsJapan's nuclear watchdog on Wednesday endorsed a panel's conclusion that a seismic fault running underneath one of two reactors at an atomic plant in western Japan is active, making the reactor's restart virtually impossible.
US Auto Factories Cutting Back on Summer Downtime
May 22, 2013 12:01 am | by Dee-Ann Durbin, AP Auto Writer | News | CommentsDetroit auto factories are forgoing their traditional two-week summer break and speeding up production to meet buyers' growing demand for new cars and trucks. Ford Motor Co. said Wednesday that 21 of its North American factories will shut for only one week this summer.
Ex-Ford Execs Charged in Argentine Torture Cases
May 21, 2013 3:21 pm | by Almudena Calatrava, Associated Press | News | CommentsThree former Ford Motor Co. executives have been charged with crimes against humanity in Argentina for allegedly targeting union workers for kidnapping and torture after the country's 1976 military coup. All three men are in their 80s now.
New Energy Secretary Sworn In
May 21, 2013 3:07 pm | by Matthew Daly, Associated Press | News | CommentsEnergy Secretary Ernest Moniz said Tuesday he will put on hold about 20 applications to export liquefied natural gas until he reviews studies by the Energy Department and others on what impact the exports would have on domestic natural gas supplies and prices.
Orion's Vane Axial Fans
May 21, 2013 2:08 pm | by Eric Sorensen, Coordinator of Multimedia Development | Orion Fans | Videos | CommentsSince 1995, Orion Fans, a division of Knight Electronics, has been designing, developing, and manufacturing a broad line of AC fans, DC fans, fan trays, fan accessories and blowers to meet the continuing thermal management needs of OEMs worldwide.
Mouser Electronics’ President & CEO Glenn Smith Celebrates 40 Years of Service
May 21, 2013 1:30 pm | by Mouser Electronics, Inc. | Mouser Electronics | News | CommentsMouser Electronics, Inc. has announced the 40th company anniversary milestone of Glenn Smith, Mouser’s President and Chief Executive Officer. With strategic vision, Smith has built the company into a global corporation that today - four decades later - has 1,200 employees, 400,000 customers, more than $600 million in annual revenue, and 19 offices on three continents.
Rice Unveils Method for Tailoring Optical Processors
May 21, 2013 1:30 pm | by Jade Boyd, Rice University | News | CommentsRice University researchers have unveiled a robust new method for arranging metal nanoparticles in geometric patterns that can act as optical processors that transform incoming light signals into output of a different color. The breakthrough by a team of theoretical and applied physicists and engineers at Rice's Laboratory for Nanophotonics (LANP) is described this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Opening Doors to Foldable Electronics with Inkjet-Printed Graphene
May 21, 2013 1:26 pm | by Sarah Ostman, Northwestern University | News | CommentsImagine a bendable tablet computer or an electronic newspaper that could fold to fit in a pocket. The technology for these devices may not be so far off. Northwestern University researchers have recently developed a graphene-based ink that is highly conductive and tolerant to bending, and they have used it to inkjet-print graphene patterns that could be used for extremely detailed, conductive electrodes.
Industry Leading Cloud & Mobile CAD Apps Reach New Heights
May 21, 2013 1:24 pm | by Autodesk, Inc. | Autodesk Inc | News | CommentsAutodesk, Inc. is expanding AutoCAD 360 (formerly AutoCAD WS), a line of easy-to-use web and mobile drafting and documentation applications that let users view, create, edit and share drawings—anytime, anywhere.
Making Quantum Encryption Practical
May 21, 2013 1:23 pm | by Larry Hardesty, MIT | News | CommentsOne of the many promising applications of quantum mechanics in the information sciences is quantum key distribution (QKD), in which the counterintuitive behavior of quantum particles guarantees that no one can eavesdrop on a private exchange of data without detection.
Infrared Vision Sensor
May 21, 2013 1:19 pm | by PD&D Staff | Balluff, Inc. | Product Releases | CommentsInspection, bar code, and text reading processes for vision sensors can be significantly impaired by changing ambient lighting conditions. Simultaneously, employees and technicians are often bothered by the pulsing red light of normal vision sensors. Balluff’s (Florence, KY) new BVS vision sensor with built-in infrared lighting and integrated daylight filter eliminates both of these problems.
