Magnetic

July 31, 2007 Sustainable generation of electric power is the key to realizing the vision of a world free from dependency on fossil fuels – the challenge is to ramp up the production of electricity to a level that can begin to approach the energy we get from burning coal and oil, without the perceived dangers of going nuclear. The combined threats of Peak Oil and global warming are spurring science into a furious new age of innovation. With almost daily breakthroughs in solar energy capture, battery technology and tidal energy harvesting, but the biggest contribution to green power thus far is coming from wind farming. The common windmill design used to capitalize on air currents, while centuries old, operates at around 1% efficiency in terms of the power it harvests from the wind, due to the deflective blade design and friction losses. But a new technology unveiled last year in China seeks to dramatically boost the output of wind-driven generators by using the virtually frictionless advantages of magnetically levitated turbines. Since there’s virtually no touching of moving parts, the Maglev wind turbine requires far less servicing than a traditional windmill – which dramatically lowers the operating costs to under five U.S. cents per kilowatt-hour. If projections are accurate, giant 1-gigawatt versions of these machines could have a 12-month ROI - a scenario sure to catch the eye of investors worldwide. Read More

September 22, 2006 “We change our clothing, handbags and shoes with the season, why not our tile?” posits Nancy Epstein, CEO of Artistic Tile, and head of new product development. “Rather than old-fashioned summer slipcovers, why not change the look of the entire room by switching the floor or wall from the warmth of naturally fur-covered cowhide tile to a smooth Natura leather tile for the warmer months. Or you can simply add a new look by applying a border of saddle stitched tile, or changing the configuration of the accent tile from a border to an inset. It’s not so different from changing your outfit, and takes very little time to achieve,” she adds. Unfortunately, the mix and match Pampa Leather tile collection is offered in six styles including the black and white cowhide shown but there’s no facility for some of the other collections on offer just yet. But it’s a great idea. Designed by Epstein, the tile adheres by means of a clever system of magnets, requires no mortar, adhesives or grout and is an easy care alternative to carpet. A layer of galvanized sheet metal between the substrate and the tile means tiles may be changed whenever the mood strikes. Read More

September 19, 2006 Seagate Technology has claimed a world magnetic recording density record of 421 Gbits per square inch (421 Gbit/in2) using perpendicular recording heads and media created with currently available production equipment. Dr. Mark Kryder of Seagate unveiled the findings during his keynote presentation at the IDEMA DISKCON show in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the hard drive. We are very fortunate to be able to include Dr. Kryder’s entire slide presentation in our image library – some remarkable information and insights into the past, present and future of the hard disk drive – including forecasts that by 2014 we’ll have 200GB one inch drives and 12 terabyte 3.5 inch drives. Read More

August 30, 2006 The burgeoning popularity of audiovisual-oriented PCs and increasing use of HDDs in various consumer electronics products is expected to drive further growth in the HDD market along with demand for ever-larger capacity. Continuing to cater for the world’s thirst for storage, Fujitsu has announced a new series of hard disk drives (HDDs) for mobile PCs, its first 2.5" HDD offerings to incorporate advanced perpendicular magnetic recording (PMR) technology for enhanced storage capacity. Two new models, the 160GB MHW2160BH (which boasts the industry's highest storage capacity for a 5,400 rpm HDD), and the 80GB MHW2080BH, will go on sale worldwide from October. Read More

July 7, 2006 The United States Navy has awarded two contracts for the development of an electro-magnetic gun system capable of deployment on board naval surface combatant ships. The development work preliminary design for an Electro-Magnetic (EM) railgun prototype and the preliminary design of the U.S Navy's 32 megajoule (MJ) Laboratory Launcher. An electro-magnetic railgun uses electrical energy to accelerate projectiles to extreme velocities. Railguns do not require powders or explosives to fire the round and therefore free magazine space for other mission areas. In addition, electro-magnetic guns provide a highly consistent and uniform explosive charge that gives much greater accuracy. Thirty-two megajoule is equivalent to a firing speed of Mach 8 or eight times the speed of sound. This will be an intermediate step on the road to a 64-MJ Tactical System capable of deployment on-board naval surface combatant ships. Read More

June 18, 2006 The Audi TT is a cult car, an icon –from the day it made its debut, in autumn 1998, it took the sports coupe segment by storm, sharpening the brand's profile in the process. We reported on the coming of the second generation of this successful model in April but overlooked one of the most interesting facets of the new machine which uses a completely new form of damping technology developed in conjunction with Delphi that resolves the age-old conflict between comfort and driving dynamics without countenancing any of the otherwise unavoidable compromises. As a continuously adaptive system, it adapts the damping characteristic to the profile of the road and the driver's gear-shifting habits within just a few milliseconds. The shock absorber pistons on the TT do not contain conventional oil, but a magneto-rheological fluid – a synthetic hydrocarbon oil in which microscopically small magnetic particles measuring between three and ten microns are enclosed. When a voltage is applied to a coil – by means of a pulse delivered by a control unit – a magnetic field is created in which the alignment of the particles changes. They position themselves transversely to the direction of flow of the oil, and so inhibit its flow through the piston channels. This alters the characteristic of the damping characteristic much faster than is the case in conventional adaptive dampers. Read More

February 13, 2006 Everyone knows about brain scanning, but most of us have never heard of a new technology called transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). Non invasive and painless, it can temporarily inactivate an area of the human brain to let brain scientists study the effect. Twenty years ago we began the scientific dream of peering into the human brain while it is working. Brain scanning devices such as fMRI and PET scans can pinpoint precisely which brain regions are active as people respond to stimuli (including brands and advertisements) or as they go about making decisions (including brand choices). It is fascinating to see just what areas of the brain light up in response to a stimulus or a particular decision task but still we have to ask, what exactly can we conclude from this? Because an area of the brain lights up doesn’t mean that it is causal in that behaviour or decision. After all, ice cream sales correlate with drownings but they don’t cause them. You cannot conclude causality from correlation because there is no way of knowing if some other, unaccounted-for variable (like weather) may be involved. To sort out causality you need to be able to do experimentation. Read More