John Swart says he sees cases of asbestosis and mesothelioma all the time.
The 52-year-old Sarnia man, a heat and frost insulator, was one of 200 people gathered at Centennial Park for the International Day of Mourning on Thursday.
"Back in the '60s, '70s, part of the '80s, we more or less installed the asbestos insulation on the piping and boilers," Swart said. "Now we're in the process of removing it all through proper regulations."
His industry and others like it are plagued with asbestos-related diseases, he said.
"We've got to keep our efforts up and making sure that everyone respects this deadly disease."
The International Day of Mourning, a Canadian initiative taken up by more than 100 countries, recognizes tragic losses caused by deaths, injuries, and illnesses in the workplace.
Swart was among a group who laid wreaths dedicated to victims of workplace tragedy.
Before placing his, he remembered his brother, who died 19 years ago while working in the Chemical Valley.
He was working by himself, insulating pipe, Swart said. Something went wrong with the controls on lift he was using and he was pinned against an I-beam, where he suffocated. He was 37.
"We want to wake up parliament, the government, the powers that be that make the laws ...," said June Maruschak, Sarnia and District Labour Council president. "Punish those who are not adhering to the laws, who are basically murdering their workers."
Across Canada an average of 20 workers are killed on the job every day, she said.
"Those workers never come home again to their families, or to their loved ones, their home or their friends. They die simply because of their jobs and that's not right."
The hundreds of cases of asbestos-related cancers in workers from the former Holmes Foundry is the most notable disaster in Sarnia's history, Maruschak said.
"It's a really, really sad thing that this community is doing today," said Sandy Kinart, chairperson of the Victims of Chemical Valley. "The devastation we feel is huge."
There are streets in Sarnia in which every household has lost a family member to occupational disease, she said.
Kinart railed against Prime Minister Stephen Harper who said this week his government has no plans to curb Canadians exports of asbestos to other countries.
"If one fibre is going to cause mesothelioma and have you take your life away, how can it be safe?"
2011年4月28日星期四
GE to make fridges with a better, greener insulator
GE already holds the top spot in Consumer Reports ratings of top-freezer refrigerators. But it is superior temperature performance and convenience that vaults the GE Profile model ahead of the competition. The refrigerator's energy efficiency score, while very good, is less than that of the Maytag, Kenmore, and LG models that come next in the Ratings. Perhaps sensing an opportunity to make a standout refrigerator even better, GE announced today that it will adopt a new foam-blowing agent, called cyclopentane, that will improve the efficiency of its top-freezers. GE says the agent will also greatly reduce the greenhouse gases that are emitted during the manufacturing process.
"GE Appliances & Lighting is looking at every aspect of environmental stewardship for our appliances—from manufacturing processes to more responsible product end-of-life management,” said Paul Surowiec, general manager, refrigeration, in today's news release. “We also offer hundreds of Energy Star-qualified models to ensure our appliances deliver efficiency and cost savings to consumers throughout the appliance’s life.”
Cyclopentane won't be a component of the actual refrigerators, but rather an agent used to propel insulation into the doors and cases. GE clearly devotes a lot of research and development money to insulation. Last year, we reported on the manufacturer's adoption of vacuum-insulated panels (VIPs), which offer far greater thermal resistance (R-value) than conventional insulation. The VIP-enhanced GE side-by-side refrigerator that we tested had markedly higher energy efficiency than a previous model without the technology.
Will cyclopentane deliver similar results? We'll find out during our next round of testing. In the meantime, check out our recently-updated refrigerator Ratings, which now contain more than 150 models.
"GE Appliances & Lighting is looking at every aspect of environmental stewardship for our appliances—from manufacturing processes to more responsible product end-of-life management,” said Paul Surowiec, general manager, refrigeration, in today's news release. “We also offer hundreds of Energy Star-qualified models to ensure our appliances deliver efficiency and cost savings to consumers throughout the appliance’s life.”
Cyclopentane won't be a component of the actual refrigerators, but rather an agent used to propel insulation into the doors and cases. GE clearly devotes a lot of research and development money to insulation. Last year, we reported on the manufacturer's adoption of vacuum-insulated panels (VIPs), which offer far greater thermal resistance (R-value) than conventional insulation. The VIP-enhanced GE side-by-side refrigerator that we tested had markedly higher energy efficiency than a previous model without the technology.
Will cyclopentane deliver similar results? We'll find out during our next round of testing. In the meantime, check out our recently-updated refrigerator Ratings, which now contain more than 150 models.
2011年4月26日星期二
Late Spring Snow Has Rathdrum Plowing Roads
Rathdrum residents woke up to several inches of snow Tuesday morning, with a number of people having a hard time believing what they were seeing falling from the sky.
The familiar sound of snow blowers could be heard in Rathdrum Tuesday morning. What wasn't familiar, however, was that it was the end of April. It was definitely not what George White, who recently returned from Arizona, was expecting.
"We thought it would all be gone," he said, adding that he feels like he left Arizona a couple weeks too soon. "It's 86 down there right now."
But no, it wasn't gone. In fact White White woke up to around 5 inches of snow Tuesday morning. He lives near a golf course, which should have been open for golfing Tuesday; instead of golfers White saw a cross country skier out on the links.
"We had a cross country skier going down fairway number 18. Skiing is taking place of golfing today," he said.
Lloyd Andrews also lives near the course; his golf cart got stuck in his driveway when he went to get the mail.
"I'm wondering if I live on a golf course or in a snow belt," Andrews said.
Between three and five inches of snow fell around Rathdrum; White calls the weather almost laughable. However the weather is no laughing matter for business at Twin Lakes Village Golf Course which, obviously, was closed Tuesday because there was three inches of snow on the course.
"We had a great weekend this weekend, 60 degrees, a lot of golfers on Saturday. We went from around 130 to zero today," Darin Vaughan with Twin Lakes Village Golf Course said.
Vaughan is crossing his fingers that people can hit the course Wednesday.
The cold weather also put the pinch on the Northland Nursery. Dianne Decker isn't so concerned about the snow, which can act as an insulator. But people are behind on their gardening and as a result nursery revenues are down.
"They want to spend money, they want to get back out in the yard, but the weather is pushing them back inside," Decker said.
The City of Rathdrum plowed major roads Tuesday, city officials saying that it is going to put pressure on street funds because the winter weather started earlier last year and they are still plowing well into April.
The familiar sound of snow blowers could be heard in Rathdrum Tuesday morning. What wasn't familiar, however, was that it was the end of April. It was definitely not what George White, who recently returned from Arizona, was expecting.
"We thought it would all be gone," he said, adding that he feels like he left Arizona a couple weeks too soon. "It's 86 down there right now."
But no, it wasn't gone. In fact White White woke up to around 5 inches of snow Tuesday morning. He lives near a golf course, which should have been open for golfing Tuesday; instead of golfers White saw a cross country skier out on the links.
"We had a cross country skier going down fairway number 18. Skiing is taking place of golfing today," he said.
Lloyd Andrews also lives near the course; his golf cart got stuck in his driveway when he went to get the mail.
"I'm wondering if I live on a golf course or in a snow belt," Andrews said.
Between three and five inches of snow fell around Rathdrum; White calls the weather almost laughable. However the weather is no laughing matter for business at Twin Lakes Village Golf Course which, obviously, was closed Tuesday because there was three inches of snow on the course.
"We had a great weekend this weekend, 60 degrees, a lot of golfers on Saturday. We went from around 130 to zero today," Darin Vaughan with Twin Lakes Village Golf Course said.
Vaughan is crossing his fingers that people can hit the course Wednesday.
The cold weather also put the pinch on the Northland Nursery. Dianne Decker isn't so concerned about the snow, which can act as an insulator. But people are behind on their gardening and as a result nursery revenues are down.
"They want to spend money, they want to get back out in the yard, but the weather is pushing them back inside," Decker said.
The City of Rathdrum plowed major roads Tuesday, city officials saying that it is going to put pressure on street funds because the winter weather started earlier last year and they are still plowing well into April.
When Refrigerators Warm the Planet
The kitchen refrigerator is an obvious contributor to global warming because it usually sucks in electricity that was made by burning fossil fuels. But it turns out that the refrigerator does harm to the environment before it is even plugged in because the insulating foam in its innards is made with a gas that is more than 1,000 times worse, molecule for molecule, than carbon dioxide.
GE's first HFC-free refrigerator.General Electric GE’s first HFC-free model.
Now, however, manufacturers are seizing on a single change can reduce both warming mechanisms at once. General Electric said Tuesday that it had become the first American manufacturer of a full line of refrigerators to take that step, which is to eliminate a gas called HFC 134a, a so-called blowing agent.
The blowing agent is used to whip the foam into a frothy milkshake-like mix and move it into the doors and walls of their machines, where it hardens. Unlike the styrofoam in a disposable coffee cup, the material in appliances is filled with bubbles.
Manufacturers once used chlorofluorocarbons, known as CFCs, for that job. When such gas is used, it flows into the atmosphere, either immediately or years later when the machine is junked and the tiny bubbles escape. But CFCs were banned because they accumulated in the upper atmosphere and the chlorine would break down molecules of ozone, which shield the Earth’s surface from harmful rays of the sun.
CFCs were also used as the working fluid in the refrigerator, the material that the compressor squeezes down into a liquid that gives off heat. Then the liquid is allowed to expand back into a gas, absorbing heat that the refrigerator removes from its interior.
The replacement for CFCs in both roles, blowing agent and refrigerant, was a class of chemicals called hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs. These do not destroy ozone, but they do form a blanket at high altitudes, holding in heat.
HFC 134a, the material GE had been using as the blowing agent, has a “global warming potential” of 1,430, according to GE. Carbon dioxide has a global warming potential of 1.
And as a refrigerant, the HFCs were slightly less efficient than CFCs, requiring a little more electricity to do the same work.
Now manufacturers are working to replace the HFCs. One choice is a hydrocarbon molecule called cyclopentane, which has a global warming potential of 3 to 10. But the cyclopentane turns out to have another benefit; it makes a better insulator. The new foam is about 4 percent better, said Paul Surowiec, general manger for refrigeration at GE’s appliances and lighting division.
That is helpful because the Environmental Protection Agency and the Energy Department are slowly tightening the rules on appliances, requiring them to do the same work with less and less energy.
“Let’s face it, the standards are getting stricter,’’ Mr. Surowiec said. “We’re trying to find cost-effective ways to do all of the above,’’ from cutting energy consumption to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
The company has converted its refrigerator factory in Decatur, Ala., for use of the new blowing agent. The effect will be to eliminate emissions that are equivalent to 400,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide a year, about the same global warming impact as 78,000 cars, the company said.
The company has also applied to the Environmental Protection Agency for permission to use a refrigerant with less global warming potential.
The next step is to recapture some of the harmful gases that were locked up years ago in those foam bubbles. About 90 percent of refrigerators are recycled, according to the company, but that does not usually include processing the foam.
In February, GE announced a deal with a company called Appliance Recycling Centers of America that will collect old refrigerators from six states. GE will crush the styrofoam and capture the gas that was in the bubbles.
GE's first HFC-free refrigerator.General Electric GE’s first HFC-free model.
Now, however, manufacturers are seizing on a single change can reduce both warming mechanisms at once. General Electric said Tuesday that it had become the first American manufacturer of a full line of refrigerators to take that step, which is to eliminate a gas called HFC 134a, a so-called blowing agent.
The blowing agent is used to whip the foam into a frothy milkshake-like mix and move it into the doors and walls of their machines, where it hardens. Unlike the styrofoam in a disposable coffee cup, the material in appliances is filled with bubbles.
Manufacturers once used chlorofluorocarbons, known as CFCs, for that job. When such gas is used, it flows into the atmosphere, either immediately or years later when the machine is junked and the tiny bubbles escape. But CFCs were banned because they accumulated in the upper atmosphere and the chlorine would break down molecules of ozone, which shield the Earth’s surface from harmful rays of the sun.
CFCs were also used as the working fluid in the refrigerator, the material that the compressor squeezes down into a liquid that gives off heat. Then the liquid is allowed to expand back into a gas, absorbing heat that the refrigerator removes from its interior.
The replacement for CFCs in both roles, blowing agent and refrigerant, was a class of chemicals called hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs. These do not destroy ozone, but they do form a blanket at high altitudes, holding in heat.
HFC 134a, the material GE had been using as the blowing agent, has a “global warming potential” of 1,430, according to GE. Carbon dioxide has a global warming potential of 1.
And as a refrigerant, the HFCs were slightly less efficient than CFCs, requiring a little more electricity to do the same work.
Now manufacturers are working to replace the HFCs. One choice is a hydrocarbon molecule called cyclopentane, which has a global warming potential of 3 to 10. But the cyclopentane turns out to have another benefit; it makes a better insulator. The new foam is about 4 percent better, said Paul Surowiec, general manger for refrigeration at GE’s appliances and lighting division.
That is helpful because the Environmental Protection Agency and the Energy Department are slowly tightening the rules on appliances, requiring them to do the same work with less and less energy.
“Let’s face it, the standards are getting stricter,’’ Mr. Surowiec said. “We’re trying to find cost-effective ways to do all of the above,’’ from cutting energy consumption to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
The company has converted its refrigerator factory in Decatur, Ala., for use of the new blowing agent. The effect will be to eliminate emissions that are equivalent to 400,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide a year, about the same global warming impact as 78,000 cars, the company said.
The company has also applied to the Environmental Protection Agency for permission to use a refrigerant with less global warming potential.
The next step is to recapture some of the harmful gases that were locked up years ago in those foam bubbles. About 90 percent of refrigerators are recycled, according to the company, but that does not usually include processing the foam.
In February, GE announced a deal with a company called Appliance Recycling Centers of America that will collect old refrigerators from six states. GE will crush the styrofoam and capture the gas that was in the bubbles.
Scientists Create Silk Electronics
Scientists at Taiwan's National Tsing Hua University have come up with a way to use silk in electronics.
Hwang Jenn-Chang and a group of doctoral students at the Materials Engineering lab at the University have discovered that silk can be used as an organic thin-film transistor for flexible electronics - such as e-paper, radio-frequency identification tags, and LED displays.
According to the scientists, silk could become a flexible and low-cost material for the key components in electronic devices.
The researchers boiled silkworm cocoons in a sodium chloride solution to extract proteins - or fibroin - then dissolved the proteins in phosphoric acid to produce liquid silk.
The liquid silk forms a membrane which the researchers say can easily be made into insulators in transistors.
Hwang says the team had experimented with both organic and inorganic materials, but discovered the advantages of silk within just a few trials.
[Hwang Jenn-Chang, Materials Engineering Professor, Tsing Hua University]:
"I think it's a gift from heaven. In late 2009, one of my students, Chung-Hwa, he proposed to use silk as an insulator for organic thin-film transistor, I think that was a good idea and we went for it."
The government-funded project began in August 2009, and the team managed to stabilize the silk transistor's performance by March 2011.
Hwang says the technology is not only environmentally friendly, but also has high performance.
[Hwang Jenn-Chang, Materials Engineering Professor, Tsing Hua University]:
"I think the advantage of silk fibroin is the flexibility and even rollability, so is very suitable for flexible electronics. What we found is that silk fibroin can improve pentacene organic thin-film transistor, the speed can be improved by twenty times at least."
Hwang is in the process of applying for patents worldwide, and expects his team's invention to reach consumers within three years.
Hwang Jenn-Chang and a group of doctoral students at the Materials Engineering lab at the University have discovered that silk can be used as an organic thin-film transistor for flexible electronics - such as e-paper, radio-frequency identification tags, and LED displays.
According to the scientists, silk could become a flexible and low-cost material for the key components in electronic devices.
The researchers boiled silkworm cocoons in a sodium chloride solution to extract proteins - or fibroin - then dissolved the proteins in phosphoric acid to produce liquid silk.
The liquid silk forms a membrane which the researchers say can easily be made into insulators in transistors.
Hwang says the team had experimented with both organic and inorganic materials, but discovered the advantages of silk within just a few trials.
[Hwang Jenn-Chang, Materials Engineering Professor, Tsing Hua University]:
"I think it's a gift from heaven. In late 2009, one of my students, Chung-Hwa, he proposed to use silk as an insulator for organic thin-film transistor, I think that was a good idea and we went for it."
The government-funded project began in August 2009, and the team managed to stabilize the silk transistor's performance by March 2011.
Hwang says the technology is not only environmentally friendly, but also has high performance.
[Hwang Jenn-Chang, Materials Engineering Professor, Tsing Hua University]:
"I think the advantage of silk fibroin is the flexibility and even rollability, so is very suitable for flexible electronics. What we found is that silk fibroin can improve pentacene organic thin-film transistor, the speed can be improved by twenty times at least."
Hwang is in the process of applying for patents worldwide, and expects his team's invention to reach consumers within three years.
Novel Class of Nanomaterials with Rationally Designed Properties Could Lead to Building Topological Quantum Computers
Physicist Jak Chakhalian at the University of Arkansas has been conferred with the highest award bestowed on individual researchers by the Army Research Laboratory. The grant will allow Chakhalian to research on nanomaterials featuring rationally pre-determined characteristics.
The nanomaterials called topological insulators will feature magnetic and superconductivity qualities in minimal atomic layers. The combination of all the properties in one material could help develop topological quantum computers, which could help unravel complicated encryption codes and collate data in super seconds.
According to Chakhalian, the research could help understand electrons that move in insulators and metals at the nanoscale. The Army Research Laboratory is funding the program across five years.
Chakhalian, associate professor of physics in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, and his team have discovered a method to study atomic orbitals and say their alteration takes place at the interface between a ferromagnet and a superconductor, which is at a high temperature. This could lead to design development of nanoscale superconducting materials. Chakhalian said bismuth telluride is an insulator in a semiconductor but on the surface, it turns into a conductor. It could conduct within one atomic layer even disordered crystals existing inside. This material resembles graphene.
Chakhalian is with the University of Arkansas Institute for Nanoscience and Engineering and holds the Charles E. and Clydene Scharlau Endowed Professorship in Chemistry
The nanomaterials called topological insulators will feature magnetic and superconductivity qualities in minimal atomic layers. The combination of all the properties in one material could help develop topological quantum computers, which could help unravel complicated encryption codes and collate data in super seconds.
According to Chakhalian, the research could help understand electrons that move in insulators and metals at the nanoscale. The Army Research Laboratory is funding the program across five years.
Chakhalian, associate professor of physics in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, and his team have discovered a method to study atomic orbitals and say their alteration takes place at the interface between a ferromagnet and a superconductor, which is at a high temperature. This could lead to design development of nanoscale superconducting materials. Chakhalian said bismuth telluride is an insulator in a semiconductor but on the surface, it turns into a conductor. It could conduct within one atomic layer even disordered crystals existing inside. This material resembles graphene.
Chakhalian is with the University of Arkansas Institute for Nanoscience and Engineering and holds the Charles E. and Clydene Scharlau Endowed Professorship in Chemistry
2011年4月24日星期日
The Freaker Keeps Your Bottles Freakin’ Cold (Or Freakin’ Hot)
“Freaker” is probably not a name I’d pick for a bottle/can/jar/glass insulator but that’s just what these folks named theirs. Of course, you probably wouldn’t expect something called the Freaker to be useful or functional, but this one surprisingly is.
It’s extremely elastic and stretchy and comes in a whole host of loud colors. The Freaker also swears that it can fit over anything and everything and keep your drinks either cool or warm, as you like them.
Bottle Freaker
Fit it over champagne bottles, beer cans, juice bottles, wine glasses, and even your own arm! These guys have been in the biz for a while now but the people behind Freaker have recently launched a new project to produce a special edition Kickstarter Freaker.
Fancy a Freaker with shades of blue or a pink one with a white skull in the middle? There are currently 30 designs for the Freaker so you might want to start collecting ‘em if they’re up your alley.
Bottle FreakerThere’s a whole list of offers and various Freaker packs they’re giving away to backers who pledge $25 or more. They’re also promising to throw you and your friends a BBQ or Grilled Cheese party for pledges ranging in the $2,000-$3,000 zone in the official Freaker box truck.
Want to get freaky? Check out their Kickstarter video below to learn more (and to get a few laughs.) If you’re sold on the idea, then head on over to Kickstarter to give a pledge.
It’s extremely elastic and stretchy and comes in a whole host of loud colors. The Freaker also swears that it can fit over anything and everything and keep your drinks either cool or warm, as you like them.
Bottle Freaker
Fit it over champagne bottles, beer cans, juice bottles, wine glasses, and even your own arm! These guys have been in the biz for a while now but the people behind Freaker have recently launched a new project to produce a special edition Kickstarter Freaker.
Fancy a Freaker with shades of blue or a pink one with a white skull in the middle? There are currently 30 designs for the Freaker so you might want to start collecting ‘em if they’re up your alley.
Bottle FreakerThere’s a whole list of offers and various Freaker packs they’re giving away to backers who pledge $25 or more. They’re also promising to throw you and your friends a BBQ or Grilled Cheese party for pledges ranging in the $2,000-$3,000 zone in the official Freaker box truck.
Want to get freaky? Check out their Kickstarter video below to learn more (and to get a few laughs.) If you’re sold on the idea, then head on over to Kickstarter to give a pledge.
Paper or . . .
Plastic is so much a part of our lives that we barely notice how deep we are in it.
Science writer Susan Freinkel's engrossing Plastic traces its effect on our lives, for better and worse, by homing in on eight common objects: the comb, resin stacking chair, Frisbee, water bottle, disposable lighter, IV bag, credit card and grocery bag.
While examining these particular objects in fascinating detail, she finds time to explore the effect of plastic on our everyday lives and habits - in medicine, fashion, child-rearing, food preparation and home design.
She also examines the effect of plastics on the environment, from oceans to landfills. She sets out to trace "the arc of our relationship with plastic, from enraptured embrace to deep disenchantment and the present-day mix of apathy and confusion."
Although the first plastic - celluloid - was invented in 1869, plastics didn't come into their own until the 1930s, and it took World WarII to make them a part of everyday life. While the first plastics were plant-based, and scientists now are exploring ways to go further in that direction, most plastics are tied to the byproducts of the production of fossil fuels.
Freinkel makes the science of plastic production accessible to the nonchemist, and her curiosity about the creation and afterlife of common objects is contagious. Although she emphasizes the dangers of our dependence on the material, she also offers glimmers of hope. She is evenhanded in describing the pros and cons of materials such as plastic tubing - indispensable in medicine but potentially harmful years after its use.
In addition to an extensive bibliography and notes, Freinkel provides a lively "cast of characters" in which she lists the various types of plastic and their uses, noting that polystyrene is "an excellent insulator - of homes, hot coffee, an order of chow mein, a fragile shipment, our heads (when we're biking)."
She makes us look more closely at objects we tend to ignore or take for granted. In her own attempt to make it through a day without touching plastic, she notes that she lasted only a few seconds before realizing that her toilet seat was composed of the material. So she switched to recording the number of plastic things she touched during the day, counting 196 separate items: "lid of cinnamon jar, bread bag, cellophane wrapping of bag of tea, packaging of tea bag, thermos ..."
It's impossible to read her book without developing an appreciation for and a concern about the role that plastic plays in our lives.
Science writer Susan Freinkel's engrossing Plastic traces its effect on our lives, for better and worse, by homing in on eight common objects: the comb, resin stacking chair, Frisbee, water bottle, disposable lighter, IV bag, credit card and grocery bag.
While examining these particular objects in fascinating detail, she finds time to explore the effect of plastic on our everyday lives and habits - in medicine, fashion, child-rearing, food preparation and home design.
She also examines the effect of plastics on the environment, from oceans to landfills. She sets out to trace "the arc of our relationship with plastic, from enraptured embrace to deep disenchantment and the present-day mix of apathy and confusion."
Although the first plastic - celluloid - was invented in 1869, plastics didn't come into their own until the 1930s, and it took World WarII to make them a part of everyday life. While the first plastics were plant-based, and scientists now are exploring ways to go further in that direction, most plastics are tied to the byproducts of the production of fossil fuels.
Freinkel makes the science of plastic production accessible to the nonchemist, and her curiosity about the creation and afterlife of common objects is contagious. Although she emphasizes the dangers of our dependence on the material, she also offers glimmers of hope. She is evenhanded in describing the pros and cons of materials such as plastic tubing - indispensable in medicine but potentially harmful years after its use.
In addition to an extensive bibliography and notes, Freinkel provides a lively "cast of characters" in which she lists the various types of plastic and their uses, noting that polystyrene is "an excellent insulator - of homes, hot coffee, an order of chow mein, a fragile shipment, our heads (when we're biking)."
She makes us look more closely at objects we tend to ignore or take for granted. In her own attempt to make it through a day without touching plastic, she notes that she lasted only a few seconds before realizing that her toilet seat was composed of the material. So she switched to recording the number of plastic things she touched during the day, counting 196 separate items: "lid of cinnamon jar, bread bag, cellophane wrapping of bag of tea, packaging of tea bag, thermos ..."
It's impossible to read her book without developing an appreciation for and a concern about the role that plastic plays in our lives.
2011年4月21日星期四
Physicist Seeks Nanomaterials with Rationally Designed Properties
A University of Arkansas physicist has received the largest award granted to an individual researcher from the Army Research Laboratory to search for a novel class of nanomaterials with rationally designed properties.
Physicist Jak Chakhalian seeks to create a new class of materials – so-called topological insulators combined with magnetic and superconductivity properties within just a few atomic layers. From the practical perspective, having all of these properties in one material could lead to building never-before realized topological quantum computers, which could be used to break complex encryption codes and compute things beyond the power of today’s supercomputers.
“If you have that, it will revolutionize the way we think about electrons moving in conventional insulators and metals even at the nanoscale,” Chakhalian said. He has funding from the Army Research Laboratory of $1.2 million over five years.
Recently Chakhalian, associate professor of physics in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, and colleagues found a novel way to “look” at atomic orbitals and found that they change substantially at the interface between a ferromagnet and a high-temperature superconductor. This finding opens up a new way of designing nanoscale superconducting materials. It also fundamentally changes scientific convention, which suggests that only electron spin and atomic charge – not atomic orbitals – influence the properties of nanostructures. It also has profound implications for interfaces between many other complex oxide materials.
This research was cited by Science magazine as one of the top 10 research breakthroughs of 2007.
Until recently, researchers only recognized three fundamental types of materials: metals such as iron and gold, insulators and semiconductors. In 2006, theoretical physicists suggested that another completely unknown class of insulating materials might exist. This class, called topological insulators, would not conduct electricity inside the crystal but permits the perfect conduction on the surface within a single atomic layer. This happens because geometry protects the surface electrons. In 2007, scientists looked at the alloy bismuth telluride and found the properties that this theory predicted. They had discovered a new class of material.
“On the inside, bismuth telluride is an insulator, but on the surface, within one atomic layer, it’s a perfect conductor,” Chakhalian said. “It will conduct within the single atomic layer no matter how disordered the crystal on the inside. This is a whole new class of materials very similar to the Nobel prize-winning material, graphene, with many other interesting twists.”
Chakhalian wants to create a topological insulator as a nanostructure with magnetic and superconducting properties in a few atomic layers at the interface. He admits that his goal is ambitious, but he likens the research to going to the moon in the 1960s – no one thought it could be done, but it happened.
“We need scientists to be courageous, to jump into the unknown,” he said. Chakhalian will use the grant from the Army Research Laboratory to build new equipment to create and test atomically thin superlattices by combining novel materials and using the interface as a tool.
Chakhalian is a member of the University of Arkansas Institute for Nanoscience and Engineering. He holds the Charles E. and Clydene Scharlau Endowed Professorship in Chemistry.
Physicist Jak Chakhalian seeks to create a new class of materials – so-called topological insulators combined with magnetic and superconductivity properties within just a few atomic layers. From the practical perspective, having all of these properties in one material could lead to building never-before realized topological quantum computers, which could be used to break complex encryption codes and compute things beyond the power of today’s supercomputers.
“If you have that, it will revolutionize the way we think about electrons moving in conventional insulators and metals even at the nanoscale,” Chakhalian said. He has funding from the Army Research Laboratory of $1.2 million over five years.
Recently Chakhalian, associate professor of physics in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, and colleagues found a novel way to “look” at atomic orbitals and found that they change substantially at the interface between a ferromagnet and a high-temperature superconductor. This finding opens up a new way of designing nanoscale superconducting materials. It also fundamentally changes scientific convention, which suggests that only electron spin and atomic charge – not atomic orbitals – influence the properties of nanostructures. It also has profound implications for interfaces between many other complex oxide materials.
This research was cited by Science magazine as one of the top 10 research breakthroughs of 2007.
Until recently, researchers only recognized three fundamental types of materials: metals such as iron and gold, insulators and semiconductors. In 2006, theoretical physicists suggested that another completely unknown class of insulating materials might exist. This class, called topological insulators, would not conduct electricity inside the crystal but permits the perfect conduction on the surface within a single atomic layer. This happens because geometry protects the surface electrons. In 2007, scientists looked at the alloy bismuth telluride and found the properties that this theory predicted. They had discovered a new class of material.
“On the inside, bismuth telluride is an insulator, but on the surface, within one atomic layer, it’s a perfect conductor,” Chakhalian said. “It will conduct within the single atomic layer no matter how disordered the crystal on the inside. This is a whole new class of materials very similar to the Nobel prize-winning material, graphene, with many other interesting twists.”
Chakhalian wants to create a topological insulator as a nanostructure with magnetic and superconducting properties in a few atomic layers at the interface. He admits that his goal is ambitious, but he likens the research to going to the moon in the 1960s – no one thought it could be done, but it happened.
“We need scientists to be courageous, to jump into the unknown,” he said. Chakhalian will use the grant from the Army Research Laboratory to build new equipment to create and test atomically thin superlattices by combining novel materials and using the interface as a tool.
Chakhalian is a member of the University of Arkansas Institute for Nanoscience and Engineering. He holds the Charles E. and Clydene Scharlau Endowed Professorship in Chemistry.
2011年4月20日星期三
Update with photos: 500 lose power after lightning strike in Plymouth
About 500 homes and businesses lost power on Plymouth’s east side Tuesday evening after lightning struck a utility pole, officials said this morning.
John MacKinnon, manager of Plymouth Utilities, said the strike occurred about 6:40 p.m. in the 2400 block of Eastern Avenue, near Walgreens. The lightning destroyed an insulator and caused an electrical wire to break and fall to the ground.
The outage area was bordered by county Highway PP, Kiley Way, Highland Avenue and Willow Road. That includes the south industrial park and the Plymouth Commons Shopping Center.
About three-quarters of the affected customers had power restored within an hour, and the remainder were largely back by 9 p.m., MacKinnon said. Walgreens was the last restored at 9:15 p.m.
John MacKinnon, manager of Plymouth Utilities, said the strike occurred about 6:40 p.m. in the 2400 block of Eastern Avenue, near Walgreens. The lightning destroyed an insulator and caused an electrical wire to break and fall to the ground.
The outage area was bordered by county Highway PP, Kiley Way, Highland Avenue and Willow Road. That includes the south industrial park and the Plymouth Commons Shopping Center.
About three-quarters of the affected customers had power restored within an hour, and the remainder were largely back by 9 p.m., MacKinnon said. Walgreens was the last restored at 9:15 p.m.
2011年4月19日星期二
Miniature invisibility 'carpet cloak' hides more than its small size implies
Invisibility cloaks are seemingly futuristic devices capable of concealing very small objects by bending and channeling light around them. Until now, however, cloaking techniques have come with a significant limitation—they need to be orders of magnitude larger than the object being cloaked.
This places serious constraints on practical applications, particularly for the optoelectronics industry, where size is a premium and any cloaking device would need to be both tiny and delicate.
An international team of physicists from the Technical University of Denmark (DTU), the University of Birmingham, UK, and Imperial College London, however, may have overcome this size limitation by using a technology known as a "carpet cloaks," which can conceal a much larger area than other cloaking techniques of comparable size. The researchers achieved their result by using metamaterials, artificial materials engineered to have optical properties not found in nature. They describe their approach in the Optical Society's (OSA) open-access journal Optics Express.
Jingjing Zhang, a postdoctoral researcher at DTU's Fotonik Department of Photonics Engineering and Structured Electromagnetic Materials, and an author of the Optics Express paper, explains that the team's new carpet cloak, which is based on an alternating-layer structure on a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) platform, introduces a flexible way to address the size problem.
"This new cloak, consisting of metamaterials, was designed with a grating structure that is simpler than previous metamaterial structures for cloaks," she says.
Grating structures channel light of a particular wavelength around an object. A grating structure is simply a series of slits or openings that redirect a beam of light.
"The highly anisotropic material comprising the cloak is obtained by adopting semiconductor manufacturing techniques that involve patterning the top silicon layer of an SOI wafer with nanogratings of appropriate filling factor. This leads to a cloak only a few times larger than the cloaked object," says Zhang. In this case, filling factor simply refers to the size of the grating structure and determines the wavelengths of light that are affected by the cloak.
By precisely restoring the path of the reflecting wave from the surface, the cloak creates an illusion of a flat plane for a triangular bump on the surface—hiding its presence over wavelengths ranging from 1480nm to 1580nm (see figure).
In less technical terms, the carpet cloaks work by essentially disguising an object from light, making it appear like a flat ground plane.
"The cloak parameters can be tweaked by tuning the filling factor and the orientation of the layers," says Zhang. "Therefore, layered materials bypass the limitation of natural materials at hand and give us extra freedom to design the devices as desired." In contrast to previous works based on nanostructures, the cloaking carpet used in this work also shows advantages of easier design and fabrication.
The cloak is made exclusively of dielectric materials that are highly transparent to infrared light, so the cloak itself is very efficient and absorbs a negligible fraction of energy.
Zhang and her colleagues are also looking at ways of improving the technology. They report in their Optics Express paper that even though the cloaking ensures that the beam shape is unaffected by the presence of the object, the beam intensity is slightly reduced. They attribute this to reflection at the cloak's surface, and partly by imperfections of the fabrication. They also determined that adding an additional layer of material around the cloak and improving uniformity of the grating would help eliminate reflection and scattering issues.
"Although our experiment was carried out at near-infrared frequencies, this design strategy is applicable in other frequency ranges," notes Zhang. "We anticipate that with more precise fabrication, our technique should also yield a true invisibility carpet that works in the microwave and visible parts of the spectrum and at a larger size—showing promise for many futuristic defense and other applications."
This places serious constraints on practical applications, particularly for the optoelectronics industry, where size is a premium and any cloaking device would need to be both tiny and delicate.
An international team of physicists from the Technical University of Denmark (DTU), the University of Birmingham, UK, and Imperial College London, however, may have overcome this size limitation by using a technology known as a "carpet cloaks," which can conceal a much larger area than other cloaking techniques of comparable size. The researchers achieved their result by using metamaterials, artificial materials engineered to have optical properties not found in nature. They describe their approach in the Optical Society's (OSA) open-access journal Optics Express.
Jingjing Zhang, a postdoctoral researcher at DTU's Fotonik Department of Photonics Engineering and Structured Electromagnetic Materials, and an author of the Optics Express paper, explains that the team's new carpet cloak, which is based on an alternating-layer structure on a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) platform, introduces a flexible way to address the size problem.
"This new cloak, consisting of metamaterials, was designed with a grating structure that is simpler than previous metamaterial structures for cloaks," she says.
Grating structures channel light of a particular wavelength around an object. A grating structure is simply a series of slits or openings that redirect a beam of light.
"The highly anisotropic material comprising the cloak is obtained by adopting semiconductor manufacturing techniques that involve patterning the top silicon layer of an SOI wafer with nanogratings of appropriate filling factor. This leads to a cloak only a few times larger than the cloaked object," says Zhang. In this case, filling factor simply refers to the size of the grating structure and determines the wavelengths of light that are affected by the cloak.
By precisely restoring the path of the reflecting wave from the surface, the cloak creates an illusion of a flat plane for a triangular bump on the surface—hiding its presence over wavelengths ranging from 1480nm to 1580nm (see figure).
In less technical terms, the carpet cloaks work by essentially disguising an object from light, making it appear like a flat ground plane.
"The cloak parameters can be tweaked by tuning the filling factor and the orientation of the layers," says Zhang. "Therefore, layered materials bypass the limitation of natural materials at hand and give us extra freedom to design the devices as desired." In contrast to previous works based on nanostructures, the cloaking carpet used in this work also shows advantages of easier design and fabrication.
The cloak is made exclusively of dielectric materials that are highly transparent to infrared light, so the cloak itself is very efficient and absorbs a negligible fraction of energy.
Zhang and her colleagues are also looking at ways of improving the technology. They report in their Optics Express paper that even though the cloaking ensures that the beam shape is unaffected by the presence of the object, the beam intensity is slightly reduced. They attribute this to reflection at the cloak's surface, and partly by imperfections of the fabrication. They also determined that adding an additional layer of material around the cloak and improving uniformity of the grating would help eliminate reflection and scattering issues.
"Although our experiment was carried out at near-infrared frequencies, this design strategy is applicable in other frequency ranges," notes Zhang. "We anticipate that with more precise fabrication, our technique should also yield a true invisibility carpet that works in the microwave and visible parts of the spectrum and at a larger size—showing promise for many futuristic defense and other applications."
2011年4月18日星期一
E-fabric spools bring bullet-proof watches, paper-thin batteries
Computer chips are arguably the most complex objects ever built by humans. Manufacturing a Pentium chip involves up to 5,000 steps of painting, etching, and polishing as up to 25 layers of metal and insulator are stacked onto a silicon wafer.
Imagine a yard-wide sheet of plastic coated in thin layers of metal and semiconductor rolling off a spool in a factory. That sheet passes under a printing press like a rolling pin, which imprints millions of transistors, capacitors, diodes, and wires onto it. The sheet then scrolls through an etcher to complete the printing process. The sheet would wind onto another spool as a finished product: perhaps a sheet of solar cells that could be unrolled and cut to size on a roof, or a flexible television display that could unwind like a blind in a living room.
Mr. Maltabes is working on these so-called “roll-to-roll” methods for making flexible, paper-thin computer displays. But he believes that the cheaper manufacturing and more flexible, durable products could fundamentally change the economic equation of what is affordable to do with electronics in general.
“There are devices that we can't even imagine now,” says Maltabes. “You could 'sensor' the world. Think about wrapping the pipes in your house with some kind of material that actually senses the temperature of your pipes. They tell you the pipes are about to freeze and warm them so they don't freeze.”
Or smart bandages that sense inflammation in a wound and release medications. Or lighted wallpaper, purchased by the roll at Home Depot, that changes color and hue with the turn of a knob.
One gadget being created with US military funds is the so-called Dick Tracy wristwatch: This flexible band, strapped on a soldier's wrist, would provide communication, satellite images, and Google Earth-style maps. “You should be able to shoot a bullet through it and have everything work except for the place where there was a hole,” says Maltabes, of the device, under development at Arizona State University's Flexible Display Center.
Roll-to-roll manufacturing could also lower the cost of making batteries. Yi Cui, a nanotechnologist at Stanford University, in California, is printing experimental batteries on paper and cloth using inks that contain carbon nanotubes and lithium-containing dust.
The technology potentially overcomes a major problem: Engineers would like to store electricity produced by solar and wind farms during the day, so it can be used at night – but the cost of today's lithium batteries renders this out of reach.
The “scale of the problem does not match,” says Dr. Cui. “You put together all of the lithium batteries we've made for the last 20 years to power the U.S. electrical grid and you can probably only power it for five to seven minutes.” Cui hopes, though, that printed batteries can be expanded to that massive scale.
Roll-to-roll could propel another green technology – printed solar cells – into widespread use in developing countries, enhancing the decentralized, off-grid economies that are already emerging.
In areas without electricity, small propane or solar-powered generators are already used to recharge cellphones – or sometimes even small LED lights, says Sandeep Tiwari, a nanotechnologist at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., who devotes some of his time to developing world technologies.
Imagine a yard-wide sheet of plastic coated in thin layers of metal and semiconductor rolling off a spool in a factory. That sheet passes under a printing press like a rolling pin, which imprints millions of transistors, capacitors, diodes, and wires onto it. The sheet then scrolls through an etcher to complete the printing process. The sheet would wind onto another spool as a finished product: perhaps a sheet of solar cells that could be unrolled and cut to size on a roof, or a flexible television display that could unwind like a blind in a living room.
Mr. Maltabes is working on these so-called “roll-to-roll” methods for making flexible, paper-thin computer displays. But he believes that the cheaper manufacturing and more flexible, durable products could fundamentally change the economic equation of what is affordable to do with electronics in general.
“There are devices that we can't even imagine now,” says Maltabes. “You could 'sensor' the world. Think about wrapping the pipes in your house with some kind of material that actually senses the temperature of your pipes. They tell you the pipes are about to freeze and warm them so they don't freeze.”
Or smart bandages that sense inflammation in a wound and release medications. Or lighted wallpaper, purchased by the roll at Home Depot, that changes color and hue with the turn of a knob.
One gadget being created with US military funds is the so-called Dick Tracy wristwatch: This flexible band, strapped on a soldier's wrist, would provide communication, satellite images, and Google Earth-style maps. “You should be able to shoot a bullet through it and have everything work except for the place where there was a hole,” says Maltabes, of the device, under development at Arizona State University's Flexible Display Center.
Roll-to-roll manufacturing could also lower the cost of making batteries. Yi Cui, a nanotechnologist at Stanford University, in California, is printing experimental batteries on paper and cloth using inks that contain carbon nanotubes and lithium-containing dust.
The technology potentially overcomes a major problem: Engineers would like to store electricity produced by solar and wind farms during the day, so it can be used at night – but the cost of today's lithium batteries renders this out of reach.
The “scale of the problem does not match,” says Dr. Cui. “You put together all of the lithium batteries we've made for the last 20 years to power the U.S. electrical grid and you can probably only power it for five to seven minutes.” Cui hopes, though, that printed batteries can be expanded to that massive scale.
Roll-to-roll could propel another green technology – printed solar cells – into widespread use in developing countries, enhancing the decentralized, off-grid economies that are already emerging.
In areas without electricity, small propane or solar-powered generators are already used to recharge cellphones – or sometimes even small LED lights, says Sandeep Tiwari, a nanotechnologist at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., who devotes some of his time to developing world technologies.
2011年4月17日星期日
Bridging Relocation challenges
Utilities deal with road and highway relocations everyday, but what does a utility do when it must design a 100-foot tall distribution pole to accommodate a relocation? That is the challenge the Missouri Department of Transportation (MODOT) presented when it asked Kansas City Power & Light (KCP&L) to relocate several distribution lines that traversed and paralleled Interstate 29/35.
The MODOT project included construction of a new cable-stayed, six-lane bridge alongside the existing bridge. Several distribution lines had to be moved to allow for construction of the new bridge and its approaches. MDOT used a construction approach known as build-as-you-go, which ultimately meant that deck information could not be finalized until the build was complete. When the calculations were finished, the contractor informed KCP&L that several of the relocated poles needed to be more than 100 feet tall.
Workers set a pole during the relocation of distribution lines.
KCP&L had limited experience designing poles larger than 60 feet; so it needed a manufacturer willing to team up on the new poles’ design. Once the contractor identified the affected poles, KCP&L solicited interest from several steel manufacturers. The extremely short lead-time made it necessary to consider other options. Although KCP&L had limited experience with laminated structures, it selected Laminated Wood Systems (LWS) to design and supply the poles.
The old structures were 69kV lattice tower structures retrofitted with 15 kV equipment. KCP&L decided to keep the original circuit path and install taller poles. This path included some large angle transitions and included spanning 12 sets of railroad tracks. KCP&L provided LWS with the entering and exiting angles, tension of the conductors and the soil classification in which they would install the poles. The team selected vertical construction to make the transitions easier and allow KCP&L to double dead-end at the structures and jumper around the poles. Building the line vertically presented several challenges:
* How much sag should the conductors have, and how would that affect the design?
* What was the appropriate clearance to the other structures, buildings, cars etc?
* How far apart should they install the conductors to prevent galloping?
To overcome these issues, the three 120-foot vertical poles were pre-cambered, and each consisted of two poles built with a separation between them to allow for mounting the insulator hardware. The cross-arm design of the other two poles would facilitate the transitions from the smaller poles that led to and away from the new structures.
A drill rig makes holes for relocated power poles during construction of the Christopher “Kit” Bond Bridge in Kansas City.
It was necessary to use a 7 to 8 foot diameter auger to drill the holes so the laminated poles could be embedded 15 to 20 feet below ground. The railroad required corrugated steel caisson tubes in the upper half of the pole holes for the three structures installed on its property. Once the poles were set, the holes where filled with 4,000-pound test concrete and supported by several boom trucks until the concrete could cure. When the poles were ready, KCP&L strung new conductor and removed the old structures and lines.
Pole casings wait to be installed during the construction of the Christopher “Kit” Bond Bridge in Kansas City.
The Christopher “Kit” Bond Bridge, now a new Kansas City icon, would not have been possible without the dedication and innovation of KCP&L and LWS. By working closely with its customer, MDOT, and its supplier, LWS, Kansas City Power & Light timely relocated its poles, which helped MODOT complete the new bridge ahead of schedule.
The MODOT project included construction of a new cable-stayed, six-lane bridge alongside the existing bridge. Several distribution lines had to be moved to allow for construction of the new bridge and its approaches. MDOT used a construction approach known as build-as-you-go, which ultimately meant that deck information could not be finalized until the build was complete. When the calculations were finished, the contractor informed KCP&L that several of the relocated poles needed to be more than 100 feet tall.
Workers set a pole during the relocation of distribution lines.
KCP&L had limited experience designing poles larger than 60 feet; so it needed a manufacturer willing to team up on the new poles’ design. Once the contractor identified the affected poles, KCP&L solicited interest from several steel manufacturers. The extremely short lead-time made it necessary to consider other options. Although KCP&L had limited experience with laminated structures, it selected Laminated Wood Systems (LWS) to design and supply the poles.
The old structures were 69kV lattice tower structures retrofitted with 15 kV equipment. KCP&L decided to keep the original circuit path and install taller poles. This path included some large angle transitions and included spanning 12 sets of railroad tracks. KCP&L provided LWS with the entering and exiting angles, tension of the conductors and the soil classification in which they would install the poles. The team selected vertical construction to make the transitions easier and allow KCP&L to double dead-end at the structures and jumper around the poles. Building the line vertically presented several challenges:
* How much sag should the conductors have, and how would that affect the design?
* What was the appropriate clearance to the other structures, buildings, cars etc?
* How far apart should they install the conductors to prevent galloping?
To overcome these issues, the three 120-foot vertical poles were pre-cambered, and each consisted of two poles built with a separation between them to allow for mounting the insulator hardware. The cross-arm design of the other two poles would facilitate the transitions from the smaller poles that led to and away from the new structures.
A drill rig makes holes for relocated power poles during construction of the Christopher “Kit” Bond Bridge in Kansas City.
It was necessary to use a 7 to 8 foot diameter auger to drill the holes so the laminated poles could be embedded 15 to 20 feet below ground. The railroad required corrugated steel caisson tubes in the upper half of the pole holes for the three structures installed on its property. Once the poles were set, the holes where filled with 4,000-pound test concrete and supported by several boom trucks until the concrete could cure. When the poles were ready, KCP&L strung new conductor and removed the old structures and lines.
Pole casings wait to be installed during the construction of the Christopher “Kit” Bond Bridge in Kansas City.
The Christopher “Kit” Bond Bridge, now a new Kansas City icon, would not have been possible without the dedication and innovation of KCP&L and LWS. By working closely with its customer, MDOT, and its supplier, LWS, Kansas City Power & Light timely relocated its poles, which helped MODOT complete the new bridge ahead of schedule.
2011年4月14日星期四
Three timely tips for aging well
Do you ever wonder about how aging is going to affect you? Do you worry about creaking joints, thinning hair and maladies of all sorts creeping up on you like a garden vine run amok twisting you into some ungodly hardly recognizable version of yourself?
It's no surprise that most of us don't look forward to aging.
When we aren't ruminating about getting older we lament about the loss of our youth.
Have no fear there is good news coming out of research on aging, which talks about building cognitive reserve as an insulator to the effects of aging.
Dr. David Bennett, who directs the Alzheimer's Disease Center at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, describes "something scientists call "cognitive reserve" — extra brain capacity. It compensates for whatever damage is accumulating."
Dr. Bennett goes on to say, "Having a purpose in life, conscientiousness, social networks, stimulating activities — all these things seem to be protective in terms of how your brain expresses whatever pathology it's accumulating."
I think this is great news because these variables are all things that we can work to develop.
It's no surprise that most of us don't look forward to aging.
When we aren't ruminating about getting older we lament about the loss of our youth.
Have no fear there is good news coming out of research on aging, which talks about building cognitive reserve as an insulator to the effects of aging.
Dr. David Bennett, who directs the Alzheimer's Disease Center at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, describes "something scientists call "cognitive reserve" — extra brain capacity. It compensates for whatever damage is accumulating."
Dr. Bennett goes on to say, "Having a purpose in life, conscientiousness, social networks, stimulating activities — all these things seem to be protective in terms of how your brain expresses whatever pathology it's accumulating."
I think this is great news because these variables are all things that we can work to develop.
2011年4月13日星期三
Saskatchewan's work-related fatalities increase in 2010
The number of work-related fatalities increased to 45 in 2010 from 34 in 2009, largely due to an increase in deaths from occupational diseases, the Saskatchewan Workers' Compensation Board (WCB) said Wednesday.
Of the 45 fatalities, 16 were from deaths from occupational diseases caused by exposure to carcinogens and other hazards in the workplace over years, even decades, the WCB report said.
There were eight fatalities from traumas, such as falls or crushing-type injuries, down from 11 in 2009, the report said.
"There really isn't anything good about having to report fatalities,'' said Peter Federko, CEO of the WCB. "But . . . the good news within these numbers is that fatalities as a result of workplace-specific traumas have decreased."
The other positive in the workplace fatality numbers is there were no workers under 25 killed on the job in Saskatchewan last year. "For the first time in 15 years, we did not have a youth fatality in 2010,'' Federko said.
In 2009, there were three workers under the age of 25 who died from injuries sustained in a work-related incident. "Having zero (in 2010) is wonderful and hopefully we can stay there,'' he added.
Federko said the 16 deaths from occupational diseases are largely the result of long-term exposure to asbestos. "Most of these fatalities were (from) asbestos-related lung disease,'' Federko said. "These exposures occurred 20 or 30 years ago when . . . asbestos was used primarily as an insulator."
The fact that the number of deaths from occupational diseases is rising reinforces WCB's "Mission: Zero'' campaign to eliminate workplace injuries and fatalities.
"What this signals is the importance of what we're doing today — not that we can do anything about those exposures that happened years ago — but to prevent history from repeating itself,'' Federko said.
"We can never, ever stop being vigilant.''
While the total number of workplace fatalities is up over recent years, WCB chair David Eberle noted that time-loss injury rate has fallen by more than 30 per cent since 2002.
"Every workplace death is a tragedy, and we should never lose sight of this. But this increase does not mean our workplaces are becoming less safe,'' Eberle said in a WCB press release
"In fact, there are more people working in Saskatchewan in 2010 and fewer people being injured."
In addition to the WCB fatality claims, each year, there are an average of 14 deaths and more than 200 hospitalizations that occur from farming and ranching work-related incidents.
About 75 per cent of farm deaths and 50 per cent of farm injuries are machinery-related, the WCB said.
Of the 45 fatalities, 16 were from deaths from occupational diseases caused by exposure to carcinogens and other hazards in the workplace over years, even decades, the WCB report said.
There were eight fatalities from traumas, such as falls or crushing-type injuries, down from 11 in 2009, the report said.
"There really isn't anything good about having to report fatalities,'' said Peter Federko, CEO of the WCB. "But . . . the good news within these numbers is that fatalities as a result of workplace-specific traumas have decreased."
The other positive in the workplace fatality numbers is there were no workers under 25 killed on the job in Saskatchewan last year. "For the first time in 15 years, we did not have a youth fatality in 2010,'' Federko said.
In 2009, there were three workers under the age of 25 who died from injuries sustained in a work-related incident. "Having zero (in 2010) is wonderful and hopefully we can stay there,'' he added.
Federko said the 16 deaths from occupational diseases are largely the result of long-term exposure to asbestos. "Most of these fatalities were (from) asbestos-related lung disease,'' Federko said. "These exposures occurred 20 or 30 years ago when . . . asbestos was used primarily as an insulator."
The fact that the number of deaths from occupational diseases is rising reinforces WCB's "Mission: Zero'' campaign to eliminate workplace injuries and fatalities.
"What this signals is the importance of what we're doing today — not that we can do anything about those exposures that happened years ago — but to prevent history from repeating itself,'' Federko said.
"We can never, ever stop being vigilant.''
While the total number of workplace fatalities is up over recent years, WCB chair David Eberle noted that time-loss injury rate has fallen by more than 30 per cent since 2002.
"Every workplace death is a tragedy, and we should never lose sight of this. But this increase does not mean our workplaces are becoming less safe,'' Eberle said in a WCB press release
"In fact, there are more people working in Saskatchewan in 2010 and fewer people being injured."
In addition to the WCB fatality claims, each year, there are an average of 14 deaths and more than 200 hospitalizations that occur from farming and ranching work-related incidents.
About 75 per cent of farm deaths and 50 per cent of farm injuries are machinery-related, the WCB said.
2011年4月11日星期一
Polymer-reinforced aerogel found resilient for space missions
"Tailoring Mechanical Properties of Aerogels for Aerospace Application," featured as a spotlight article in the March 23, 2011, edition of the American Chemical Society's Applied Material & Interfaces describes how polymer-strengthened silica aerogels maintain their effectiveness as thermal insulators under supercritical conditions of outer space, including temperature and pressure extremes.
Polymer improves strength and flexibility
Low thermal conductivity and low density make silica aerogels ideal insulators, according to Jana, yet their fragility often counters their prospective effectiveness, particularly in aerospace applications. Comprised of approximately 95 percent air and 5 percent silica, the delicate aerogels typically break down under relatively low stresses. However, a polymer conformal coating on the silica nanoskeleton not only improves the strength of aerogels, but their elasticity and flexibility as well.
"Consequently, you now have a material capable of withstanding compression and bending stresses as well as temperature extremes, making it a candidate for use on space rovers, inflatable decelerators and EVA suits," says Jana, whose team research examined density, pore structure, modulus and elastic recovery of epoxy-reinforced aerogels.
Subsequent research could lead to streamlined methods for applying the polymer reinforcement to aerosol articles and expanding their use and configuration. As flexible thin sheets, for example, aerogel insulation material can be wrapped easily around pipes or tanks, using shape memory properties of the polymer reinforcement, or can be produced in net shapes obviating secondary processing or secondary handling, according to Jana.
Polymer improves strength and flexibility
Low thermal conductivity and low density make silica aerogels ideal insulators, according to Jana, yet their fragility often counters their prospective effectiveness, particularly in aerospace applications. Comprised of approximately 95 percent air and 5 percent silica, the delicate aerogels typically break down under relatively low stresses. However, a polymer conformal coating on the silica nanoskeleton not only improves the strength of aerogels, but their elasticity and flexibility as well.
"Consequently, you now have a material capable of withstanding compression and bending stresses as well as temperature extremes, making it a candidate for use on space rovers, inflatable decelerators and EVA suits," says Jana, whose team research examined density, pore structure, modulus and elastic recovery of epoxy-reinforced aerogels.
Subsequent research could lead to streamlined methods for applying the polymer reinforcement to aerosol articles and expanding their use and configuration. As flexible thin sheets, for example, aerogel insulation material can be wrapped easily around pipes or tanks, using shape memory properties of the polymer reinforcement, or can be produced in net shapes obviating secondary processing or secondary handling, according to Jana.
Opening bell 11 April
Mumbai: Has the rally lost legs? Oil is on the boil again. Fewer trading days this week might make market participants wary of taking positions. Here is a list of things to know before markets open.
The world over, investors are selling equities on concerns that higher oil prices will stoke inflation and hurt corporate profits. All stock market indices in the US declined on Friday. The S&P 500 lost 0.40% to end at 1,328. Asian markets too opened mixed on Monday morning. Read more...
Escalating violence in Libya and concerns that the unrest might spread to other oil producing countries sent crude rates higher. Brent crude is trading at $126.70 a barrel, higher by $0.05.
Inflationary fears are driving investors towards precious metals. Silver jumped to a 31-month high. Gold for immediate delivery rose to a record $1,476.55 an ounce in Singapore trading.
Could there be any succour? Libyan dictator Gaddafi has accepted mediators’ roadmap to end the violence in Libya. South African President Jacob Zuma led a delegation of African leaders for talks in Tripoli. The delegation also called on NATO to end strikes in Libya. Read more...
Meanwhile in India, another battle is brewing between Reliance Industries and NTPC. With the production from its KG D6 blocks falling, RIL does not want to commit more gas to NTPC prompting the latter to approach the oil & gas Ministry for arbitration.
The Bangalore unit of Bhel is planning to increase its capacity by one-third to 20,000 MW in 2011-12. The company plans to invest Rs. 100 crore on expansion of its glass insulator manufacturing unit. Also, Bhel and Bharat Electronics are floating a joint venture to set up a 250-MW solar photovoltaic modules plant. The factory is expected to cost Rs. 2,000 crore.
The world over, investors are selling equities on concerns that higher oil prices will stoke inflation and hurt corporate profits. All stock market indices in the US declined on Friday. The S&P 500 lost 0.40% to end at 1,328. Asian markets too opened mixed on Monday morning. Read more...
Escalating violence in Libya and concerns that the unrest might spread to other oil producing countries sent crude rates higher. Brent crude is trading at $126.70 a barrel, higher by $0.05.
Inflationary fears are driving investors towards precious metals. Silver jumped to a 31-month high. Gold for immediate delivery rose to a record $1,476.55 an ounce in Singapore trading.
Could there be any succour? Libyan dictator Gaddafi has accepted mediators’ roadmap to end the violence in Libya. South African President Jacob Zuma led a delegation of African leaders for talks in Tripoli. The delegation also called on NATO to end strikes in Libya. Read more...
Meanwhile in India, another battle is brewing between Reliance Industries and NTPC. With the production from its KG D6 blocks falling, RIL does not want to commit more gas to NTPC prompting the latter to approach the oil & gas Ministry for arbitration.
The Bangalore unit of Bhel is planning to increase its capacity by one-third to 20,000 MW in 2011-12. The company plans to invest Rs. 100 crore on expansion of its glass insulator manufacturing unit. Also, Bhel and Bharat Electronics are floating a joint venture to set up a 250-MW solar photovoltaic modules plant. The factory is expected to cost Rs. 2,000 crore.
2011年4月7日星期四
How is it possible to improve memory chips?
Improvements in memory chips are now only possible by bringing in new materials that
can be laid down with the high quality needed. And the advances that we have made in
the REALISE project are going to allow more data capacity in flash memories and
faster transistor operation.
Which are these new materials?
The new materials are rare earth oxides: a fine powder that functions as an
electronic insulator. It will isolate the electrical information on computer chips.
The material itself is not costly and also the amounts used for nano thin layers are
tiny. Of all the elements in the periodic table the rare earth elements were
discovered relatively late. They were in the same mineral deposit and so they were
all classified together. We now know that they are not all that rare and that they
are useful elements for a variety of purposes. Like other metals they form oxides.
The rare earth oxides are safe and inert and they have useful electrical
characteristics. For those reasons they were aimed to be used in this project
because they behave as very good insulators.
How are these materials integrated into the memory chips?
The crucial element of the REALISE project is how to bring these oxides down onto
the chips and integrate them into the structures that are needed. The process used
is called ALD, atomic layer deposition. As the name implies, the scientists try to
lay down the layers atom by atom at a very fine scale. The chemical process has been
developed since the 1970ies and has now been used in the electronics industry to
make transistor chips. Another advantage: ALD can coat complicated three-dimensional
structures at the nano scale. Using the REALISE materials in 3D structures for
capacitors means that each capacitor uses less surface area on the wafer, leading to
an associated saving of 70 percent in cost. The project partners are sure that the
huge benefits these new materials will bring for the electronics industry will more
than outweigh the costs. Therefore, the aim is to produce a highly-insulating
dielectric material, with a so called high k-value, which enables a large
capacitance in memory chips.
Which is the role of nanotechnology in this project?
The electronics industry is probably the main example where we use nano technology
every day in our daily lives. All electronic components are now down on the nano
meter scale. And the new films that are needed for memory chips now must be as thin
as two or three nano meters. It is very hard to manufacture films that are this thin
with the high quality and the high uniformity that's needed. So that is what the
REALISE project was aiming to achieve, to lay down these with that nano meter scale
quality.
Have you already performed some tests?
Our institute was responsible for simulation of the deposition process and for
testing rare earth oxide material properties. To measure the capacitance that is
gained with the new process, probe tips contact one of the chips on the processed
wafer to apply a voltage across the rare earth films on it. The electrical tests
determined that the new material performs in terms of its insulating properties
three times better than alumina, the previous best material. Devices could therefore
be made that are three times smaller than the current record, with the bonus of
double the working lifetime. The REALISE project has developed a technology that is
now ready for industry application. It is the basis for manufacturing a one terabyte
USB stick in the near future.
can be laid down with the high quality needed. And the advances that we have made in
the REALISE project are going to allow more data capacity in flash memories and
faster transistor operation.
Which are these new materials?
The new materials are rare earth oxides: a fine powder that functions as an
electronic insulator. It will isolate the electrical information on computer chips.
The material itself is not costly and also the amounts used for nano thin layers are
tiny. Of all the elements in the periodic table the rare earth elements were
discovered relatively late. They were in the same mineral deposit and so they were
all classified together. We now know that they are not all that rare and that they
are useful elements for a variety of purposes. Like other metals they form oxides.
The rare earth oxides are safe and inert and they have useful electrical
characteristics. For those reasons they were aimed to be used in this project
because they behave as very good insulators.
How are these materials integrated into the memory chips?
The crucial element of the REALISE project is how to bring these oxides down onto
the chips and integrate them into the structures that are needed. The process used
is called ALD, atomic layer deposition. As the name implies, the scientists try to
lay down the layers atom by atom at a very fine scale. The chemical process has been
developed since the 1970ies and has now been used in the electronics industry to
make transistor chips. Another advantage: ALD can coat complicated three-dimensional
structures at the nano scale. Using the REALISE materials in 3D structures for
capacitors means that each capacitor uses less surface area on the wafer, leading to
an associated saving of 70 percent in cost. The project partners are sure that the
huge benefits these new materials will bring for the electronics industry will more
than outweigh the costs. Therefore, the aim is to produce a highly-insulating
dielectric material, with a so called high k-value, which enables a large
capacitance in memory chips.
Which is the role of nanotechnology in this project?
The electronics industry is probably the main example where we use nano technology
every day in our daily lives. All electronic components are now down on the nano
meter scale. And the new films that are needed for memory chips now must be as thin
as two or three nano meters. It is very hard to manufacture films that are this thin
with the high quality and the high uniformity that's needed. So that is what the
REALISE project was aiming to achieve, to lay down these with that nano meter scale
quality.
Have you already performed some tests?
Our institute was responsible for simulation of the deposition process and for
testing rare earth oxide material properties. To measure the capacitance that is
gained with the new process, probe tips contact one of the chips on the processed
wafer to apply a voltage across the rare earth films on it. The electrical tests
determined that the new material performs in terms of its insulating properties
three times better than alumina, the previous best material. Devices could therefore
be made that are three times smaller than the current record, with the bonus of
double the working lifetime. The REALISE project has developed a technology that is
now ready for industry application. It is the basis for manufacturing a one terabyte
USB stick in the near future.
2011年4月6日星期三
UPDATE: Crews restore power to most PG&E customers in SoMa
Only about 30 PG&E customers remain without power this afternoon following an equipment failure and reports of a small explosion in San Francisco's South of Market neighborhood, according to police and a PG&E spokeswoman.
About 2,400 customers lost power in the area of Second and Bryant streets shortly after 2 p.m., according to PG&E.
Police and firefighters initially said the outage was caused by a transformer failure, but PG&E spokeswoman Tamar Sarkissian later clarified that it was caused by clamps that failed. She said the clamps hold overhead wires to an insulator.
"It wasn't an explosion," Sarkissian said. "These failures can sometimes cause a noise."
At about 2:10 p.m., an ambulance was sent to 275 Brannan St., where the noise was heard and smoke was seen, but no injuries were reported, fire spokesman Deputy Chief Pat Gardner said.
Most customers had their power restored shortly after 3 p.m., Sarkissian said.
All customers should be back online by 6:30 p.m., according to PG&E.
About 2,400 customers lost power in the area of Second and Bryant streets shortly after 2 p.m., according to PG&E.
Police and firefighters initially said the outage was caused by a transformer failure, but PG&E spokeswoman Tamar Sarkissian later clarified that it was caused by clamps that failed. She said the clamps hold overhead wires to an insulator.
"It wasn't an explosion," Sarkissian said. "These failures can sometimes cause a noise."
At about 2:10 p.m., an ambulance was sent to 275 Brannan St., where the noise was heard and smoke was seen, but no injuries were reported, fire spokesman Deputy Chief Pat Gardner said.
Most customers had their power restored shortly after 3 p.m., Sarkissian said.
All customers should be back online by 6:30 p.m., according to PG&E.
2011年4月5日星期二
Force of acoustical waves tapped for metamaterials
A very simple bench-top technique that uses the force of acoustical waves to create a variety of 3D structures will benefit the rapidly expanding field of metamaterials and their myriad applications—including "invisibility cloaks." Metamaterials are artificial materials that are engineered to have properties not found in nature. Thesematerials usually gain their unusual properties—such as negative refraction that enables subwavelength focusing, negative bulk modulus, and band gaps—from structure rather than composition.
By creating an inexpensive bench-top technique, as described in the American Institute of Physics' journal Review of Scientific Instruments, Los Alamos National Lab (LANL) researchers are making these highly desirable metamaterials more accessible.
Their technique harnesses an acoustical wave force, which causes nano-sized particles to cluster in periodic patterns in a host fluid that is later solidified, explains Farid Mitri, a Director's Fellow, and member of the Sensors & Electrochemical Devices, Acoustics & Sensors Technology Team, at LANL.
"The periodicity of the pattern formed is tunable and almost any kind of particle material can be used, including: metal, insulator, semiconductor, piezoelectric, hollow or gas-filled sphere, nanotubes and nanowires," he elaborates.
The entire process of structure formation is very fast and takes anywhere from 10 seconds to 5 minutes. Mitri and colleagues believe this technique can be easily adapted for large-scale manufacturing and holds the potential to become a platform technology for the creation of a new class of materials with extensive flexibility in terms of periodicity (mm to nm) and the variety of materialsthat can be used.
"This new class of acoustically engineered materials can lead to the discovery of many emergent phenomena, understanding novel mechanisms for the control of material properties, and hybrid metamaterials," says Mitri.
Applications of the technology, to name only a few, include: invisibility cloaks to hide objects from radar and sonar detection, sub-wavelength focusing for production of high-resolution lenses for microscopes and medical ultrasound/optical imaging probes, miniature directional antennas, development of novel anisotropic semiconducting metamaterials for the construction of effective electromagnetic devices, biological scaffolding for tissue engineering, light guide, and a variety of sensors.
By creating an inexpensive bench-top technique, as described in the American Institute of Physics' journal Review of Scientific Instruments, Los Alamos National Lab (LANL) researchers are making these highly desirable metamaterials more accessible.
Their technique harnesses an acoustical wave force, which causes nano-sized particles to cluster in periodic patterns in a host fluid that is later solidified, explains Farid Mitri, a Director's Fellow, and member of the Sensors & Electrochemical Devices, Acoustics & Sensors Technology Team, at LANL.
"The periodicity of the pattern formed is tunable and almost any kind of particle material can be used, including: metal, insulator, semiconductor, piezoelectric, hollow or gas-filled sphere, nanotubes and nanowires," he elaborates.
The entire process of structure formation is very fast and takes anywhere from 10 seconds to 5 minutes. Mitri and colleagues believe this technique can be easily adapted for large-scale manufacturing and holds the potential to become a platform technology for the creation of a new class of materials with extensive flexibility in terms of periodicity (mm to nm) and the variety of materialsthat can be used.
"This new class of acoustically engineered materials can lead to the discovery of many emergent phenomena, understanding novel mechanisms for the control of material properties, and hybrid metamaterials," says Mitri.
Applications of the technology, to name only a few, include: invisibility cloaks to hide objects from radar and sonar detection, sub-wavelength focusing for production of high-resolution lenses for microscopes and medical ultrasound/optical imaging probes, miniature directional antennas, development of novel anisotropic semiconducting metamaterials for the construction of effective electromagnetic devices, biological scaffolding for tissue engineering, light guide, and a variety of sensors.
2011年4月1日星期五
Steven Robert Hausner, 50
Preceded by his mother in death, Steven Hausner has passed away unexpectedly in his home.
The beloved son of James and Fran Hausner, he graduated from Central Kitsap High School in 1978, served in the United States Marine Corps then worked at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard as an insulator.
He decided to go work in Antarctica for 2 years, then returning to Kitsap County where he worked as a tow truck driver.
His interests included music, fishing, camping and reading.
He is survived by his father and stepmother, James and Bonnie Hausner of Arizona and his 3 brothers James, Nick and Raymond all from Washington, The family will not be holding any services at this time. He will be missed.
The beloved son of James and Fran Hausner, he graduated from Central Kitsap High School in 1978, served in the United States Marine Corps then worked at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard as an insulator.
He decided to go work in Antarctica for 2 years, then returning to Kitsap County where he worked as a tow truck driver.
His interests included music, fishing, camping and reading.
He is survived by his father and stepmother, James and Bonnie Hausner of Arizona and his 3 brothers James, Nick and Raymond all from Washington, The family will not be holding any services at this time. He will be missed.
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