Next Big Future October 14, 2018 China and 23 other countries already engage in significant weather modification. China is setting up or has already set up a level of rain control across Tibet and other parts of China. Tens of thousands of fuel-burning chambers will be installed across the Tibetan mountains, with a view to boosting rainfall in the region by up to 10 billion tons of rain annually. In 2013, China was already producing 55 billion tons per year of artificially induced rain. China is expanding this to over 250 billion tons per year…read more.
The future of electronic devices: Strong and self-healing ion gels
Phys.org October 12, 2018 Researchers in Japan have created a polymer gel, called the ion gel, by combining two materials, one is repelled by ionic liquids while the other bonds with hydrogen to form a diblock copolymer. The combination of the liquid salts and the diblock copolymer material resulted in a final micellar structure. Hydrogen bonding is reversible and contributes to a material’s ability to self-heal which can be completed within a few hours. The material has applications in flexible electronics…read more. TECHNICAL ARTICLE
DARPA Seeks Proposals for Third OFFSET Swarm Sprint, Awards Contracts for Second
DARPA News October 12, 2018 DARPA’s OFFensive Swarm-Enabled Tactics (OFFSET) envisions swarms of 250 collaborative autonomous systems providing critical insights to small ground military units in urban areas with limited sight lines constrain communications and mobility. Swarm sprints allow for incorporation of emerging technology and new performers throughout the life of the program. Each of five core sprints focuses on one or more of the key OFFSET thrust – or topic – areas: swarm tactics, swarm autonomy, human-swarm teaming, virtual environment, and physical testbed. Each topic emphasizes slightly different perspectives, but ultimately aims to enable breakthroughs in swarm capabilities…read more. Solicitation
Businesses Spent $375 Billion on R&D Performance in the United States in 2016
NSF News September 25, 2018 Funding from the companies’ own sources was $318 billion in 2016, a 7.1% increase from 2015. Funding from other sources was $57 billion in 2016 and $59 billion in 2015. Data for this InfoBrief are from the Business R&D and Innovation Survey, developed and cosponsored by the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics within the National Science Foundation and by the U.S. Census Bureau…read more.
Flowing salt water over this super-hydrophobic surface can generate electricity
Eurekalert October, 3, 2018 Researchers at UC San Diego created a surface so hydrophobic that it enables water (and any ions it carries) to flow faster when passing over it; it holds a negative charge, so a rapid flow of positive ions in salt water with respect to this negatively charged surface results in an electrical potential difference, creating an electrical voltage. The surface was made by etching tiny ridges into a silicon substrate and then filling the ridges with oil. The proof-of-concept work could lead to the development of new power sources for lab-on-a-chip platforms and other microfluidics devices…read […]
Forecasting Military Technology 2020-2040
Next Big Future October 9, 2018 In reviewing the last 20 years (2000-2020), researchers at the Brookings Institution believe only computers and robotics had revolutionary change. This would include drones. Seven categories of military technology had high change—chemical sensors, biological sensors, radio communications, laser communications, radio-frequency weapons, nonlethal weapons, and biological weapons. Technological change of relevance to military innovation may be faster and more consequential in the next 20 years than it has proven to be over the last 20. Multiple countries (most notably China and Russia) are having the resources to compete with Western nations in military innovation…read more. Open […]
Future soldiers with metamaterial invisibility and power suits
Next Big Future October 5, 2018 The US soldier will be getting more advanced technology and more electrical power for those systems over the next 20 years. Over the next five years the electrical power will double to about 25 watts and then 50 watts in 6-15 years and then 100 watts in 16 years. Squads will have 200-300 watts. Platoons are heading to 5 kilowatts…read more.
Glow-in-the-dark paper as a rapid test for infectious diseases
Science Daily October 3, 2018 An international team of researchers (Japan, the Netherlands) has developed microfluidic paper‐based analytical devices (μPADs) based on bioluminescence resonance energy transfer (BRET) switches for analyte recognition and colorimetric signal generation. They use BRET‐based antibody sensing proteins integrated into vertically assembled layers of functionalized paper, fully reagent‐free operation, including on‐device blood plasma separation. It takes about 20 minutes and a drop of blood to test the sample for anti-bodies. The device is ideally suited for user‐friendly point‐of‐care testing in low‐resource environments…read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLE
Hypersonic weapons are the top US military research priority
Next Big Future October 6, 2018 The urgency for hypersonic weapons is because of a growing capability gap the American military seeks to close and the very real risk that China and Russia may field hypersonic technology in advance of the United States. DARPA and the Air Force are leading the way with key industry partners on contracts to develop operational capabilities. DARPA is soliciting ideas for a “Glide Breaker” hypersonic missile defense system…read more.
New laser technology can identify unknown white powders from safe distance
Phys.org October 8, 2018 An international team of researchers (UK, USA – industry) was able to identify 11 white powder samples using their infrared laser system. No samples or disturbance of the powders were required, and they could be identified from up to one metre away. They illuminated each sample with broadband coherent light in the 8–9-µm band. Similarities between different spectra were quantified using Pearson’s correlation coefficient, confirming that spectral features in the 8–9-µm wavelength region were sufficient to discriminate between all eleven powders evaluated in the study. The researchers believe that the identification system will prove most useful […]