Planetary Gear

Researchers at Purdue University have had a breakthrough that may completely change how engineers design cooling systems in everything from computers to electric and hybrid cars.

Using special computer chips from Delphi Electronics, Suresh Garimella, the R. Eugene and Susie E. Goodson Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Purdue University, and doctoral student Tannaz Harirchia, have developed and tested new mathematical formulas concerning the properties of boiling liquids in "microchannels."

Purdue University doctoral student Tannaz Harirchia holding up the computer chip she and professor Suresh Garimella (right) used to develop new formulas concerning 'microchannels.'

(Credit: Purdue University)

It's no secret that engineers, particularly chipmakers and computer manufacturers, have been striving for years to design cooling systems with highly efficient heat-transfer rates.

Microchannels are tiny channels through which fluid is directed in some types of high-power electronic cooling systems. Purdue University researchers have been working on the idea of microchannel heat sinks, as well as liquid-filled chips, for some time. IBM has also been developing a liquid-based chip-cooling concept.

Garimella and Harirchia have now determined that "allowing a liquid to boil in cooling systems dramatically increases how much heat can be removed, compared to simply heating a liquid to below its boiling point," according to their report.

"Boiling occurs differently in tiny channels than it does in ordinary size tubing used in conventional cooling systems," Garimella said in a statement.

Details of the breakthrough will be presented on October 8 in Belgium at Therminic 2009, an annual conference on thermal research and technology for microelectronics.

Having come up with a new way to assess fluid boiling in microchannels, Garimella and Harirchia now plan to concentrate on developing heat-transfer models engineers can use when designing cooling systems for high-power electronics.

Conducted in conjunction with Delphi Electronics, the research was funded by Indiana's 21st Century Research and Technology Fund, and Purdue-based National Science Foundation Cooling Technologies Research Center, a consortium of corporate, academic, and government laboratories.

Researchers from Korea claim to have produced the world's first purely white LED (light-emitting diode).

Soo-Young Park, a professor of organic materials for photonics at the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Seoul National University in Korea, led the group, which includes researchers from the University of Valencia in Spain.

LEDs are much more energy-efficient than incandescent or compact fluorescent lightng (CFL), but the quality of light they can give a room is up for debate.

Soo-Young Park, professor at Seoul National University.

(Credit: Seoul National University)

Because LEDs do not naturally produce white light, getting them to look like they do adds to their production cost, making them much more expensive than your average incandescent or CFL. Many companies have been trying to come up with different LED recipes and components to produce a nice white light, while keeping the consumer cost down.

Park and his group claim to have engineered a molecule with one orange and one blue light-emitting material that produces a white light in the visible light spectrum when put together.

In other words, they say they've invented a white-light-emitting diode.

Repeated laboratory tests apparently showed that the new form of LED molecule is efficient, color stable, and able to be reproduced again and again, making it a legitimate candidate for use in LED lighting.

A detailed explanation of the group's molecular work can be found in the current issue of Journal of the American Chemical Society.

"An ideal material for a white-light source should be cost-effective, stable, robust, emit over the whole visible spectrum, not suffer from self-absorption, and its pure color should be easily reproducible. With this goal in mind, we have successfully synthesized and characterized, for the first time, a white-light-emitting single molecule dyad, consisting of two noninteracting chromophores showing excited-state intramolecular proton transfer," Park and his group said in their paper.

University researchers in England and the Ukraine have built a laser that emits high-frequency sound waves instead of light beams.

Called simply the "saser," the acoustic laser uses packets of sonic vibrations called "phonons" much like a regular laser uses photons.

Specifically, the acoustic laser device consists of a sonic beam traveling through a "superlattice" constructed of 50 sheets of material each only atoms thick that are alternately made of gallium arsenide and aluminium arsenide, two materials found in semiconductors.

Sasers could have "significant and useful applications in the worlds of computing, imaging, and even anti-terrorist security screening," according to the researchers.

Anthony Kent, a professor in the University of Nottingham's School of Physics and Astronomy, led the U.K. group that worked in collaboration with Borys Glavin of the Lashkarev Institute of Semiconductor Physics in the Ukraine.

Professor Anthony Kent of the University of Nottingham.

(Credit: University of Nottingham)

The saser theory has been around for years, and several labs around the world have been working on variations of the device. But Kent's group said it has built the "first device to emit sound waves in the terahertz frequency range." The beam of "coherent acoustic waves" that it creates has nanometer wavelengths, according to the group's abstract.

The breakthrough is being published in the prestigious Physical Review journal. The researchers are also receiving a grant for just over $1 million (636,000 pounds) from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council of the U.K..

"While our work on sasers is driven mostly by pure scientific curiosity, we feel that the technology has the potential to transform the area of acoustics, much as the laser has transformed optics in the 50 years since its invention," Kent said Wednesday in a statement.

"The Geek Atlas: 128 Places Where Science and Technology Come Alive" by John Graham-Cumming could be the answer to the yearly Father's Day gift dilemma.

(Although I know a lot of women who would love this book, too.)

Graham-Cumming's book is not of the tacky so-and-so-slept-here variety, but a compendium of locations of true worth in the history of science and tech breakthroughs.

(Credit: O'Reilly Media)

The book, which is organized by country, includes latitudes and longitudes for GPS devices, and info like whether a historical site is free or available for a price. It's heavy on U.K. and U.S. sites (it lists the U.S. sites by state) but does attempt to cover the entire world.

Some of the recommendations are little-known science museums that happen to have one or two holdings of great worth, but many are a bit more unusual and creative. Graham-Cumming includes things like the descendant of Isaac Newton's apple tree at Trinity College in Cambridge, England, and the first bridge ever constructed from cast iron which visitors can still walk across at the Severn River in Ironbridge, England.

In addition to listing the historical sites, the author gives background and factoids on the inventor, or team of inventors, and the story behind each breakthrough.

For example, Isaac Newton's official position at the University of Cambridge was Lucasian Professor of Mathematics, the title currently held by the British theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking.

Graham-Cumming discusses why Alan Turing's contribution to computer science was so significant and arguably more important than his role in breaking the Nazi Enigma code at Bletchley Park, England. He explains in detail the Turing Machine and Turing's Halting problem complete with formulas.

The thorough stories and science lessons make the book, which includes a lot of photos and illustrations, a fun summer read for the astute armchair traveler as well as a guide for those looking to explore more than the usual church, museum, and park routes of sightseeing vacations.

The author, a former programmer and computer scientist by degree, also used social-network creator Ning to build a companion social-networking site to his book, GeekAtlas.com, where readers and travelers can share their experiences, and post photos and videos of their travels.

While in this economy you may not be able to go to see Léon Foucault's Pendulum still swinging in the Pantheon in Paris, the U.S. list is so comprehensive, chances are you live within easy driving distance from at least two places and probably more.

The "The Geek Atlas: 128 Places Where Science and Technology Come Alive" will be available June 3 with a list price of $29.99 (some sites are also listing it for pre-order at $19.79).

An elastomer made with mechanophore-linked polymers changes color when stretched.

(Credit: Beckman Institute Imaging Technology Group, Darren Stevenson, and Alex Jerez)

Scientists at the University of Illinois have developed polymers that change color when the material becomes overstressed.

The materials science invention could be used in things like parachute cords, climbing ropes, or added to smart coatings for bridges.

The polymers contain mechanophores--molecules that create a chemical reaction that makes the synthetic material change color when a certain amount of force is exerted upon it.

One of the polymers offered by the scientists as an example of their work is an amber-colored elastomer that turns progressively more orange as it's pulled and then finally red right before it reaches its point of failure and snaps (see photo). In another example, the group made a hard little bead that turned from translucent to purple when compressed.

The group, whose project is funded by the U.S. Army Research Office MURI program, had previously done work with mechanophore-linked polymers in liquid. This latest invention is with solids .

The University of Illinois research was led by Nancy Sottos, a Willett Professor of materials science and engineering and a professor at the university's Beckman Institute; and Douglas Davis, graduate research assistant and lead author on the project.

Davis noted that the material can go back to its original color once relieved of stress and perform the same function over and over.

"Mechanical stress induces a ring-opening reaction of the spiropyran that changes the color of the material. The reaction is reversible, so we can repeat the opening and closing of the mechanophore," Davis said in a statement.

Keeping that in mind, the group hopes to create mechanophore-linked polymers that could actually self-reinforce each time they're met with increased stress. If created, the material could be used in things like airplanes as a temporary solution to damaged or stressed parts. In a plane, for example, parts made of the polymer could self-reinforce to minimize damage until the plane could safely be landed and fixed.

Details of the group's invention can be found in the May 7 issue of Nature.

While they're fascinating to watch and sometimes even delicious to eat, how many times a day do you really think about the octopus or what an amazing piece of natural machinery it is?

Cecilia Laschi, professor of industrial bioengineering at the Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna in Pisa, Italy, is so impressed by the octopus she's leading an extensive team of roboticists and scientists to build the first soft-bodied robot replicate of one. Which may not seem that exciting, until you learn just how unique the muscle tissue and dexterity of the octopus is.

As New Scientist cleverly pointed out, if the "Octopus" project is successful a robot someday might be able to accomplish the task seen in this video by Dr. James B. Wood, an assistant research scientist at the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences who maintains a Web site on cephalopods.

If you think it through, the octopus is a very dexterous creature that if translated into a robot could provide endless capability for exploring hard to reach places in the ocean. While we've seen other aquatic robots reaching for the depths of the ocean or mimicking creatures like fish and snakes, a completely soft-bodied underwater robot would be groundbreaking.

Radio-transmitting sensor developed by KSU engineers uses solar cells from high-end calculators to power itself.

(Credit: Kansas State University)

Correction on Wednesday at 11:27 a.m. PST: A press release on which this story was partially based misidentified which NASA mission the technology will be used for. This post was updated with correct information. The energy-harvesting sensors are part of research for forthcoming Mars Scout Missions.

Engineers at Kansas State University have developed a radio with sensors and microprocessors that can transmit data and is self-sufficient when it comes to power.

The device, called by the engineers an "energy-harvesting radio," is essentially a wireless sensor with microprocessor and radio that can transfer a flash of data gathered by the sensor every few seconds.

Wireless sensors are not new; they've already been in use to monitor environmental data like river pollution and weather. Even at the consumer level, there are weather radios sold at high-tech gadget stores: people place a radio sensor on the outside of their house and read the weather report from a receiving device inside.

Only those sensors need batteries to power them. The radios being developed by the KSU researchers power themselves and their microprocessor with alternative energy. And instead of only measuring the temperature or pollution levels, these radios can be used to measure all sorts of things, such as stress on bridges.

Bill Kuhn, KSU professor of electrical and computer engineering, and Xiaohu Zhang, a graduate student in electrical engineering, are working on the project for San Diego, Calif.-based Peregrine Semiconductor.

Currently, Kuhn and Zhang are using high-end calculator solar cells to power the radio. But the radio could be powered by electrochemical, thermal, or mechanical energy, according to the researchers.

The research being developed by KSU in conjunction with NASA, the California Institute of Technology, and Peregrine will go toward developing radio sensors for use in the Mars Scout Missions.

The energy-harvesting radio also seems to be a bit of a showpiece for the communications chipmaker since the autonomous sensors happen to require the exact type of technology that Peregrine specializes in: high-speed communications integrated circuits, aka low-power radio chips. Specifically, the researchers are using Peregrine's UltraCMOS silicon-on-sapphire technology.

While they've already managed to get the system to work, Kuhn and Zhang are now refining things like range, power, and frequency. Currently, the radio sends out a burst of data from its sensor every five seconds.

But it's a delicate balancing act.

The scientists have to decide how often the radio should transmit to its receiver vs. how much power it should use, how much data it should process, and how far of a range it should be able to transmit.

More scientists and engineers are about to join the international race to the moon sponsored by Google and the X Prize Foundation.

The foundation announced Thursday it will introduce two new Google Lunar X Prize teams to its already weighty roster of 14 competitors. The announcement will be made Tuesday via a teleconference from Google headquarters. Although the X Prize Foundation organizes a number of innovation competitions, the Google Lunar X Prize is sponsored in conjunction with Google.

Team LunaTrex will also have an announcement to make at that time, according to the foundation.

Then on Wednesday, Google and the X Prize Foundation plan to reveal the "true identities" of the "Mystery Team," whose members have been blogging about their competition experience. The team members will appear in person from an event at the NASA Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, Calif.

"The countdown has begun and soon the nameless faces of the Mystery Team members will be unveiled. But I must admit, it's been fun attending events such as Airventure and the AGI conference 'incognito.' I think I speak for all the Mystery Team members when I say, we are ready for what's next!" founding Mystery Team member who goes by the screen name MikeJ said on the Lunar X Prize blog.

The Google Lunar X Prize was officially announced at Wired's Nextfest in September 2007 and began to welcome teams in December of that year. It's a race to design, build, and send a robotic spacecraft "safely" to the moon, have it drive around on the surface of the moon for a minimum of 500 meters, and have the communications capability to send data, images, and video of its mission back to Earth.

The first team to land on the moon and complete several tasks put forth by the Lunar X Prize rules by December 31, 2012, will win $20 million.

Just to make it a little more exciting: if no one makes it by that date, the grand prize drops to $15 million.

The second team to reach the moon and complete the objectives will win $5 million. There will also be a total of $5 million in "bonuses," though it's unclear how Google will decide to distribute that money among the remaining competitors.

In order to qualify, competing teams must get 90 percent of their funding to compete from private sources.

Any ideas on who MikeJ and his or her teammates might be? According to the official team roster, the Mystery Team includes "experienced aerospace engineers, research scientists, mathematicians, physicists, university students and a former USAF pilot" all based across the U.S.

I'll take a guess. What about New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg? He has the private funds, has been a supporter of the X Prize Foundation, and the inventor-turned-businessman-turned-politician is a techie at heart. He holds a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering from Johns Hopkins University.

Time Magazine has named 23andMe, one of the first consumer genetic testing services, its 2008 Best Invention of the Year.

(Credit: 23andMe)

23andMe, named for the 23 chromosome pairs every human has, set itself apart from other DNA-testing services, because "it does the best job of making them accessible and affordable," according to Time.

The company offers a $399 DNA test that includes an ancestry analysis, and a health analysis. The health analysis tests for about 90 predispositions ranging from what eye color you'll probably pass on to whether you're likely to get arthritis someday.

Customers are sent a kit by mail that includes a test tube to spit in for the saliva sample and registration materials to log in online. Once the sample is registered and mailed to 23andMe, customers can expect results in about 4-6 weeks.

The company was co-founded by Linda Avey, a biopharmaceutical industry veteran with a background in biology; and Anne Wojcicki, an entrepreneur with experience in healthcare investing and a Yale University degree in biology.

Wojcicki's husband, Google co-founder Sergey Brin, has an additional reason to be proud of Time Magazine's list. The Tesla Roadster, an all-electric sports car made by Tesla Motors, was named runner-up. Brin has given some financial backing to the struggling company.

Other inventions that made it into the top 10 include Hulu.com, the video-streaming site that legally offers free TV shows and movies online; NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter; and the Large Hadron Collider.

The full list of all 50 inventions Time Magazine has named noteworthy for 2008 will appear in the October 31 issue, but it's already been posted to Time's Web site.