A flexible battery is a super-fast chargeable battery, taking as little as 30 seconds for a full charge. It is a polymer based organic battery. This new technology combines the advantages of both traditional batteries and capacitors by offering both energy storage capability and high power output, with greater results.
It uses a new plastic polymer rather than metal as its cathode. The organic radical polymer used in the battery is in a gel state which conducts electric current throughout the surface. It is this gel-like structure of the plastic which gives the battery its flexibility. From the intense speed of the organic radical polymer electrode reaction, the salts travel through the polymer with ease and encounter little resistance, charging is accomplished in a record time of 30 seconds.
The uses for this new technology are endless. In size, it is smaller than an iPod Nano and 200 nanometres thick. Due to its small size and its low weight, it will greatly increase the portability and mobility of all devices today from cellular phones to laptops. All transportable devices which currently use a battery can be further miniaturized and will find its weight reduced. In most laptops today, the heaviest part of the computer remains the battery. For example, replacing this component by its comparatively weightless counterpart will further increase portability of laptops. Another physical characteristic is its pliant ability and flexibility, from which the name comes from, which implies it is not fragile, an essential characteristic for all portable devices which are often dropped and tossed around. Finally, all batteries today are a threat to the environment if they are disposed of with common household garbage and left to decompose in the soil. Special recycling programs have been created to collect used batteries. However, what differentiates flexible batteries from common batteries is that they are not made of destructive metal, but rather plastic. Its constitution makes it environmentally friendly and easily recyclable.
In conclusion, the convenient size and weight of the polymer battery, its flexibility, as well as its non-destructive nature makes it possible to use in infinite situations, bettering our everyday life. Up to date, its lifecycle is of 1000 charges, however due to its convenient size and weight it is not a problem for individuals to carry recharges on them. Furthermore, one must keep in mind that this technology is still being developed, which implies even more advancements will be made. A great future can be expected for this new procedure!
References:
-physorg.com, "NEC Develops New Ultra-Thin, Flexible Battery Boasting Super-Fast Charging Capability," available at http://www.physorg.com/news8853.html
-rsc.org, "Flexible battery power," available at http://www.rsc.org/AboutUs/News/PressReleases/2007/flexiblebatterypower.asp
-wikipedia.org, "Polymer-based battery," available at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polymer-based_battery
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
SpaceShipTwo
SpaceShipTwo is a suborbital spaceplane. Its purpose is to carry passengers in private spaceflight, commencing space tourism. The craft partly uses the technology developed for SpaceShipOne project, the hybrid rocket motor. This aircraft launches horizontally, unlike a spacecraft, but rises following an exponential curve which causes to shorten the horizontal range of takeoff. SpaceShipTwo will fly somewhere between 135 and 140 km in altitude, higher than the original SpaceShipOne vessel which reached the 100km line.
A hybrid rocket propulsion system is a combination of a solid fuel and a liquid oxidiser. The oxidiser is fed into the combustion chamber and the mixture is then ignited which causes the fuel to burn. A hybrid motor is preferred to the previous use of solid propulsion systems, especially in commercial use, since it offer four advantages. First, the motor can be restarted. This implies the motor can be turned off when suborbital space is reached and then turned back on for landing. Second, the hybrid propellant is very safe, especially compared to the other forms used in space travel. It is inert, therefore should not explode unless given extraordinary circumstances. Also, the explosive equivalent of hybrid is taken to be 0, compared to 100% for solids. Third, the force of the motor can be controlled; augmented or diminished as desired. Fourth, this new propulsion system is cleaner. Environmental concerns are growing for the general public and since such commercial flights will occur more frequently than space missions, it is a preoccupation to limit the environmental damage caused. One disadvantage however, is that one cannot predict with absolute certainty how the solid and the liquid will mix which affects the average specific impulse, the actual efficiency of the rocket.
SpaceShipTwo will offer commercial orbital flights to the public. The first flight is schedule to launch in 2009. The initial cost of a ticket will be of 200,000$, but will drop within a year to 20,000$. This new technology offers the possibility, in the future, of shortening long distance flights by reaching orbital altitude and taking advantage of free displacement. This would greatly shorten the time required to travel from one end of the world to another. As the mode of transportation becomes more popular, the ticket price will become more affordable. These new spaceplanes will revolutionize the travel industry as well as the business world due to increased speed and ease of travel.
References:
-urocketman.com, "Hybrid Rockets," available at http://www.ukrocketman.com/rocketry/hybridscience.shtml
-wikipedia.org, "Scaled Composites SpaceShipTwo," available at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scaled_Composites_SpaceShipTwo
-space.com, "First Civilian Astronaut Pilots SpaceShipOne into Suborbit," available at http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/SS1_airborne_040621.html
A hybrid rocket propulsion system is a combination of a solid fuel and a liquid oxidiser. The oxidiser is fed into the combustion chamber and the mixture is then ignited which causes the fuel to burn. A hybrid motor is preferred to the previous use of solid propulsion systems, especially in commercial use, since it offer four advantages. First, the motor can be restarted. This implies the motor can be turned off when suborbital space is reached and then turned back on for landing. Second, the hybrid propellant is very safe, especially compared to the other forms used in space travel. It is inert, therefore should not explode unless given extraordinary circumstances. Also, the explosive equivalent of hybrid is taken to be 0, compared to 100% for solids. Third, the force of the motor can be controlled; augmented or diminished as desired. Fourth, this new propulsion system is cleaner. Environmental concerns are growing for the general public and since such commercial flights will occur more frequently than space missions, it is a preoccupation to limit the environmental damage caused. One disadvantage however, is that one cannot predict with absolute certainty how the solid and the liquid will mix which affects the average specific impulse, the actual efficiency of the rocket.
SpaceShipTwo will offer commercial orbital flights to the public. The first flight is schedule to launch in 2009. The initial cost of a ticket will be of 200,000$, but will drop within a year to 20,000$. This new technology offers the possibility, in the future, of shortening long distance flights by reaching orbital altitude and taking advantage of free displacement. This would greatly shorten the time required to travel from one end of the world to another. As the mode of transportation becomes more popular, the ticket price will become more affordable. These new spaceplanes will revolutionize the travel industry as well as the business world due to increased speed and ease of travel.
References:
-urocketman.com, "Hybrid Rockets," available at http://www.ukrocketman.com/rocketry/hybridscience.shtml
-wikipedia.org, "Scaled Composites SpaceShipTwo," available at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scaled_Composites_SpaceShipTwo
-space.com, "First Civilian Astronaut Pilots SpaceShipOne into Suborbit," available at http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/SS1_airborne_040621.html
Monday, October 1, 2007
Tele-Surgery
Tele-surgery is an extensive use of computer-controlled robotics in operation rooms. This technology uses robot arms controlled by a surgeon to perform a surgical intervention. First, the robotic arm projects a greatly enlarged three-dimensional view of the patient’s interior to guide the surgeon through the organs. Second, the robotic arms mimic the surgeon’s movement, filtering out any tremors. This technique allows surgeons to perform minimal invasive surgical techniques which reduce the patient’s hospital stay and the risk of infection, among other advantages. Also, this creates a less stressful and tiring environment for the surgeon, resulting in more accuracy due to the machine’s high performance ability.
Tele-surgery is performing the same robotics operations as described previously, but from a distance. This extended use of robotics has numerous advantages as it will allow surgeries to be performed in isolated rural areas by a qualified professional, such individuals not having access to all the expert help available in cities. Also, surgeons will be able to work for numerous hospitals, their expertise being used where it is most needed. Furthermore, this could be extended to cross-border assistance, for example an American surgeon could perform a life-saving intervention on a wounded soldier in Iraq, from his office, in between two consultations.
Tele-surgery will also help spread the knowledge since experts are assisted by on-site trainees who will gain experience and learn from the expert while supervising the intervention. The trainee feels the expert’s movement, like an invisible hand guiding his, through the mechanic arms controlled from distance.
The challenge however is that as the distance increases, so does the lag time between the surgeon’s hand motions and the robotic arm’s actions which can be located at opposite sides of the globe. Also, the network communication infrastructures must be 100% reliable. In recent years, this second challenge has been eliminated by the use of fibre-optic to assure safe transmission of data.
Another consideration is the cost of such intervention. The financing required to acquire this new technology is sizeable. However, one must keep in mind that costs of travel are eliminated as the patient does not need to be transported to the expert, or vice-versa. Also, as medical robotics becomes more widely used, competitor products to the original Da Vinci robot will enter the market, offering variations in use and lowering price as it will become a commodity, rather than a highly priced innovative luxury.
In conclusion, robot-assisted operating room is modifying the way hospitals are run today, as well as the education of surgery. One must keep in mind that a surgeon performing an operation from home is still working, while training his colleagues at the hospital at the same time, and he should be remunerated for his work. This implies that hospital management must re-think their staffing procedures and compensations.
References:
-technologyreview.com, "RoboSurgeons" by Steve Ditlea, available at http://www.technologyreview.com/Infotech/12200/
-pbs.org, "Remote Surgery" by Sharon Kay, available at http://www.pbs.org/wnet/innovation/episode7_essay1.html
-MedMarkets, "Telesurgery to Impact Medical Care," available at http://www.intersurgtech.com/MMDarticle.pdf
Tele-surgery is performing the same robotics operations as described previously, but from a distance. This extended use of robotics has numerous advantages as it will allow surgeries to be performed in isolated rural areas by a qualified professional, such individuals not having access to all the expert help available in cities. Also, surgeons will be able to work for numerous hospitals, their expertise being used where it is most needed. Furthermore, this could be extended to cross-border assistance, for example an American surgeon could perform a life-saving intervention on a wounded soldier in Iraq, from his office, in between two consultations.
Tele-surgery will also help spread the knowledge since experts are assisted by on-site trainees who will gain experience and learn from the expert while supervising the intervention. The trainee feels the expert’s movement, like an invisible hand guiding his, through the mechanic arms controlled from distance.
The challenge however is that as the distance increases, so does the lag time between the surgeon’s hand motions and the robotic arm’s actions which can be located at opposite sides of the globe. Also, the network communication infrastructures must be 100% reliable. In recent years, this second challenge has been eliminated by the use of fibre-optic to assure safe transmission of data.
Another consideration is the cost of such intervention. The financing required to acquire this new technology is sizeable. However, one must keep in mind that costs of travel are eliminated as the patient does not need to be transported to the expert, or vice-versa. Also, as medical robotics becomes more widely used, competitor products to the original Da Vinci robot will enter the market, offering variations in use and lowering price as it will become a commodity, rather than a highly priced innovative luxury.
In conclusion, robot-assisted operating room is modifying the way hospitals are run today, as well as the education of surgery. One must keep in mind that a surgeon performing an operation from home is still working, while training his colleagues at the hospital at the same time, and he should be remunerated for his work. This implies that hospital management must re-think their staffing procedures and compensations.
References:
-technologyreview.com, "RoboSurgeons" by Steve Ditlea, available at http://www.technologyreview.com/Infotech/12200/
-pbs.org, "Remote Surgery" by Sharon Kay, available at http://www.pbs.org/wnet/innovation/episode7_essay1.html
-MedMarkets, "Telesurgery to Impact Medical Care," available at http://www.intersurgtech.com/MMDarticle.pdf
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