Armoredd.com

12:00PM Saturday Jun 20, 2009
By Anthony Doesburg

It’s been characterised as an arms race - the efforts going on in physics labs around the world to be first to build a working quantum computer.

It’s seen that way in some quarters because a quantum computer, a device that exploits the weird world of quantum mechanics, would make short work of deciphering the cryptographic codes used to secure internet banking - and numerous other things.

But hang on - there’s no need to give up the convenience of paying your bills online just yet. No one believes quantum computers will emerge from the research labs for at least a decade. And even before they do, cryptography based on the same quantum principles will ensure state secrets stored on government computers - not to mention the money in your savings account - will remain secure.

So calling it an arms race is probably overstating things. But there’s no denying numerous groups of researchers are vying to be first to make the breakthroughs - and many are needed - that will help bring quantum computers to reality.

The very concept of reality goes out the window when the world is reduced to atoms and their constituents, the components from which quantum computers are being built. To the layperson, when physicists start going on about atoms being in more than one place at a time - by inhabiting multiple universes, according to one theory - it begins to sound like make-believe.

Even Andrew Dzurak, who leads quantum computing research efforts at the University of New South Wales, calls it a “spooky” realm - although one suspects that’s for the benefit of his lay audience.

Dzurak and team, who are funded by the Australian Research Council and the United States National Security Agency, have been working for about a decade on trying to develop the basic transistors of a quantum computer.

It seems they may be on the brink of one of those key breakthroughs. In an experiment late last year, team member Andrea Morello thinks he got close to succeeding in taking a real-time measurement of the spin direction - either “spin up” or “spin down” - of a phosphorous electron.

In the kind of computer they are trying to build - and different researchers are going down different paths - the electrons bound to phosphorous atoms are the quantum bits, or qubits, that will represent the ones and zeros at the core of the machine. Once able to tell whether in a “spin up” or “spin down” state, where up is one and down is zero, the next step is to be able to change from one state to the other.

It sounds simple enough until you remember this is taking place on a scale where measurements are in nanometres, or billionths of a metre. Dzurak and Morello are working with a single phosphorous atom implanted in silicon.

They have opted for phosphorous because it holds the direction of electron spin for long enough - an hour at -272C - to be useful. But it is painstaking work to ensure the electron is not interfered with by stray electrical charges in the silicon.

How does a single qubit advance the computing cause when equated with the billions of transistors on one of today’s Pentium chips? Not much. But if you had 300 qubits, say, the spookiness really kicks in.

The Pentium processor’s billions of transistors perform calculations in a sequential fashion, which for many tasks it does at an adequate speed.

Quantum computers, literally, will make a quantum leap.

Through the baffling process of “entanglement”, those 300 qubits will be able contain the equivalent information of 2 to the power of 300 classical computer bits. That’s a big number.

“It’s actually comparable to all the atoms that make up the entire universe,” Dzurak says. “It’s the power of exponentials that quantum computing makes use of.

“For certain types of problems, it could solve in minutes what would take all the existing computers in the world put together thousands of years to calculate. So we’re talking billions of times faster - as many zeros as you can think of.”

Using all that power to crack cryptography codes is one eye-catching application. Dzurak sees others - like modelling the way biological structures, such as genes, are put together. But that is decades away.

And the arrival of quantum computers in offices and homes is years beyond that. “As they become easier and cheaper to make, and software is written for them, they’ll get disseminated into multipurpose commercial products,” Dzurak says.

In the meantime, Morello presented preliminary results of his spin measurement experiment, which he expected to “blow away” other phosphorous qubit researchers, at a semiconductor conference this week in Kyoto.

Not that he sees them as competitors. “You’re all trying to help each other,” Morello says. “But you’re more helpful when you’re in a good position.”

Anthony Doesburg is an Auckland technology journalist.

Source: New Zealand Herald

11 May 2009

Air Force Technology

The US Department of Defense (DoD) has announced plans to award 69 academic institutions $260m over the next five years to perform innovative multidisciplinary research.

The multidisciplinary university research initiative (MURI) programme supports research by teams of investigators that intersect more than one traditional science and engineering discipline in order to accelerate both research progress and transition of research results to application.

Some of the research awards include: funding for synthesis, characterisation and modelling of functionally graded multifunctional hybrid composites for extreme environments to Texas A&M University, bio inspired optics to Harvard University and hardware, languages and architecture research for defence against hostile operating systems at University of California.

The Army Research Office (ARO), the Office of Naval Research (ONR) and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) will award funding based on successful negotiations between he academic institutions and the military.

The awards announced today are for a five-year period subject to availability of appropriations and satisfactory research progress. This allows for greater sustained support than single-investigator awards for the education and training of students pursuing advanced degrees in science and engineering fields critical to the DoD.

The MURI programme is highly competitive. ARO, ONR and AFOSR solicited proposals in 32 topics important to the DoD and received a total of 152 proposals. The awards were selected based on merit review by panels of experts.

1.2 megawatt solar panel system, energy efficiency upgrades expected to cut facility’s electricity requirements in half to save $550,000 per year

LOS ANGELES, April 27 /PRNewswire/ — The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) today unveiled a groundbreaking energy efficiency and renewable power project with the installation of the nation’s largest solar panel system at a transit facility. It is also the largest solar panel installation within the City of Los Angeles.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090427/AQ06378)

The 6,720 individual solar panels at Metro’s Support Services Center in downtown Los Angeles - Metro’s central maintenance facility for buses - will generate 1.2 megawatt, or 1,200 kilowatts of renewable, emission-free power. Along with other energy-efficient improvements, the project is expected to cut the facility’s annual $1.1 million energy bill in half to approximately $550,000. Metro will reduce its purchase of utility power, which is anticipated to reduce carbon emissions by more than 3,700 metric tons, equivalent to planting more than 550 acres of trees and taking more than 600 cars off the road.

“Los Angeles is now one step closer to becoming the solar capital of the United States,” said Los Angeles Mayor and Metro Board Chair Antonio Villaraigosa. “Today’s unveiling of the City’s largest solar-powered facility will not only generate clean, renewable energy, but will provide the kinds of green jobs that this economy so desperately needs.”

The project is a public/private partnership between Metro and Chevron Energy Solutions. The $16.5 million project will receive about $6.3 million in incentives from the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP), Southern California Gas Co., (SoCalGas), and the South Coast Air Quality Management District. The project was financed by Bank of America.

“We are pleased to have the opportunity to work with Metro to help it achieve its sustainability goals,” said John Mahoney, Chief Operating Officer of Chevron Energy Solutions. “Metro is demonstrating how a transit authority can reduce its energy consumption and use clean, renewable power.”

California-based Chevron Energy Solutions, which designed and installed the solar photovoltaic system, will provide long-term oversight of the facility’s solar panel array and related new equipment and, in addition, will guarantee the energy savings and the level of energy generated by the solar panel array for the next 10 years.

Other energy conservation measures at the facility include the installation of new Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems, compressed air systems, and the replacement of about 4,000 lighting fixtures, all controlled by a state-of-the-art energy management system.

“This is the kind of environmental responsibility we need to see more of in Los Angelees,” said L.A. City Councilmember and Metro Director Jose Huizar. “This cleaner running facility tells us that we can and should build greener industries in our city, particularly in areas prone to higher pollutant levels. Today, Metro and its partners are setting a green standard that others need to emulate.”

For completing this project, Metro expects to receive incentives of 4.9 million from LADWP, up to $633,000 from Southern California Gas Co. and $807,000 from the South Coast Air Quality Management District. To date, Metro has received $2.6 million in incentives from SoCalGas for its previous installations of solar systems providing 851 kilowatts of electricity.

LADWP provided $4.1 million through its Solar Incentive Program as well as nearly $800,000 in incentives for energy efficiency technologies such as high efficiency air conditioning unit upgrades, installation of a cool roof, lighting efficiency measures, compressed air system upgrades, energy management systems, and others.

“We applaud Metro for helping to lead a clean and green tech revolution in Los Angeles. Metro’s solar system and energy efficiency upgrades will lower the city’s carbon footprint and increase the amount of clean, renewable energy produced here,” said David Nahai, LADWP Chief Executive Officer and General Manager.

“We commend Metro for its leadership in the use of renewable energy and energy-efficient equipment that will help the state meet its greenhouse gas emissions-reduction goals, move us toward energy independence and reduce energy costs,” said Hal D. Snyder, Vice President of Customer Solutions at SoCalGas.

The Metro Support Services Center is used for the rebuilding of bus engines, transmissions, and general bus repair. Spanning 27 acres, the 400,000-square-foot facility consists of five separate buildings where highly trained and certified technicians and mechanics keep Metro’s bus fleet in all of the agency’s 11 operating divisions in top condition.

“Metro’s Support Services Center uses a huge amount of electricity every year,” said Arthur T. Leahy, Metro CEO. “The facility’s use of solar energy sets a real benchmark for Metro to reach its goals of using new technologies to reduce carbon emissions and operating costs.”

In 2006, Metro completed a massive solar energy project encompassing 1,648 solar panels at its Metro Bus Divisions 8 and 15 in the San Fernando Valley, and two years later 1,632 solar panels were installed at its Carson bus division.

More recently, Metro’s new “ecologically green” San Gabriel Valley Sector office was built to the specifications of a GOLD rating by the leadership in Energy and Enviromental Design (LEED). The San Gabriel building consumes 33 percent less electricity than a conventional building and surpasses the State of California’s already strict standards for building energy use by 25 percent and water consumption standards by 50 percent.

Chevron Energy Solutions designs, constructs and operates facility projects, including infrastructure and renewable power systems, that increase energy efficiency, reduce energy costs, and ensure reliable power for public institutions and businesses. Since 2000, Chevron Energy Solutions has developed hundreds of projects involving energy efficiency or renewable power for education, government and business customers in the United States. For more information, visit www.chevronenergy.com.

For more information, visit www.chevronenergy.com. For more Metro information, visit www.metro.net.

SOURCE Chevron Energy Solutions

The Associated Press
Published: February 15, 2009
International Herald Tribune

BRUSSELS: Belgium opened a new €20 million “zero emissions” polar science station in Antarctica on Sunday, returning to the continent to study climate change 42 years after closing its first base there.

The Princess Elisabeth research hub is totally energy-self-sufficient and also aims not to emit any carbon dioxide, according to the International Polar Foundation, which runs the base.

The octagonal, spaceship-like base sits on stilts on a ridge a few kilometers north of the Soer Rondane Mountains. It will focus on analyzing nearby deep ice shelves.

The station’s roof is covered by solar panels, designed to provide the bulk of energy needed to run the isolated post. Other energy will come from large wind turbines.

The base is expected to have a lifespan of 25 years and will conduct research in climatology, glaciology and microbiology. Teams of scientists, including glaciologists, are already at work there from Belgium, Japan, France, Britain and the United States.

The station was inaugurated Sunday by the Belgian defense minister, Pieter De Crem, and other government officials.

“It is really important that as a small country we can show our participation in large international efforts here in Antarctica,” De Crem told VRT television from Antarctica.

Maaike Van Cauwenbergh, from the Belgian Science Policy Office, said the base is in an isolated area “where there has been little research done.” She said it cost €20 million, or $26 million, to build and was in a vast 1,000-kilometer, or 600-mile, zone between the Russian and Japanese research stations.

The Belgian government partially finances the public-private project.

The International Polar Foundation said the new station “raises new standards” in research on the inhospitable polar continent.

“The Princess Elisabeth station attests that there is growing public interest in projects carrying a message of sustainable development, especially in terms of energy management,” the polar group said in a statement.

“The conception of a ‘zero emission’ building capable of standing up to the extreme conditions in the Antarctic goes to show that similar techniques can also be deployed in more temperate areas of the world,” it added.

Belgium closed its first science station in Antarctica in 1967.

Copyright © 2009 the International Herald Tribune All rights reserved

Friday, January 23, 2009

Mass High Tech
By Brendan Lynch

Five New England teachers have landed $2,500 each from Raytheon Co.’s MathMovesU program, according to the defense giant.

The awards, which Raytheon (NYSE: RTN) calls its “Math Hero Awards,” were given to Joshua Frost of Jonas Clarke Middle School in Lexington; Barbara Rappaport of Fuller Middle School in Framingham; Mike Wenger of Londonderry High School in Londonderry, N.H.; Gregory Greco of the Metropolitan Regional Career and Technical Center in Providence, R.I.; and Karen Climis, of Common Ground High School in New Haven, Conn. Raytheon also gives a matching $2,500 grant to the school where the teacher works.

The awards are intended to reward teachers for promoting science, technology engineering and math to students. Teachers were nominated by students, parents and faculty.

The company said it gave awards to 32 teachers across the United States.

In October, Raytheon added 30 scholarships of $20,000 each to the MathMovesU program. The defense contractor revised MathMovesU to allow students who have already won a scholarship from the program to be eligible to win one of 30 additional $20,000 merit-based bonus awards if they major in a STEM field at an accredited college.

Raytheon as also developed a MathMovesU game, intended to show students how math is involved in their interests — music, fashion, sports and travel, for example.

19:44 | 21/ 11/ 2008

MOSCOW, November 21 (RIA Novosti) - Russia currently has around two billion tons of toxic waste on its territory, and there is no effective way to dispose of it, the Russian consumer rights regulator said Friday.

“Electroplating industry waste products, as well as waste containing mercury and chlorinated organics represent a particular danger,” Rospotrebnadzor said, citing the federal program devoted to Russia’s national system of chemical and biological security for 2009-2013.

The Volga Federal District has the maximum number of waste products, about 400 tons per 1 square km. The Southern and Central Federal districts’ pollution levels are 267 tons and 211 tons per square km accordingly.

The level is 190 tons per sq km in the Urals Federal District, and 139 tons per sq km in the Siberian Federal District, with the Northwestern and Far Eastern Federal districts being polluted the least - with 70 and 16 tons per sq km correspondingly.

There are several special sites in Russia to store and process dangerous industrial waste in the northern, southern and central parts of the country.

“However, there is a lack of effective technical solutions to dispose of and neutralize toxic industrial waste. Dangerous waste processing technologies are often based on the thermal destruction method, whose use is connected with an additional pollution of the atmosphere,” the document said.

The federal program has been developed by the health, defense, agriculture, emergency situations and trade ministries, as well as regulators. A total of 34 billion rubles ($1.2 billion) will be spent on the program.

November 20, 2008

(ChattahBox) — Exploiting the difference in temperature between seawater near the surface and deep down could supply the world with near limitless cheap green power. As the price of fossil fuels soars, private companies from Hawaii to Japan are racing to build commercial underwater plants. The trick is to exploit the difference in temperature between seawater near the surface and deep down. How does it work?

First, warm surface water heats a fluid with a low boiling point, such as ammonia or a mixture of ammonia and water. When this “working fluid” boils, the resulting gas creates enough pressure to drive a turbine that generates power. The gas is then cooled by passing it through cold water pumped up from the ocean depths via massive fibreglass tubes, perhaps 1000 metres long and 27 metres in diameter, that suck up cold water at a rate of 1000 tonnes per second. While the gas condenses back into a liquid that can be used again, the water is returned to the deep ocean. It is, of course, no ordinary pipe but an integral part of the technology behind Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC), a clean, renewable energy source that has the potential to free many economies from their dependence on oil. Robert Cohen, who headed the US federal ocean thermal energy program in the early 1970s, says:

“This has the potential to become the biggest source of renewable energy in the world.”

The idea of tapping the ocean’s different thermal layers to generate electricity was first proposed in 1881 by French physicist Jacques d’Arsonval but didn’t receive much attention until the world oil crises of the 1970s. In 1979, a US government-backed partnership that included Lockheed Martin, lowered a cold water pipe from a barge off Hawaii that was part of an OTEC system generating 50 kilowatts of electricity. Two years later, a Japanese group built a pilot plant off the South Pacific island of Nauru capable of generating 120 kilowatts.

In the first flush of success, the US Department of Energy began planning a 40 megawatt test plant off Hawaii. Then in 1981, the funding for ocean thermal technologies began to dwindle. It dried up altogether in 1995 when the price of oil began to drop, eventually falling below $20 a barrel.

Now rising fuel costs have revived interest in this neglected technology. In September, the Department of Energy awarded its first grant for ocean thermal energy in more than a decade, giving Lockheed Martin $600,000 to develop a new generation of cold water pipes.

Cohen believes this could eventually lead to 500 MW OTEC plants on floating offshore platforms sending electricity to onshore grids via submarine cables, and factory ships “grazing” the open ocean for power.

Lockheed’s first goal is to get a test facility up and running. The company has got together with Makai Ocean Engineering of Waimanalo, Hawaii, to build a 10 to 20 MW plant, most likely off Hawaii, that it hopes to have up and running in the next four to six years. The plant - including a 1000-metre pipe some 4 metres in diameter - would feed electricity to the island’s energy grid via submarine cables.

While Lockheed gears up for its test facility, a plant for the US military could come online even sooner. OCEES International, based in Honolulu, is finishing designs for an ocean thermal facility to be built off the island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, which is home to a major US military base.

The plant would provide 8 MW of electricity and would also power the desalination of 1.25 million gallons of seawater per day. OCEES says it could be up and running by the end of 2011.

Still, both teams will have to work out issues such as how to connect the floating, bobbing platforms to fixed submarine power lines. Heat exchangers will have to be designed in a way that prevents excessive buildup of algae, barnacles and other marine organisms that could clog the system.

If these test plants are a success, larger, commercial-scale plants could transform the energy equation on Hawaii, where nearly 77 per cent of electricity is generated by burning oil. “It will be the major energy game changer for our state and elsewhere in the world if we can get OTEC working well at the 100 MW level or larger,” says Lockheed collaborator Reb Bellinger of Makai Ocean Engineering.

But scaling up won’t be easy. A 100 MW plant might have a pipe 30 feet in diameter suspended 3000 feet. That’s not a small challenge because you’ve got a lot of stresses and strains from current.

Hans Krock, who has worked on OTEC designs for the University of Hawaii,the US Department of Energy, and who founded OCEES in 1988, has bigger ambitions. He recently left to start Energy Harvesting Systems, a firm with ambitious plans to build a 100 MW OTEC plant off the coast of Indonesia. The electricity it generates will be used to produce hydrogen, a green fuel that could be used to power zero-emission vehicles. Krock says he has funding for the $800 million plant and it could be up and running within two years, once building contracts are finalised.