Earlier this month, the NASA announced that its budget proposal includes $125.5 million to explore the use of low-power reactors as part of the propulsion systems in new spacecraft. One prototype reactor already has been built by researchers at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. The proposed nuclear program also aims to develop a new series of generators that converts decay heat from small amounts of plutonium into electricity.
Continue reading… “NASA May Use Nuclear Rockets to Reach Deep Space”

Scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee claim that, for an instant, they created a star in a jar. Unlike today’s nuclear reactors, which take heavy, rare elements such as uranium and split them in a process called fission, the fusion at work in stars “fuses” hydrogen together under immense pressure – releasing far more energy than fission.

Researchers in Tennessee filled a small tube with a specially prepared fluid then shot neutrons through the liquid to generate bubbles. The final ingredient added to the mix were high frequency sound waves. They moved through the fluid, oscillating its pressure between high and low some 20,000 times a second. This, in turn, put pressure on the bubbles.

Continue reading… “Scientists Create ‘Starlight in a Jar’”

The Web site known as the “CIA Electronic Reading Room,” was established to provide the public with an overview of access to CIA information, including electronic access to previously released information. But don’t expect to stumble across any top secret documents – even taxpayers can’t access all documents produced by their government’s intelligence services. And keep a virtual look-out, you might be being watched.
Continue reading… “CIA Electronic Reading Room”

A low-cost handheld computer developed by seven Indian engineers to take the Internet to rural masses will start rolling out in May, the head of a firm pioneering the project said.

The “Simputer,” short for Simple, Inexpensive, Multilingual, is championed by its followers as a friend of the poor, but some of its supporters add that its features match cool and trendy handhelds like those built by Palm Inc. Cost $250

Continue reading… “‘Simputer’ – Simple, Inexpensive, Multilingual Computer”

As the U.S. Congress debates future energy policy, fuel cells, which convert hydrogen and oxygen into electricity, are at the center of a new initiative from the U.S. secretary of energy, Spencer Abraham.

Dubbed the “Freedom Car” initiative, the plan will fund research and development of fuel cell-powered cars in collaboration with U.S. automakers and is designed to reduce America’s dependency on foreign oil.

Continue reading… “Fuel Cells For Your Car”