Micro grid keeps the power on in Japan

In March, Japan suffered a 9.0 earthquake and tsunami.   The power grid was knocked out in the port city of Sendai.  The power would be out for weeks.  In one corner of the city, though, a micro power grid kept the lights on. Tohoku Fukushi University had power from a micro power grid that was part of an experiment to show how a micro power grid with smart grid technology would make power more reliable.  While not set up to provide power in an extended disaster, the micro grid did supply power and heat to the university's labs and hospitals.

This may be the future of power delivery.  http://spectrum.ieee.org/energy/the-smarter-grid/a-microgrid-that-wouldnt-quit

CNN starts innovation blog and show

CNN started a blog on innovation on Monday.  Look at http://whatsnext.blogs.cnn.com/2011/11/07/welcome-to-whats-next/

They will also have a new show on innovations.  "The Next List" starts on Sunday, November 13 at 2 PM.  The host is Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

Could following innovation become more mainstream ?

More life for Moore's Law

For decades, the density of transistors that can be economically put on a chip has doubled roughly every two years.  In 2010 the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors predicted the pace slowing to only a doubling of chip density every 3 years.  Now Intel has announced the most dramatic change to the architecture of the transistor since it was invented. New Intel fabrication will build all transistors in 3 dimensions.
If it works, Moore's Law will continue for at least another 6 years,  with an eightfold increase in transistor density during that time.

Other manufacturers have different ideas, so it will take time to see which are successful.

The IEEE article is at:

http://spectrum.ieee.org/semiconductors/devices/transistor-wars/0

Bitcoins - Emerging or Scam ?

Over the last two years,  beneath the radar, there is a new emerging currency.  Or there is a new emerging ponzi scheme.  It seems to depend on who you ask.  In 2008 the idea of a currency for internet transactions was first proposed. The idea is to exchange the bitcoins between people as a peer to peer transaction with no clearing house or bank, and no fees.  A short video explanation is at http://www.weusecoins.com/.  Just this year users of bitcoins had their first conference in New York. It was attended by bitcoin miners, exchanges that allow conversion of bitcoins into traditional currency, and enthusiasts.  The writer pointed out that most of the people are either idealists are profiteers.  Are we seeing the birth of a new currency, or a fad that's subject to hacking ?  You may want to also read the comments.  This looks to be changing so fast, that the article may be partially out of date already !  http://spectrum.ieee.org/computing/networks/the-worlds-first-bitcoin-conference/0

Toxic Water Sponge

From Popular Mechanics this month.  A chemist has developed Obsorb, a glass substance the soaks up petroleum, solvents and other organic contaminants.

A graduate student discovered it accidentally working with molecules for a bomb detecting device. The contaminants can even be squeezed out of the Obsorb with heat so that it can be used again and again.


Way cool !
Popular Mechanics - Pollution Absorbing Substance

The Smart Grid.

IEEE has an article on how grid visualization and Google Earth were used to speed up restoration of power after hurricane Irene.

http://spectrum.ieee.org/computing/software/grid-visualization-efforts-helped-heal-after-hurricane

Developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, VERDE (Visualizing Energy Resources Dynamically on Earth) allowed utilities, emergency managers, the Department of Energy and repair crews to have a bird's eye view of transmission line status over the Eastern seaboard.  This helped restore power in less than the previous average time for an event of this magnitude.  It started development after the 2003 East Coast blackout.

Plug in hybrid vehicles to emerge

The power grid has been around for a century.  Hybrid vehicles are familiar to us all over the last decade.  They are about to meet in the Plug in Hybrid.  A few conversions have been done privately, but now the major automakers are going to start selling OEM plug in hybrids.

The difference with a plug in hybrid is that it will be connected to the power grid a lot of the time.  It will charge overnight, or during the day while parked,  and the battery will be used for much of the transportation until the gasoline engine is needed.  When connected to the grid, it might even be used as a power source, with the hybrid owner selling power to the grid at peak times.

Some of the issues to be addressed beyond the technology are the treatment of the vehicle when it's connected to the grid.  Sometimes it is a load, sometimes it is a generator.  Additionally,  road construction and repair is traditionally paid for with fuel taxes.  Once a significant number of vehicles are operating without filling up at the pump,  how are road projects to be fairly funded?