DATA MINING
CALL ME Big Data. Several years ago—never mind how long precisely—computers became potent enough to analyze huge collections of information. These metastudies of data mining have included everything from medical reports … Continue reading
48 VOLTS
JOHNSON CONTROLS, a major automaker supplier, has announced it’s developing a 48-volt lithium-ion battery for automobile applications. According to Automotive News, January 21, 2013, an unnamed European automaker (spelled Mercedes-Benz?) … Continue reading
SCIENCE DUO
IT’S GREAT being a science dilettante, learning just enough about a topic to be fascinated without having to roll up one’s intellectual sleeves and actually do the science. The weekly Science … Continue reading
LITHIUM-ION BATTERIES
NO PUN intended, but we need to go a little deeper with the grounding of Boeing 787 Dreamliners, their fire and smoke emergencies having been attributed to the aircraft’s use … Continue reading
MIND THE GAP
HURRAH FOR the London Underground, 150 years old today! It was on January 10, 1863, a Saturday, that thousands of Londoners queued up to ride the Metropolitan Railway underground from … Continue reading
EUCLID’S ELEMENTS
ONE OF the best examples of the elegance of mathematics, The Elements of Euclid, was composed more than 2300 years ago. The Greek mathematician Euclid lived in Alexandria around 300 … Continue reading
2012 HIGHS—AND LOWS
A JOYOUS New Year to you! I turn to Science magazine, published weekly by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, to celebrate the top scientific achievements of the … Continue reading
JEFFERSON’S TOY BOX
WE’VE ALL heard that Thomas Jefferson was something of a renaissance man, a Leonardo da Vinci of his time. This is corroborated in the fine book, Passions, The Wines and … Continue reading
FUEL CELLS, PEM & SOLID OXIDE
TWO DISTINCT types of fuel cells have been in the news lately. In a sense, both types are known for performing electrolysis in reverse: They take in hydrogen and oxygen … Continue reading
IEA OIL GUSH
RECENT HEADLINES (“U.S. Oil Output to Overtake Saudi’s”) have interesting subtexts cited in Science, 30 November 2012, Vol. 338 and in The New York Times Magazine, December 16, 2012. The … Continue reading
