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Archive for the ‘energy’ category: Page 243

Jan 17, 2020

Stealth space startup SpinLaunch snares another $35 million from investors

Posted by in categories: energy, space

The secretive California-based startup, which is developing a novel kinetic-energy-based launch system, has received an additional $35 million from investors, bringing its total investment haul to $80 million.

Jan 15, 2020

Conspiracists say lasers used to start bushfires to make way for a new train network

Posted by in categories: energy, transportation

Thousands of Australians appear to believe lasers and exploding smart meters are being used to start our bushfires to make way for a new train network.

A Storyful investigation with news.com.au has found the conspiracy theory has spread far and wide on social media — with “directed-energy weapons” (DEWs) posts being shared tens of thousands of times in the past few weeks.

Those who believe the theory say the bushfires in this unprecedented season are being started using weapons which harness the focused power of technology such as lasers or microwaves.

Jan 15, 2020

‘We want to win the next war’: US Army will revamp cyber operations to counter Russia and China

Posted by in categories: cybercrime/malcode, energy, military

As warfare continues to enter the digital realm, the Army plans to transform its cyber operations branch into a full-scale information warfare command, according to a top U.S. general.

The service will convert Cyber Command into the Army Information Warfare Command, Army Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville said at a panel on Tuesday. It’s one of the several modernization efforts the Army is taking on to counter “great power” opponents like Russia and China.

“We’re recognizing the importance of information operations, so our Cyber Command is going to become an information warfare command,” McConville said.

Jan 13, 2020

Uranium-reducing electrode cleans up groundwater

Posted by in categories: energy, materials

Uranium contaminated groundwater that is unsafe to drink could be cleaned up using the new remediation technique.

An electrochemical technique could prevent the spread of uranium in contaminated groundwater and provide a new way to source material for use in nuclear fuel.

Jan 12, 2020

Israeli Water-From-Air Technology Named ‘Energy Efficiency Product of Year’

Posted by in categories: energy, habitats, sustainability

Residents of El Talento, a small town in Colombia adjacent to the city of Cúcuta, have been introduced to the GEN-M, Watergen’s medium-scale atmospheric generator that produces water out of air, October 2019. Photo: Courtesy.

JNS.org – An Israeli-made machine that creates fresh drinking water from air was named the “Energy Efficiency Product of the Year” in the 2020 Smart Home Mark of Excellence Awards at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas on Wednesday.

Presented annually during CES by the Consumer Technology Association, the Mark of Excellence Awards recognize the technology industry’s top smart-home innovations. The water-from-air appliance, named “GENNY,” was manufactured by the Rishon Letzion-based company Watergen.

Jan 9, 2020

These hacking groups are eyeing power grids, says security company

Posted by in categories: cybercrime/malcode, energy

Cybersecurity company warns that hackers are investigating industrial control systems associated with power infrastructure.

Jan 9, 2020

Solar Foods claims ‘food made from air’ could price match with soy

Posted by in categories: energy, food, sustainability

When Solar Foods is producing its novel protein Solein at full-scale production, and using the cheapest source of renewable energy to do so, the start-up believes it ‘could match soy’, CEO Pasi Vainikka tells FoodNavigator.

Jan 6, 2020

How to squirrel-proof the power grid

Posted by in category: energy

The microgrid would make the power grid more resilient to storms — and squirrels.

Jan 5, 2020

The Other MEDUSA: A Microwave Sound Weapon

Posted by in categories: business, energy, military

MEDUSA appears to be a popular name for directed energy weapons. There’s the MEDUSA I wrote about yesterday, a high-energy beam weapon one company hopes could destroy tanks and planes. And then there’s another MEDUSA, a nonlethal microwave weapon that was briefly funded by the Navy that uses “silent audio” (the auditory effect from microwaves). In other words, it makes you hear things in your head:

Hyper_microwave_22_gr
The main goal of the Phase I project wad to design and build a breadboard prototype of a temporary personnel incapacitation system called MEDUSA (Mob Excess Deterrent Using Silent Audio). This non-lethal weapon is based on the well established microwave auditory effect (MAE). MAE results in a strong sound sensation in the human head when it is irradiated with specifically selected microwave pulses of low energy. Through the combination of pulse parameters and pulse power, it is possible to raise the auditory sensation to the “discomfort” level, deterring personnel from entering a protected perimeter or, if necessary, temporarily incapacitating particular individuals. *

The idea of the “Voice of God” weapon (a weapon that makes you hear voices in your head) has been around for a while, and this small business contract was but one one modest, and likely unrelated, offshoot of other microwave-auditory effect research. The company stated at the end of “phase one” of this research: “An operating frequency was chosen — Hardware requirements were established (commercial magnetron, high-voltage pulse former) — Hardware was designed and built — Power measurements were taken and the required pulse parameters confirmed — Experimental evidence of MAE was observed.”

Jan 4, 2020

Guarding Against Directed-Energy Weapons

Posted by in category: energy

BAE Systems is working on a form of atmospheric shield to protect against directed energy weapons.

Jack Browne