NANOTECHNOLOGY

Wednesday, 5 March 2014

New iPhone 6 Screen Will Repair Itself When Scratched

We have always seen Apple leading the pack with its innovative ideas and exemplary innovations. However, recently it seems that apple took some help from LG and has filed a patent that is quite similar to the technology that LG already uses in its new smartphones. It is the self healing technology which LG has employed in G-Flex handset launched back in October.
Patent

According to the patent that has been put forward by Apple, this particular coating can be applied anywhere on the device and will basically be filled with a peculiar material that is capable of flowing. When it flows into marks and scratches, it makes them disappear. This patent was published by United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) yesterday and is being called as “Systems and Methods for Preventing Light Guide Plate Scratching”.
GFlex Handset

The coating is being compared with by Natoco’s Self Healing Cure technology. Natoco’s technology works by two ways and is composed of a polymer-alloy. The two principles as per which it works are known as; ‘Curling effect’ and ‘Trampoline effect’. You can Google these both to learn how they work but in a nutshell, the Curling effect essentially makes your screen too slippery for it to take any scratch whereas the Trampoline effect makes the structure return to its original position after impact. The coating’s thickness might be 50 nano-meters and as per details from the patent, it will stop any foreign object from penetrating through the screen to the phone electronics.
Apple has more than just this method to render its products scratch-less. Other methods include providing the casing with convex bumps which are installed directly on glass and are able to absorb scratches. The other method is similar to that of Natoco to render the screen slippery. Apparently, Apple has finally decided to do something about its devices being so fragile.
iPhone

There are also rumors floating around about Apple making use of sapphire glass to make the future screens and give them strength that would be unparalleled in the market! Well, fingers crossed as we wait for Apple to come up with something that would be better than its predecessors!

Tuesday, 4 March 2014

Thermoelectric Fan Powered by a Candle

by Joohansson

A Thermoelectric generator powered by a tealight. It started as an experiment of how much power I could get from one candle. But I liked the idea and it worked really well so I built this electric-mechanical ornament. I did not use a high temperature TEG-module, but instead a cheap TEC-module. That can still handle 200 degrees Celsius which is good enough.

Concept:
It is also called a peltier element and when you use it as a generator it's called seebeck effect. You have one hot side and one cold. The module generates power to drive a motor and the motor fan/air flow will cool the upper heat sink. Higher temperature difference => increased output power => increased motor RPM => increased air flow => increased temperature difference and so on. The airflow will spread the heat into your room, which is the purpose of this construction.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermoelectric_effect

If you unmounts the basement you could also use it as a stove-fan or move air from other heat sources. The motor start to turn at about 15 degrees difference, which to my surprise worked when I just went outdoors with it and the upper heat sink got cooler than the basement. You can place it in hot water, on an ice cube, a pizza and it works just as fine.

Total cost was about 50€ (incl. shipping costs). I used some spare parts but I bought most of it.

Components used:
• CPU-cooler (cold side): Zalman CNPS5X (Base plate: 33x33mm)
• CPU-cooler (hot side): From an old PC (WxLxH=78x63x67mm)
• TEC-module: TEC1-07110T200 (30x30x3.3mm)
• DC Motor: 1,5-3V
• USB-fan (metal, only needed the fan)
• Thermal paste: Arctic MX-4
• A piece of wood
• Two pull springs
• Four M4 bolts and two M3 bolts
• Aluminum tubes (optional)

TEC specification (at ΔT=68C):
Vmax: 8.5
Imax: 10
Qmax: 52.7
Tmax: 200 degrees Celsius
Source: http://www.termo-gen.com

Construction:
First of all, it does not need to be exactly those components. Other heat sinks, TEC/TEG, motor, fan, thermal paste, bolts and base plate can be used. Main concept rules are:

A TEC or TEG module (smaller dimension than upper heat sink base plate). Specifications are not that important but make sure it can handle high temperature. Many modules are only 100 degrees C and then you need to modify the construction as it gets warmer than that.
One hot side that is not hotter than TEC max-temp (My candle flame never touches the surface)
One cold side, an efficient heat sink (heat pipes) are a good choice
Good thermal paste to maximize temperature difference
Low voltage motor, around 1V. I prefer it to be quite (low dB)
Fan with high air flow at low RPM
Base plate that adds stability, holder for light, isolate heat

The lower heat sink (hot side) was cut and polished to get it nice looking. I kept 5mm of the fins to absorb the heat well when the light flame burns and increases distance to the surface. New dimensions are 78x63x15mm. 4 holes are drilled through the heat sink and threaded as M4. 4 bolts will hold the lower heat sink on top of a wooden platform. Bolts go through the platform from below, covered with aluminum pipes for a better looking design and are screwed into the heat sink. The distance between wood and heat sink is 35mm but I would make it 40-45mm as the flame almost touches the surface. You don´t want that because it creates black soot. The lower heat sink gets really warm but at the same time it works as a cooler to not get TOO warm, that would melt the TEG-module.

Two springs attached to M3 bolts fixate the upper heat sink on the lower, with TEC-module and thermal paste in between. Both surfaces of the TEC are covered with a thin smooth layer of thermal paste. The springs adds pressure as well as isolate the heat to travel to the cold side. The upper heat sink could also be screwed into the lower heat sink but then you need isolated screws.

The TEC is directly attached/soldered to the motor and the motor is attached to the upper heat sink by another small piece of metal and a cable tie. The fan is attached to the motor with a small belt wheel and glue.

Result:
I think the hot aluminum part get to about 100-150 Celsius, I measured the temp with a grill thermometer covered in thermal paste but can´t tell how accurate it was. I measured 0.4V and 0.25A with one candle and 0.67V and 0.54A with two. That results in 0.1W resp. 0.36W output power. The efficiency to produce electricity this way is not that impressive though. A candle produce about 25 Watts, that means 0.7% efficiency.. But who cares, everything this machine does will eventually end up in heat any way =) That is a bit interesting, you increase the room-heating speed (I think) but looses nothing..

It is a bit noisy to have running all the time. To find the optimal motor/fan => airflow/noise level will require some more experimenting.

Mod Proposals:

Skip the base platform and bolts and use it as a stove-fan.
Use two/four TECs side-by-side to multiply output power. Add a 5-10mm thick copper plate that covers all modules and then place the CPU-cooler on top of that.
Use a brushless DC motor and a suitable fan to make it noiseless.
Build in a slow motor beneath the platform to make the whole thing spin 360 degrees.
Put wheels on the platform.

Edit:
I have changed the motor to a "Tamiya 76005 Solar Motor 02 (Mabuchi RF-500TB)". Got it on Ebay. It´s incredibly strong at low RPM and I give it only 0.5V. A very good motor, but best of all, it´s quiet! I cannot hear it at 2m distance at full speed. It also gives stronger air flow.

source:http://www.instructables.com

Free Internet From Space

Outernet wants to use tiny satellites to take the whole world online—even in countries where dictators wish they wouldn’t.

CubeSats are tiny, but they could one day be used to bring the Internet to millions.(Flickr/thebadastronomer)

If all goes according to plan, North Koreans will soon have free, uncensored Internet provided by satellites the size of toaster ovens.

That's part of a project called Outernet, which hopes to launch hundreds of tiny satellites—known as CubeSats—to provide Internet to every person on Earth. Forty percent of the world's people currently don't have access to the Web. In a little more than a year, Outernet plans to have a fleet of 24 satellites operational and testing to pave the way for a globe-spanning network.

The satellites won't be providing conventional Internet right away. They'll initially be used for one-way communication to provide services like emergency updates, news, crop prices, and educational programs. Users will help determine what content is offered.

The project's backers say knowledge is a human right—one they intend to provide even in countries where dictators have thus far limited access. "We exist to support the flow of independent news, information, and debate that people need to build free, thriving societies," said Peter Whitehead, president of the Media Development Investment Fund, Outernet's backer. "It enables fuller participation in public life, holds the powerful to account and protects the rights of the individual."

It will be at least five years before Outernet can offer the more interactive Web as we know it, which allows users to both access information and upload it, said Syed Karim, MDIF's director of innovation.

Worldwide Internet could be available sooner, Karim said, if telecom giants invested in a few mega-capacity satellites like North America's ViaSat-1. Three years and $12 billion is all it would take to get the job done, he estimated. "We don't have $12 billion, so we'll do as much as we can with CubeSats and broadcast data," Karim said.

How much will it cost? Putting a 10x10x10-centimeter payload into orbit runs more than $100,000. A 34x10x10 satellite—the biggest unit Outernet is considering—costs more than $300,000 to launch. Now, multiply that by hundreds of satellites. "We want to stay as small as possible, because size and weight are directly related to dollars," Karim said. "Much of the size is dictated by power requirements and the solar panels needed satisfy those requirements."

To determine the range and size of its global fleet, Outernet will have to determine the gain on its signal. A higher gain would lower the satellite's reach but provide faster speeds. The first fleet's testing will help determine the right balance.

While Outernet's engineers test and prepare for launch, they're seeking support from those who believe in their cause. In addition to traditional donation sources like Paypal, they're also accepting online currencies like bitcoin and Dogecoin (bitcoin blockchains are among the initial services the one-way signals will offer). They're also asking NASA to let them test their technology on the International Space Station.