http://ceramics.org/ceramictechtoday Fri, 12 Mar 2010 03:12:12 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Companiesandmarkets.com is offering a new 70-page report that analyzes the global market for aerogels by following end-use markets: thermal and acoustic insulation, consumer products, sensors and Instrumentation, medical, aerospace, energy and others. The report contains separate analyses for US, Europe and the rest of world, with forecasts through 2015. ... http://ceramics.org/ceramictechtoday/materials-innovations/aerogel-markets-report-available/ The movie The Hurt Locker won big on Oscars night last weekend. The film about explosive ordinance disposal squad in Iraq scored five awards in total: Kathryn Bigelow won Best Director, and Mark Boal scored for Best Original Screenplay. It won Best Film Editing and Best Sound ... http://ceramics.org/ceramictechtoday/materials-innovations/ceramic-armor-wins-big-at-oscars/ [caption id="attachment_6576" align="aligncenter" width="499" caption="Credit: Copyright 2010 by The Freedonia Group"][/caption] The research company Freedonia Group predicts that world-wide hydrogen demand will continue to climb, growing at a 3.4 percent annual pace through 2013. Oftentimes the term "hydrogen economy" is associated with emerging energy and transportation technologies, but a new report from ... http://ceramics.org/ceramictechtoday/energy-environment/freedonia-short-term-hydrogen-demand-to-grow-34/ [flash http://ceramics.org/ceramictechtoday/wp-content/video/marra_nuclear_mcare.flv mode=1 f={image=/ceramictechtoday/wp-content/video/marra_nuclear_mcare.jpg}] John Marra spoke at the MCARE conference in February 2010 on new and emerging approaches to the thorny issue of managing nuclear wastes, and the fundamental changes that need to be made. Concerns about nuclear wastes have plagued nuclear power operators for decades and the Obama administration's ... http://ceramics.org/ceramictechtoday/energy-environment/video-of-the-week-a-new-paradigm-for-nuclear-waste-management/ [caption id="attachment_6571" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Credit: Kevin Bullis and Technology Review"][/caption] Last August I wrote about the typical 50% waste created when wire saws are used to slice silicon ingots into PV-suitable wafers, and research being conducted in Germany to lower that waste. Now 1366 Technologies, according to a story and video by ... http://ceramics.org/ceramictechtoday/energy-environment/1366-demonstrates-directly-manufactured-silicon-pv-wafer/ Like shootin' fish in a barrel. Me, six days ago: Prediction: Tom will state that Bloom Energy changes everything! Today from Friedman: Several months ago, though, Sridhar took me into the parking lot behind Google’s Silicon Valley headquarters and showed me the inside of one of his Bloom Boxes, the size of a ... http://ceramics.org/ceramictechtoday/energy-environment/friedman-dammit-youre-not-dreaming-enough/ Renewable Energy News reports that a Scandinavian energy company Sway is developing the world’s largest wind turbine, a 533-feet tall giant with a rotor diameter of 475 feet. It is designed for offshore operation (thanks to a floating design), although it will be tested on land first. For size ... http://ceramics.org/ceramictechtoday/energy-environment/worlds-largest-wind-turbine-in-development-for-offshore-flotation/ Until recently, Sage Electromatics made electrically tintable windows on a relatively small scale. All that's about to change. On Friday, the DOE announced that it would provide Sage with a $72 million loan guarantee to build a 250,000 sq. ft. plant in Faribault, Minn. The company's SageGlass windows can turn from ... http://ceramics.org/ceramictechtoday/materials-innovations/loan-guarantee-boosts-commercial-tintable-glass/ A group out of Missouri University of Science and Technology says it has a new method for mixing metals with ceramic that will allow stronger, heat-resistant, functionally graded materials for the creation of hypersonic and other ultrahigh-temperature aerospace components. The group, led by Ming Lue, a mechanical and aerospace engineering professor ... http://ceramics.org/ceramictechtoday/materials-innovations/missouri-st-pioneers-process-for-tough-custom-aerospace-materials/ [caption id="attachment_6505" align="aligncenter" width="226" caption="Courtesy of Babcock & Wilcox."][/caption] Nuclear energy expansion is a hot topic these days as the commitment grows stronger to stop burning coal to generate the baseload of electricity. Technology aside, for the business world expanding nuclear power means finding ways to reduce investor risks and bring ... http://ceramics.org/ceramictechtoday/energy-environment/size-does-matter-and-smaller-may-be-better/