An excellent article by Bruce Schneier on the psychology of security is available here. It starts as follows: Security is both a feeling and a reality. And they’re not the same. The reality of security is mathematical, based on the probability of different risks and the effectiveness of different countermeasures. We can calculate how secure… Continue reading The Psychology of Security
2007 DARPA Military Technology Plan: Future Medical Promise or Danger?
DARPA (the defense advanced research projects agency) is the R&D arm of he US military for far-reaching future technology. What most people do not realize is how much revolutionary medical technology comes out of this agency’s military R&D programs. For those in need of background, you can read about the Army & DARPA’s future soldier… Continue reading 2007 DARPA Military Technology Plan: Future Medical Promise or Danger?
Reducing the Risk of Human Extinction
A valuable paper by Jason Matheny of the University of Maryland is “Reducing the Risk of Human Extinction”. The abstract is as follows: In this century a number of events could extinguish humanity. The probability of these events may be very low, but the expected value of preventing them could be high, as it represents… Continue reading Reducing the Risk of Human Extinction
Impressive Recent Progress in Nanotechnology
A better atomic force microscope from Japan: Credit: Oscar Custance, Osaka University “A new type of atomic force microscope (AFM) has been developed that can “fingerprint” the chemical identity of individual atoms on a material’s surface. This is one step ahead of existing AFMs, which can only detect the position of atoms. The device determines… Continue reading Impressive Recent Progress in Nanotechnology
United States unwilling to spend $300 million for asteroid location
NASA estimates the cost to find at least 90 percent of the 20,000 potentially hazardous asteroids and comets by 2020 would be about $1 billion, according to a report NASA will release later this week. It would cost $300 million if a asteroid locating telescope was piggybacked on another vehicle. The report was previewed Monday… Continue reading United States unwilling to spend $300 million for asteroid location
Hackers hit key Internet traffic computers
Here is a piece of news from early last month, via CNN: WASHINGTON (AP) — Hackers briefly overwhelmed at least three of the 13 computers that help manage global computer traffic Tuesday in one of the most significant attacks against the Internet since 2002. Experts said the unusually powerful attacks lasted for hours but passed… Continue reading Hackers hit key Internet traffic computers
Superconducting Maglev Launch Technology
From Physorg.com: With a typical launch cost for a spaceship around $20 million, it’s difficult to practically conceive of a space industry beyond federally funded agencies. Nevertheless, many people believe that expanding space travel—whether for research purposes, entertainment, or even colonization—is not impractical. Bridging the economic hurdle may be technologies such as the maglev launch… Continue reading Superconducting Maglev Launch Technology
9th Nanoforum Report on Nanotechnology in Aerospace
“The importance of the space sector can be emphasized by the number of spacecrafts launched. In the period from 1957 till 2005, 6376 spacecraft have been launched at an average of 133 per year. The has been a decrease in the number of spacecrafts launched in the recent years with 78 launched in 2005. Of… Continue reading 9th Nanoforum Report on Nanotechnology in Aerospace
Lasers to detect and deflect asteroids
Graduate student (University of Alabama Huntsville) Blake Anderton wrote his master’s thesis on “Application of Mode-locked lasers to asteroid characterization and mitigation.” Undergraduate Gordon Aiken won a prize at a recent student conference for his poster and presentation “Space positioned LIDAR system for characterization and mitigation of Near Earth Objects.” And members of the group… Continue reading Lasers to detect and deflect asteroids
Missile Defense Shield Expands to Europe
The Ballistic Missile Early Warning Radar System (BMEWS) at Fylingdales, U.K. The ongoing debate on the proposed missile defense shield in Europe is heating up. Poland and the Czech Republic are among the possible sites and the UK is now showing interest in supporting the missile shield. Fears over the destabilising effects of such a… Continue reading Missile Defense Shield Expands to Europe