EXPLORING SINGAPORE

Three towers in Singapore

The Marina Bay Sands resort area in Singapore will feature three 50-floor hotel towers, each with 1,000 rooms. And it happens to have Hydro's aluminium building systems all over it.

Marina Bay Sands is described as a fully integrated luxury resort. In fact, it appears the six-million-square-foot project will integrate a little of just about everything, not least the waterfront promenade.

When completed at the end of this year, Marina Bay Sands will offer civic space, including a museum and a convention center; outdoor areas, such as jogging paths and gardens; multi-level retail space, two theaters, one casino; and city skyline views.

Technical building solutions

Marina Bay Sands will integrate Technal's aluminium building systems, too, through the Southeast Asia unit of Hydro Building Systems International.

The unit, which is led by general manager Joe Sleiman, will be responsible for substantial window and facade – or, curtain wall – deliveries.

These comprise about 25,000 square meters of GX31 sliding windows (Saphir range) and around 1,000 square meters of MX curtain wall (Geode range).

Hydro's customers in Marina Bay Sands are BP Aluminium Pte Ltd in Singapore and Sincere Aluminium Works Sdn Bhd in Brunei. The latter is in charge of fabrication and installation.

ONE OF THE WORLD FASTEST MISSILE

The Basics

A cruise missile is basically a small, pilotless airplane. Cruise missiles have an 8.5-foot (2.61-meter) wingspan, are powered by turbofan engines and can fly 500 to 1,000 miles (805 to 1,610 km) depending on the configuration.

A cruise missile's job in life is to deliver a 1,000-pound (450-kg) high-explosive bomb to a precise location -- the target. The missile is destroyed when the bomb explodes. Since cruise missiles cost between $500,000 and $1,000,000 each, it's a fairly expensive way to deliver a 1,000-pound package.

Cruise missiles come in a number of variations (see the links at the end of the article for more information) and can be launched from submarines, destroyers or aircraft.

Photo courtesy U.S. Department of Defense Left: AGM Tomahawk air-launched cruise-missile loaded on a B-52 Stratofortress Right: Ground Launch Cruise Missile (GLCM) launcher

Photo courtesy U.S. Department of Defense Left: Tomahawk cruise missile launched from the USS Merrill Right: Tomahawk cruise missile launched from nuclear submarine USS La Jolla

When you hear about hundreds of cruise missiles being fired at targets, they are almost always Tomahawk cruise missiles launched from destroyers.

Dimensions

Cruise missiles are 20 feet (6.25 meters) long and 21 inches (0.52 meters) in diameter. At launch, they include a 550-pound (250-kg) solid rocket booster and weigh 3,200 pounds (1450 kg).

Photo courtesy U.S. Department of Defense

The booster falls away once it has burned its fuel. The wings, tail fins and air inlet unfold, and the turbofan engine takes over.

This engine weighs just 145 pounds (65 kg) and produces 600 pounds of thrust burning RJ4 fuel. The fuel load is 800 to 1,000 pounds (about 450 kg) of fuel at launch, or approximately 150 gallons (600 liters). The missile has a cruising speed of 550 mph (880 kph).

Guidance

The hallmark of a cruise missile is its incredible accuracy. A common statement made about the cruise missile is, "It can fly 1,000 miles and hit a target the size of a single-car garage." Cruise missiles are also very effective at evading detection by the enemy because they fly very low to the ground (out of the view of most radar systems).

Photo courtesy U.S. Navy Tomahawk cruise missile escorted by F-14

Four different systems help guide a cruise missile to its target:

• IGS - Inertial Guidance System
• Tercom - Terrain Contour Matching
• GPS - Global Positioning System
• DSMAC - Digital Scene Matching Area Correlation

The IGS is a standard acceleration-based system that can roughly keep track of where the missile is located based on the accelerations it detects in the missile's motion (click here for a good introduction).Tercom uses an on-board 3-D database of the terrain the missile will be flying over. The Tercom system "sees" the terrain it is flying over using its radar system and matches this to the 3-D map stored in memory. The Tercom system is responsible for a cruise missile's ability to "hug the ground" during flight. The GPS system uses the military's network of GPS satellites and an onboard GPS receiver to detect its position with very high accuracy.

Once it is close to the target, the missile switches to a "terminal guidance system" to choose the point of impact. The point of impact could be pre-programmed by the GPS or Tercom system. The DSMACsystem uses a camera and an image correlator to find the target, and is especially useful if the target is moving. A cruise missile can also be equipped with thermal imaging or illumination sensors (as used insmart bombs).

source: www.howstuffsworks.com

HISTORY OF NANO FIBERS

One of the first technical records concerning carbon nanofibers is probably a patent dated 1889 on synthesis of filamentous carbon by Hughes and Chambers. They utilized a methane/hydrogen gaseous mixture and grew carbon filaments through gas pyrolysis and subsequent carbon deposition and filament growth. The true appreciation of these fibers, however, came much later when their structure could be analyzed by electron microscope.The first electron microscopy observations of carbon nanofibers were performed in the early 1950s by the Soviet scientists Radushkevich and Lukyanovich, who published a paper in the Soviet Journal of Physical Chemistry showing hollow graphitic carbon fibers that are 50 nanometers in diameter. Early in the 1970s, Japanese researchers Koyama and Endo succeeded in the manufacturing of VGCF with a diameter of 1 µm and length of above 1 mm. Later, in the early 1980s, Tibbetts in the USA and Benissad  in France continued to perfect the VGCF fabrication process. In the USA, the deeper studies focusing on synthesis and properties of these materials for advanced applications were led by R. Terry K. Baker  and were motivated by the need to inhibit the growth of carbon nanofibers because of the persistent problems caused by accumulation of the material in a variety of commercial processes especially in the particular field of petroleum processing. The first commercialization of VGCF was attempted by the Japanese company Nikosso in 1991 under the trade name Grasker® , the same year Ijima published his famous paper introducing the discovery of Carbon Nanotubes (CNTs) to the world [Ijima 1991]. VGCNF is produced through essentially the same manufacturing process as VGCF, only the diameter is typically less than 200 nm. Several companies around the globe are actively involved in the commercial scale production of carbon nanofibers and new engineering applications are being developed for these materials intensively, the latest being a carbon nanofiber bearing porous composite for oil spill remediation.

Future gun

A revolutionary new "supergun" can actually fire 1 million bullets per minute, or 1 million grenades. This incredible weapon was invented by Mike O'Dwyer, an Australian scientist based in Brisbane.
China wants Mr. O'Dwyer and has offered him US$100 million just to move there. He declined the generous offer. The weapon is called Metal Storm, and can be applied to almost any caliber of weapon. The average rate of fire for an Uzi is a mere 3,000 bpm.
Very few firearm revolutions have occurred in the past 60 or so years. You could send out a cloud of bullets or grenades in 1-2 seconds. The U.S. military has successfully tested this device and production is expected in as little as 12 to 24 months.

ITS BASED ON THE ELECTRONIC FIRING METHOD

International Standard Supports Advancements in Nanotechnology

Nanotechnology, which refers to research and development at the atomic, molecular, and macromolecular levels, is revolutionizing virtually all technology and industry sectors. With the growth of nanotechnology-based products across multiple disciplines, ensuring the safety and environmental impact of nano products is paramount to tapping into the technology's full potential.

A new standard from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) helps to ensure safe utilization of nanoparticles. ISO 10808:2010, Nanotechnologies - Characterization of nanoparticles in inhalation exposure chambers for inhalation toxicity testing, outlines requirements for the characterization of airborne nanoparticles in inhalation exposure chambers for the purpose of inhalation toxicity studies. The standard takes into account the particular characteristics of nanoparticles, including particle mass, size distribution, concentration, and composition, and is anticipated to encourage the use of consistent characterization methods by researchers worldwide.

ISO 10808:2010 was authored by ISO Technical Committee (TC) 229, Nanotechnologies, Working Group (WG) 3, Health, Safety and Environment, which is U.S.-led. The group operates under the leadership of Steven Brown of the Intel Corporation with Laurie Locascio, Ph.D., from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) serving as U.S. Technical Advisory Group (TAG) Working Group chair.

"This standard is an important step forward in putting in place an internationally accepted, scientific means of characterizing nanoparticles used in inhalation toxicity testing," said Clayton Teague, Ph.D., director of the National Nanotechnology Coordination Office (NNCO) and chair of the ANSI-accredited U.S. TAG to ISO TC 229. "Because of the complex nature of these materials, the recommended methods are not intended to address all characterization needs for all types of inhalation toxicity testing. These efforts are ongoing."

Significant contributions in the field have emerged from this ISO TC, including the recently published ISO technical specification, ISO/TS 80004-1:2010, Nanotechnologies - Vocabulary - Part 1: Core terms. The Technical Specification lists terms and definitions related to core terms in the field of nanotechnologies. It is intended to facilitate communications between organizations and individuals in industry and those who interact with them.

The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) administers the U.S. TAG for ISO TC 229. The TAG formulates all U.S. positions and proposals with respect to a particular ISO committee's activities. 

Izon Science Sponsors Gathering Of World-leading Nanotechnologists In New Zealand

Nanotechnology company Izon Science, is putting its support behind a gathering of world-leading nanotechnologists, physicists and chemists in Wellington next week, as a gold sponsor and contributor. The Fifth International Conference on Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology (AMN-5), hosted by the MacDiarmid Institute, brings together an international gathering of experts to discuss new advances and opportunities in the advanced materials and nanotechnology fields.

Hans van der Voorn, Executive Chairman of Izon Science says, "We're very pleased to support such an impressive gathering of scientists from around the world. It's the largest international gathering of nanotechnologists to be held here and it's also the largest gathering of Izon users. It's a fantastic opportunity to share leading research and developments around the world, to build relationships, and to uncover new opportunities."

The conference brings together leading scientists from offshore such as Nobel Prize-winner Sir Anthony Leggett and Sir Richard Friend, with New Zealand's leading scientists including previous winners of the Prime Minister's Science Prize, Dr Jeff Tallon, Dr Bob Buckley, and Professor Sir Paul Callaghan who was also just named New Zealander of the Year.

Van der Voorn stressed the value of the multi-disciplinary conference, "Nanotechnology enabled developments are usually multidisciplinary, it is not a standalone discipline separate from the other sciences. Nanotechnology enable the development of new products and improvements in existing products in medicine, energy production, batteries, materials, electronics, viruses, vaccines, chemistry, computing, biology, and food.

"The conference will highlight the capability and innovation we have here in New Zealand. We've developed the world's most comprehensive nanoparticle analysis system in a single instrument, and it's a great platform to help us showcase our technology," he says.

Izon is hosting a nanotechnology session at the conference where a number of Izon collaborators and customers from around the world will highlight new research. Contributors include:

- Mark Grinstaff, Boston University, USA on expansile nanoparticles: synthesis, characterization, and in vivo efficacy in multiple cancer models

- Sunghoon Kwon, Seoul National University, Korea on spinning color barcoded microparticles for faster scalable biochips

- Geoff Willmott, IRL and The MacDiarmid Institute, New Zealand on analytic approaches for interpretation of nanopore translocation events

- Pei Li, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, China on amphiphilic polymeric core-shell particles: novel synthesis and potential applications

- Will Anderson, The University of Queensland, Australia on improving the detection and discrimination of polydisperse colloidal suspensions with elastic size- tunable tm nano/micropores

- Aaron Colby, Boston University, USA on tunable ph-responsive nanoparticles for delivering paclitaxel prevent malignant peritoneal mesothelioma in vivo

- Christy Charlton O'Mahoney, Biomedical Diagnostics Institute, Dublin City University, Ireland Characterization of materials for use in particle-capture immunoassays by qNano

- Sam Yu, IZON Science, New Zealand on detailed characterization of drug delivery, engineered & biological particles with single-particle resolution

Other Izon collaborators and users at the conference include the Ian Wark Research Institute at the University of South Australia, Adelaide University, the MacDiarmid Institute, University of Canterbury, Victoria University of Wellington, University of Auckland, IRL, Boston University, Dublin City University, The University of Queensland, and The Hong Kong Polytechnic University in China. Izon science advisors David Deamer from University of California, Santa Cruz, and David Williams from University of Auckland will also be in attendance.

AMN-5, the largest gathering of international material physicists, chemists and engineers to assemble in New Zealand, runs from 7 to 11 February at the Michael Fowler Centre. The nanotechnology session hosted by Izon Science runs from 1-3pm on Thursday 10 February. For more information see http://www.macdiarmid.ac.nz/amn-5/

Flying and Radiation Risk

At the high altitudes and latitudes commercial airlines fly, crews are subjected to higher-than-normal radiation levels from the sun and cosmic rays. Physicist Robert Barish believes airline crew members are exposing themselves to more radiation than almost any other occupation and is calling for the airline industry to better educate workers about radiation.

NEW YORK--Most careers have an occupational hazard, but frequent fliers may be exposed to cosmic radiation and not even know it.

We all know the risks when we fly, but one risk we don't know about comes from what's in the sky. Captain Joyce May, a commercial airline pilot, says, "By the time you're at normal jet cruising altitude of, say, 39,000 feet, the total radiation is about 64 times greater than what it is at sea level."

May fears fellow crewmembers and frequent business fliers don't know the risk of cosmic radiation from solar flares. She says, "Aircrew members, by-and-large, are unaware of this issue."

Robert Barish, physicist and author of "The Invisible Passenger: Radiation Risks For People Who Fly," says, "The sun is really a big thermo-nuclear device." Barish believes airline crewmembers are exposing themselves to more radiation than almost any other occupation. He says, "People who work in the nuclear power industry on an average basis are getting 1.6. There are people who fly in airplanes who are getting 2 or 3 or 4 milliSieverts per year. So they are truly radiation workers."

Everyone is exposed to some radiation every day. The sun constantly emits charged particles that intensify during solar flares. Normally, the earth's atmosphere absorbs much of this, but at the high altitudes and latitudes airliners fly, crews are subjected to higher radiation levels and possibly are at higher risk for developing cancer. In Europe, it is mandatory flight crews be educated about cosmic radiation, but that's not the case in the United States.

The risk is not the same for everyone. Casual fliers have nothing to worry about. Only people who fly at least once or twice a week.