Ralph J Branscomb's Blog – April 2009 Archive (4)

Foreign intruders have entered the country. But they did so from the comfort of their living rooms or offices. The news that the Russians and the Chinese are alleged to have hacked their way into the nation's electrical grid and left behind secret codes that could later wreak havoc is distressing -- but not unpredictable.

The risks are greater now than ever before. The total interconnectivity of networks through the Internet has given hackers new ways to get critical information. That's… Continue

The dark clouds will subside and give way to blue skies. But the city of San Jose, Calif., isn't waiting. It's taking concrete steps now to prepare for a sustainable future -- a proposition that it says includes creating 25,000 new clean technology jobs and receiving all of its electrical power from renewable energy sources, all within 15 years.



While the city has attributes that most American jurisdictions do not, some of the techniques that it is employing can be applied elsewhere… Continue

Solar panels on rooftops are one version. But commercial-scale solar facilities are another. To this point, most of the attention has been on progressive homeowners who make their homes solar friendly. Some key companies, though, are working hard to provide electricity to large blocks of people.



Growth in the sector won't be quick. But concerns over air quality along with government mandates are giving manufacturers the certainties they need to make expensive investments, and to… Continue

Researchers have developed a critical part of a hydrogen storage system for cars that makes it possible to fill up a vehicle's fuel tank within five minutes with enough hydrogen to drive 300 miles.



The system uses a fine powder called metal hydride to absorb hydrogen gas. The researchers have created the system's heat exchanger, which circulates coolant through tubes and uses fins to remove heat generated as the hydrogen is absorbed by the powder.



The heat exchanger is… Continue