James edward hughes
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Essays
    • Science >
      • Science Essays
      • Underwater World >
        • Essays
      • The Lithopaedion's Lair
    • History >
      • History Essays
    • Travel >
      • Holidays and Trips
      • Fossil Hunting
    • Book Reviews
    • Music >
      • Music Essays
      • CD Reviews
      • Concert Reviews
  • About Me
  • Contact

Plastic Battery

2/16/2010

0 Comments

 
We all know how useful plastic can be. But did you ever consider it's possibilities as a battery? Well, that's exactly what scientists at Imperial College London's Department of Aeronautics did. And it seems they have succeeded. Technically, the plastic is more of a supercapacitor than a battery, but its uses are generating interest. Imagine an iPod case that could serve as its own power source - or a mobile phone, computer screen etc. Without the need for an internal battery, these items could be constructed to a much smaller size than at present. The superconductor has a much longer lifespan than chemical bateries, and can charge and discharge far more quickly. There's even talk of making clothes that can charge up while you move, and discharge heat when the weather's a bit nippy.
0 Comments

The Persistent Vegetative State

2/4/2010

0 Comments

 
Imagine being aware, but not able to communicate; able to hear, but not able to respond; able to feel pain, but not able to say "stop hurting me." There are people that, according to research and personal testimony, are conscious in what is know as a Persistent Vegetative State. They can hear those around them, they feel pain, and they know they are being starved of food when their feding tube is removed. 

New research has shown that there may be hope for these people. Using brain scans to show brain activity in response to external stimuli, doctors have shown that the brains of some vegetative patients respond in identical ways to healthy test control subjects with respect to questioning, stumulus, and creative imagination techniques. This is the first step to possibly opening the door for future communication with people in a Persistent Vegetative State.

While the research is still in trial stages, it should make us think about just exactly how much these patients understand, and whether we should be assuming that they feel no pain. The videos below are of a personal story, and a news report from CNN about the topic.
0 Comments

    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All
    Abdominal Pregnancy
    Alpaca
    Arctic
    Artificial Black Hole
    Astronomy
    Atom
    Black Hole
    Bone-Marrow Transplant
    Carbon
    Chemistry
    Dark Matter
    DNA
    Electric Ash
    Ettore Majorana
    Fountain Effect
    Gerald Pollack
    Global Warming
    Graphene
    Greenland
    Helium
    Higgs Boson
    HIV
    Honeybee
    Ice-Cap
    Ice Volcano
    Jupiter
    Lake Baikal
    Leukaemia
    Lithopedion
    Majorana Fermion
    Mark Oliphant
    Medicine
    Milwaukee Protocol
    Neptune
    Oil Spill
    Periodic Table
    Persistent Vegetative State
    Plastic Battery
    Quasar
    Rabies
    Rollin Film
    Second Sound.
    Snow Line
    Sun
    Superfluid
    Terminte Queen
    Termite
    Titan
    Transit Of Venus
    Venus
    Water

    Archives

    November 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    December 2012
    September 2012
    July 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    June 2011
    March 2011
    December 2010
    June 2010
    May 2010
    April 2010
    March 2010
    February 2010

MOST VIEWED POSTS

QUEEN CATHERINE DE MEDICI
Picture
The "Maggot from Italy's Tomb?" The "Black Widow" of St Bartholomew? Or one of the finest examples of power politics and survival ever seen? Well, I would have to say yes to all of the above, and more! Catherine was one of the most complex characters in a time of massive internal strife in France, with enemies both within (Guise, D'Albret) and abroad (Philip II of Spain).

MARK OLIPHANT
Picture
Born in Kent Town, Adelaide, Australia, Mark Oliphant was a Physicist, who received the prestigious Hughes Medal (other recipients include Alexander Graham Bell, Enrico Fermi, Stephen Hawking, and Andre Geim). He was also a life-long vegetarian after seeing a pig slaughtered at a farm as a child.

HAYDN'S CELLO CONCERTO IN C MAJOR
Picture
The third movement of Haydn's Cello Concerto in C Major is one of my favourite pieces of music. It is a truly joyous piece, and one which I find uplifting. The first performance I heard was by 13-year-old Han-na Chang, who took my breath away with her skill, musicianship and dynamism.

ETTORE MAJORANA & THE MAJORANA FERMION
Picture
New research from Dutch scientists has revitalised the search for the elusive  Majorana Fermion. The Majorana Fermion was first predicted about 75 years  ago by Italian scientist Ettore Majorana, one of the Via Paspernera Boys - a group of scientists named after the street where their lab was located.

LIQUID CRYSTALLINE WATER
Picture
Water. Without it, we would not exist. Covering nearly 71% of the world’s surface, it is one of the key building blocks of life on Earth. We think we know all about it, how it works, and what it does. But Gerald Pollack, Professor of Bioengineering at the University of Washington, Seattle, is sure we don’t!

FRANCO FAGIOLI: COUNTERTENOR ASSOLUTO
Picture
Franco Fagioli is an Argentinian Countertenor "who seems to redefine the capabilities of the countertenor voice." He has won great acclaim for his performance in the role of Arbace in the recent all-male production of Vinci's Artaserse, and will soon be releasing an album celebrating the star castrato Caffarelli.

© James Edward Hughes 2013
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Essays
    • Science >
      • Science Essays
      • Underwater World >
        • Essays
      • The Lithopaedion's Lair
    • History >
      • History Essays
    • Travel >
      • Holidays and Trips
      • Fossil Hunting
    • Book Reviews
    • Music >
      • Music Essays
      • CD Reviews
      • Concert Reviews
  • About Me
  • Contact