Wearables or implants to monitor your health

Some health executives predict that gadgets we’ll have by 2020 will enable real-time diagnostics for cancer, the immune system, intestinal flora, and conditions like pre-diabetes. Such gadgets, which may come in the form of wearable devices or patches, could make health care preventive rather than reactive. Such technology is already on its way. As Alistair Barr and Ron Winslow reported for Wall Street Journal in 2014, Google had begun developing tiny magnetic particles that could search the body for biomarkers that indicate the presence of cancer and other diseases.

These nanoparticles would bind to cells, proteins, and other molecules inside the body, and would be counted by a wearable device equipped with a magnet.  The particles could be delivered via a pill, and would make it easier to detect cancer or predict an imminent heart attack. Technological advancements have lead to the miniaturization of monitoring devices and power sources, opening up a whole new world of possibilities and innovations. And the powerful, portable computers we continue to refer to as “cell phones” now weigh so little and can do so much real-time monitoring has now become viable for an array of applications.

Wearable and implantable technologies sense parameters of various diseases and can either transfer data to a remote center, direct the patient to take a specific action, or automatically perform a function based on what the sensors are reading. For example, if blood glucose is running high, insulin could be automatically administered.

Snagit, Jing, Camtasia

Camtasia Studio is the most professional product for creating professional and easy to follow video screencasts. I tried free products and found them bulky, slow and lacking features. Jing is the newst product by Techsmith and it allows you to quickly capture and share screenshots and short videos.

Free Alternative to Snagit for Taking Screenshot. Snagit is a popular image screen capturing tool. With it, you can capture any part of your screen may it be customized regions, scrolling webpages and active windows. However, this tool has a freeand paid version. These screen capture video software programs are making it easy for instructors to give online tutorials. TechSmith offers a host of different products from a free screen capture to professional quality videos.

Imagine a tech-ed teacher trying to explain how to download an app. He/she can record narration while capturing the screen shots as he/she demonstrates the action. This feature can also be used for teachers who are correcting a paper or demonstrating a math problem.

Standing the test of time

Despite being in its 21st year the market for Bluetooth continues to grow. To put it in perspective in 2000, there were a total of 800,000 Bluetooth enabled devices shipped in a single year. Today, it’s 10million per day. Martin Woolley, Developer Relations Manager EMEA at the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG), the official standards organisation for the wireless communication technology, suggests that Bluetooth’s survival and popularity is owed to its clever evolution that has made it applicable to new and relevant use cases. Now there are three Bluetooth technologies, but arguably the biggest milestone emerged 8 years ago with the release of Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE).

BLE allows for super-efficient, wireless devices - and paved the way for applications that were previously not conceivable. For example, the smart home relies on battery-powered sensors hidden in non-accessible places. With the introduction of BLE radio, the community also sought to address the market opportunity for standardised, lower-cost location services solutions. With forecasts anticipating more than 400m products shipping per year by 2022, it appears it’s been successful in achieving that goal.

The location technology generally falls into two categories - proximity and positioning. These use the BLE radio to determine if two Bluetooth devices are in range of each other and, in many cases, use received signal strength (RSSI) measurements to estimate the distance between the two devices. With proximity solutions, one Bluetooth device is used to determine if another Bluetooth device is within range and how far away it is. Point of interest (PoI) information and item finding are two popular types of use case. As for the future, Woolley said that “the community never sits still”. He pointed to next generation Bluetooth audio as the technology’s ensuing innovation.

Importance of a good benchtop power supply

Benchtop power supplies have had to evolve rapidly to provide the features needed to test PCBs integrating complex components.The first instrument which comes to the mind of most engineers when it comes to testing a new board is an oscilloscope. While that will help to assess many aspects of the board’s performance, it’s not the only device that will be needed – a good benchtop power supply is just as important. One reason for this is the range of more advanced components being integrated onto PCBs. While bench power supplies must be capable of providing up to 60V, they also need to be able to supply up to 20A at lower voltages. Meanwhile, voltage rails are changing and there’s not just one supply rail to a PCB any longer.

Benchtop power supplies in the past were predominantly linear devices. However, despite providing low noise and good stability, linear supplies tended to be large and relatively inefficient. According to Edwards, most power supplies rated at more than 100W use switch mode technology. The QPX and CPX ranges use our PowerFlex architecture to provide higher currents as the set voltage is reduced. While PowerFlex uses mixed mode regulation, the PowerFlex+ architecture uses a multiphase conversion technique to eliminate the need for a linear output stage and this provides a wider voltage-current combination. Using this technology, the QPX600D can provide up to 80V or up to 50A within its 600W operating envelope.

Lovell said that, typically, a bench power supply used to offer 0 to 50V and 0 to 10A – a total load of 500W. Today, devices are smarter, with a wider voltage range and a wider current range. That means engineers can use a higher voltage at lower current and vice versa. In this way, one power supply can replace several units that might have been needed in the past. But range is most important. There’s also increasing demand for greater accuracy.

New treatments for Alzheimer’s disease

Alzheimer's is the most common form of dementia. This incurable, degenerative and terminal disease affects over 27m people worldwide, mostly aged over 65. The most common symptom is the inability to acquire new memories and difficulty in recalling recently observed facts. As the disease advances, further symptoms include confusion, irritability and aggression, mood swings, language breakdown, long-term memory loss, and the general withdrawal of the sufferer as their senses decline. Bodily functions are gradually lost, ultimately leading to death.

Until recently, the precise mechanisms behind the illness were poorly understood. In 2011, however, genes were identified that played a key role in biological pathways such as inflammation, cholesterol and cell transport systems. These provided new targets for potential treatments in the form of drugs, behavioral changes and other therapies. New ways of delivering drugs to the brain were also found, such as using the body's own exosomes as carriers.  After 15 years of research and clinical trials, the risk of developing the disease has now been cut by over 60%.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved two types of medications — cholinesterase inhibitors (Aricept, Exelon, Razadyne) and memantine (Namenda) — to treat the cognitive symptoms (memory loss, confusion, and problems with thinking and reasoning) of Alzheimer's disease. With a better roadmap to guide progress with the remaining genes and biological processes, there is now real hope of actually curing the disease in the 2030s.

Flashnotes

Flashnotes works a reference tool for college students that are looking for additional help while studying for a variety of college courses. Flashnotes can also be a way for students to make extra money during their college years. Students interested in sharing their notes must create an account with the site. Then, they can upload as many notes as they want, and set their own price for each set of notes. If the notes are sold, the student keeps 70% of the price of the notes, while Flashnotes keeps the other 30%.

 Once the notes have been uploaded to the site, other students with an account can browse through all of the notes available at their school, narrow the search by course number or subject, or even search through all of the notes available from students at other colleges and universities throughout the country. Flashnotes allows students to upload their lecture notes and sell them to other students who need more help or resources. The rating system allows the best note takers to get more business and the general pool of knowledge expands as students continue to share their work with one another.

Flashnotes is currently being used to buy and sell notes at 367 colleges and universities throughout the United States and Bishop's University in Sherbrooke, Quebec.  The user is the first person to upload notes from their school, that college or university will be added to the list of schools as soon as the notes have been uploaded.

Study Blue

StudyBlue is the largest crowdsourced study library, with over 400 million flashcards, notes and study guides from students like you. Make and share study materials, search for recommended study content from classmates, track progress, set reminders, and create custom quizzes. Join 15 million students on StudyBlue to study better, together. Study Blue’s main attraction is that it is mobile. Whether standing in line for coffee, riding the train, or waiting at the dentist, a student can easily access their class work and prepare for an exam.

The StudyBlue is a flash card-creation and -sharing app targeted at high school and college students. Content syncs between the Web and mobile devices, which means you can create two-sided flash cards and study at home, at school, or on the go. StudyBlue is an online studying platform for high school and college students. The website allows users to upload class study materials, create electronic flashcards to study and share with others, and practice quizzes.

            Imagine your smartphone as your primary source for study materials. This company has created an app that allows students to organize their coursework, store notes and flashcards, and share their materials with other students. The social aspect also helps students find other people studying similar subjects, capitalizing on a different set of notes and study guides.

Devices that run intelligent assistants locally

The intelligent assistants we’re currently using — think Siri, Cortana, and Google Now — need an Internet connection and a lot of data to answer your questions and respond to your requests. But in the future, we’ll have smartphones, tablets, and wearables equipped with intelligent assistants that perform deep learning tasks locally. As Alex Brokaw reported recently for The Verge, MIT researchers have developed a computer chip that would enable your smartphone to complete complex AI tasks, like natural language processing and facial recognition, without being connected to the Internet.

In the latest attempt to fulfill sci-fi movie fantasies, tech firms have been lining up to provide you with a virtual assistant. From well-known voice-powered AIs such as Apple’s Siri to upstarts like Viv, the goal is to quicken the actions you already take on your phone and other devices, growing ever-more efficient at the job by learning from your behavior. But like any hired help, each of these AI assistants has different skills, blind spots, and quirks. Here’s a rundown of the contenders, including some intriguing newcomers.

That would not only save your battery, but also alleviate some of the privacy concerns inherent with assistants, which have so far sent data to remote servers to parse and respond to your requests. Improving speech recognition technology will make it easier to get things done with AI and chatbots, and enable our devices to better understand what we’re saying and what we want to do.

The Future of Consumer Robots

Consumer robots have been part of popular culture for decades, fueling visions of having robots living alongside humans in our homes to assist with daily tasks, entertain, educate, and socialize. However, the promise of consumer robotics remains largely unfulfilled. Cleaning robots, such as robotic vacuums, dominate the market and we are years away from widespread adoption of the robot types with which people have envisioned sharing their homes. However, there is renewed interest in consumer robotics with companies introducing new innovations and product categories. Additionally, traditional consumer robotics companies are actively using artificial intelligence (AI) to make their robots smarter and extend their capabilities while integrating with other smart home devices.

Robotic toys, which, until now, were largely gimmicky, are transforming into interactive and personalized connected play devices, as well as useful educational tools as a part of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM)-based curriculum. According to Tractica’s latest robotics forecasting, worldwide sales of consumer robots reached $5.6 billion in 2018 and Tractica expects that the market will continue to experience strong growth over the next few years, reaching a market value of $19 billion by the end of 2025. Tractica forecasts that worldwide consumer robot unit shipments will increase from 15.4 million in 2018 to 65.9 million units annually by 2025.

This Tractica report examines the global market trends for consumer robots and provides market sizing and forecasts for shipments and revenue during the period from 2018 through 2025. The report focuses on crucial market drivers and challenges, in addition to assessing the most important technology issues that will influence market development. Market forecasts are segmented by world region and robot type, in addition to data on technology and connectivity attach rates.

Completely wireless smart home gadgets

Computers, smartphones, wearable devices, even smart home sensors: No matter how long their batteries last, they all have to be plugged in to a power source to be charged. But as Mark Harris reports for MIT’s Technology Review, University of Washington researchers have developed technology that enables gadgets to work and communicate using only energy harvested from nearby TV, radio, mobile phone, and Wi-Fi signals.  Home automation is exactly what it sounds like: automating the ability to control items around the house—from window shades to pet feeders—with a simple push of a button (or a voice command). Some activities, like setting up a lamp to turn on and off at your whim, are simple and relatively inexpensive. Others, like advanced surveillance cameras, may require a more serious investment of time and money.

The best choice of smart home hub is the Wink Hub 2. The device is great for a number of reasons, namely that it supports a huge range of standards – including Z-Wave, ZigBee, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Kidde, and Lutron Clear Connect. It also works with Amazon's Alexa, and IFTTT. The technology, which uses a principle called backscattering to selectively reflect incoming radio waves to construct new signal, is headed toward commercialization. Within just a few years, this should result in battery-free gadgets for your smart home, including security cameras, temperature sensors, and smoke alarms that never have to be charged.

There are many smart home product categories, so you can control everything from lights and temperature to locks and security in your home. They also happen to make fantastic gifts, whether you're shopping for the holidays or buying a housewarming present. Here's a rundown of the best products we've tested for every room of the house.

A synthetic human genome is completed

In May 2010, scientists created the first artificial lifeform. Mycoplasma laboratorium was a new species of bacterium, with man-made genetic code originating on a computer and placed on a synthetic chromosome inside an empty cell. Using its new "software", the cell could generate proteins and produce new cells.In March 2016, the same research institute in the U.S. announced the creation of a minimal bacterial genome, known as JCVI-syn3.0, containing only the genes necessary for life, and consisting of 473 genes. Whereas the original project (HGP-Read) was intended to "read" DNA to understand its code, the HGP-Write project would use the cellular machinery provided by nature to "write" new code, producing vast DNA chains.

The bacterial genome created in 2016 had 531,000 DNA base pairs and 473 genes. By contrast, the HGP-Write project would be orders of magnitude larger and more complex, with three billion base pairs and 20,000 genes. However, the earlier work on bacterial genomes had paved the way for new tools and semi-automated processes for whole genome synthesis. Longer term, the project would lead to transformative applications. Previously, the capability to construct DNA sequences in cells was mostly limited to a small number of short segments, restricting the ability to manipulate and understand biological systems. After the completion of HGP-Write, the ability to synthesise large portions of the human genome leads to major advances – in medicine, agriculture, energy and other areas – by connecting the sequence of bases in DNA with their physiological and functional behaviours.

 Some health applications that arise from HGP-write include the growing of transplantable human organs, engineering of immunity to viruses in cell lines, engineering cancer resistance in cell lines, and enabling high-productivity vaccines at low cost. HGP-Write involves taking synthetically constructed DNA to produce a human genome able to power a single cell in a dish. In the more distant future, however, this area of biology advances to the point where entire synthetic people can be designed from scratch – new custom-made "super humans" able to resist all disease infections, or made immune to the radiation and vacuum in space, for example. This leads to profound ethical questions about the nature of life.

Measuring battery life

Poor battery life is affecting the take-up of too many devices. One of the technical reasons holding back the uptake of Internet of Things (IoT) products is poor battery life. While power has always been crucial, from a hardware perspective these devices require layers of software to operate. This can mean that choosing the wrong protocol or a failure to take into account the impact of software updates can help to ruin the overall user experience. It offers an integrated method for performing automated measurements and testing, explains Samuelsson.

In low-power embedded systems the choice of SoC or MCU is perhaps the most significant, and semiconductor vendors have taken many approaches to saving power. Sometimes peripherals, coupled with a direct memory access (DMA) controller, move data to and from SRAM without the processor needing to be active. But from the microcontroller’s datasheet alone that is hard to assess, says Samuelsson. By providing control over the supply voltage while measuring the current consumption, various power source strategies can be evaluated. If the impact of sub-circuitry needs to be understood, the differential analogue input on the expansion connector, together with a small resistance in the supply line, allows the power impact to be clearly separated out from the total power consumption.

The second key element, according to Samuelsson is the serial data RX input of the expansion port. Serial communication data can be captured via this interface at rates of 9600 bits per second (bps) up to 4Mbps. Any logging messages output by the application are then time-stamped and synchronised with the other time-domain measurements. A real-time operating system (RTOS)-based application could, together with instrumented trace logging via a UART, be tracked as it switched between tasks and into and out of its idle-task and low-power modes. The final element is the single-ended analogue input that is available when differential-mode power measurements are not being made.

Braille smart watch

The world’s first braille smart watch for the blind human. The team behind the Dot Watch explain how their wearable device will break down barriers. An estimated 285 million people in the world are visually impaired, this includes legally blind and visually impaired persons (VIP). Yet, for the last two decades there have been no new technology innovations geared towards these groups, according to ‘Dot’, a braille smart watch producer Educational and day-to-day life has, therefore, remained severely limited.” Dot intends to alleviate this “digital divide” between visually impaired and sighted communities by providing a technology which is inclusive, easy-to-use and accessible.

To indicate different types of notification (e.g. a phone call and a message), the watch also features different vibration patterns. Wearers can then use the buttons on the side of the watch to read select information. The device comes with the option to have scrolling automated or manual to make it accessible to both proficient and slower braille readers. The Dot Mini is designed to enhance the vision of supplying educational devices to the visually impaired, with a focus on children in developing countries who are not able to afford costly devices. While the company intends for the Dot Pad to be the next product to make an impactful social difference in the areas of education, employment, and access to information for the blind and the visually impaired.

“In a world of video content and images,” Choi says, the information gap for the blind and visually impaired is getting bigger and bigger. This is because the only technology that allows them to have real-time information in tactile are the one-line braille displays. Imagine having to calculate math problems horizontally or read an entire book one sentence at a time. The company is currently working on its Dot Public, a smart-city solution for inclusive technology supporting information. Through this tech, the company hopes to make public infrastructure accessible - having information accessible in bus stops, public buildings and all kinds of transportation

Student-Oriented Classes

     Teacher-oriented classes where students receive lectures from teachers will be out and student-centered learning will be in. Students will read, scrutinize text, work on applications and problems till they find the solution and come up with solutions and even definitions based on their activities. As they will have been actively involved in arriving at the solution, students will retain the lessons learned more effectively. Student-centered learning means inverting the traditional teacher-centered understanding of the learning process and putting students at the centre of the learning process. In the teacher-centered classroom, teachers are the primary source for knowledge.

A teaching Strategies to Create a Student-Centered Classroom. Today's teachers are moving more toward a student-centered classroom. They are learning to give up some of the control and allow students to be motivated by their interests, be part of the decision-making process, as well as all other aspects of their learning. Pros. Students learn important communicative and collaborative skills through group work. Students learn to direct their own learning, ask questions, and complete tasks independently. 

Students are more interested in learning activities when they can interact with one another and participate actively.Student centered learning only works for well-behaved children. Well-trained and reflective teachers can use student centered learning to create a classroom environment that engages active children and captures their interest. Once the engagement occurs, even the most boisterous child can focus and learn.

LessonCast

A Lessoncast is taking teacher preparation and professional development to the next level. A lessoncast is a short, 3-minute multimedia presentation, created by teachers for teachers. With a suite of easy-to-use tools and resources, users are guided through the process of creating interactive and engaging lessoncasts. In terms of teacher preparation, new instructors can now access clear and concise explanations of ideas and objectives, based on the advice and experience of senior teachers. The lessoncast can also be a great tool for teacher professional development, as it allows for easy collaboration between users. It can be used to demonstrate best practices and to showcase effective teaching strategies for specific areas.

Teachers need help and support with their lesson plans just as much as students need help with studying for exams. LessonCast allows teachers to submit a 2-minute lesson plan strategy, idea, or resource using video, documents, Powerpoint, etc. and share it with other instructors.The free-based software is just another way to offer networking opportunities and a general pool of knowledge that globally impacts education in a positive way. Teachers Paying Teachers is a similar network that allows educators to sell their lesson plans to other instructors.

The biggest advantage of a lessoncast is its short length. Limiting each clip to just 3 minutes ensures that teachers are engaged and focused while absorbing the material prepared by their peers. Viewers can easily grasp the important takeaways regarding specific topic areas and teaching techniques without excess information. Tools are available to help instructors establish clear learning expectations. Instructors can also attach a transcript of their recorded lesson, as well as supplementary resources that can be downloaded by viewers. Lessoncasts are great bite-sized resources for teacher preparation and professional development.

Fusion energy power stations to fuel our future cities

A collaboration of researchers from the University of Gothenburg and the University of Iceland have studied a new type of nuclear fusion process that’s quite different from the normal process. Nuclear fusion is a process where atoms melt together and release energy. By combining smaller atoms with larger ones, energy can be released. The nuclear fusion studied by the researchers produces almost no neutrons. Instead, fast and heavy electrons are created since the reaction’s based in heavy hydrogen. 

“This is a considerable advantage compared to other nuclear fusion processes, which are under development at other research facilities, since the neutrons produced by such processes can cause dangerous flash burns," says Leif Holmlid, a retired Professor at the University of Gothenburg. This new fusion process can occur in very small fusion reactors fueled by heavy hydrogen. It’s been shown that this process produces much more energy than is needed to start. Heavy hydrogen can be found all around us in ordinary water. Instead of handling the large, radioactive hydrogen used to power large reactors, this process could eliminate dangers involved in the old process.  

“A considerable advantage of the fast heavy electrons produced by the new process is that these are charged and can, therefore, produce electrical energy instantly. The energy in the neutrons which accumulate in large quantities in other types of nuclear fusion is difficult to handle because the neutrons are not charged. These neutrons are high-energy and very damaging to living organisms, whereas the fast, heavy electrons are considerably less dangerous,” Holmlid said.   Smaller and simpler reactors can be built in order to harness this energy and make it viable for small power stations. The fast, heavy electrons decay very quickly, allowing for the production of quick energy. 

Robotic surgery

Robotics, when combined with machine learning and AI, promise a marked improvement in surgical outcomes. According to a report from PwC that looked at the use of artificial intelligence and robotics in various sectors, healthcare was identified as being one of those with real potential when it came to the use of these technologies. An ageing population, together with more recent advances in sensors and wireless connectivity, along with much improved IT systems, mean than healthcare is now well placed to take advantage of the capabilities of robots and AI which are leading to the greater adoption of more automated systems.

According to the report AI could be used for the examination, diagnosis, and treatment of patients, for example, and could help clinicians to speed-up their decision making as well as help perform certain tasks more effectively and efficiently. The most striking potential, when it comes to the future deployment of robots, is in conducting the surgery itself.  A growing number of remotely-operated surgical robotic systems comprising of a surgeon’s console, robotic arms, monitoring systems and software are being used to assist in minimally invasive procedures, whether that’s carrying out stitching or inserting screws, and all achieved with much greater accuracy and with levels of dexterity beyond that of humans.

A growing number of remotely-operated surgical robotic systems comprising of a surgeon’s console, robotic arms, monitoring systems and software are being used to assist in minimally invasive procedures, whether that’s carrying out stitching or inserting screws, and all achieved with much greater accuracy and with levels of dexterity beyond that of humans. The da Vinci robotic surgery system is perhaps the best-known example of this kind of technology, with over 4,500 robots deployed worldwide. These robots are, however, more about manipulation than true surgical robotic systems. Nonetheless, the global surgical robotics market is growing strongly and research, from Allied Market Research, suggests that it is expected to top $98billion by 2024. The range of applications is also expected to continue to expand rapidly.

Knewton

Knewton is an adaptive learning company that has developed a platform to personalize educational content as well as has developed courseware for higher education concentrated in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

At Knewton, we believe that technology has the potential to transform what’s possible in education. From performance to price, the status quo just isn’t good enough. We dare to do more: Design the best adaptive technology that delivers lasting impact to put achievement within reach for all. Knewton is for everyone. This new technology company aims at personalizing content for optimal learning.

 The platform monitors the student’s activity and uses the information to give the student the best personalized resources based on their level of performance.The technology also boasts integration among different disciplines creating a more comprehensive set of resources that interact with one another. Knewton grows more intuitive the more the student uses the software. It can follow a student through their entire education career.

Flipped Classroom

A flipped classroom is an instructional strategy and a type of blended learning that reverses the traditional learning environment by delivering instructional content, often online, outside of the classroom. It moves activities, including those that may have traditionally been considered homework, into the classroom. While not a technology per se, this teaching model is using technology to change the way instructors teach. Rather than spending the class time lecturing the students, the lectures are delivered to the student’s in video format for them to watch at home (or in study hall).

Flipped learning is a pedagogical approach in which the conventional notion of classroom-based learning is inverted, so that students are introduced to the learning material before class, with classroom time then being used to deepen understanding through discussion with peers and problem-solving activities facilitated.

Then, the classroom time is set aside for 1 on 1 help, discussion, and interaction based on the lecture homework. With nearly every student carrying a mobile device or laptop, this model may give students and teachers more time to work on areas of difficulty rather than simple straight lecture. For too long, instructors have seen that precious class time go to waste while a teacher scribbles on a blackboard and has their back to the students.

Manipulating sunlight

There are two main types of solar energy: photovoltaics (PV), and concentrated solar power (CSP), also known as solar thermal power. Photovoltaics convert sunlight directly into electricity using solar cells in solar panels. Concentrated solar power uses sunlight to heat a fluid which generates steam and powers a turbine to create energy. PV currently comprises 98% of global solar energy, with CSP as the remaining 2%.

PV and CSP vary in the way they are used, the energy that is produced, and the materials that are used in their construction. The efficiency of the energy that is produced with PV stays constant with the size of the solar panel and the meaning that using a smaller over a larger solar panel will not increase the rate of energy production. This is because of the Balance-of-System (BOS) components that are also used in solar panels, which includes the hardware, combiner boxes, and inverters. With CSP, bigger is better. As it uses the heat from the sun’s rays, the more sunlight that can be collected the better.

 This system is very similar to the fossil fuel power plants in use today. The major difference being that CSP uses mirrors that reflect the heat from sunlight to heat fluids (instead of burning coal or natural gas), which generate steam to turn turbines. This also makes CSP well suited for hybrid plants, such as combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT), which use solar energy and natural gas to turn turbines, generating energy. With CSP, the energy output from incoming solar energy yields only 16% net electricity. CCGT energy output yields ~55% net electricity, much more than CSP alone.

Flash memory goes 3D

HDDs and SSDs can be compared to your long-term memory, whereas flash is more akin to your short-term memory. And just like your brain, a computer traditionally needs both types of storage to function. Commonly referred to as random access memory (RAM), traditional personal computers tend to come with two sticks of RAM at 4 to 8GB each. Meanwhile, the heaviest hitters like Samsung are now selling 2.5D memory cards that hold 128GB each—amazing for hardcore gamers, but more practical for next-generation supercomputers.

In light of this, companies are beginning to build the next generation of memory cards: i)3D NAND. Companies like Intel, Samsung, Micron, Hynix, and Taiwan Semiconductor are pushing for the wide-scale adoption of 3D NAND, ii) Resistive Random Access Memory (RRAM). This tech uses resistance instead of an electric charge to store bits (0s and 1s) of memory. iii) 3D chips. This will be discussed in more detail in the next series chapter, but in brief, 3D chips aim to combine computing and data storage in vertically stacked layers. iv) Phase Change Memory (PCM). The tech behind PCMs basically heats and cools chalcogenide glass, shifting it between crystallized to non-crystallized states, each with their unique electrical resistances representing the binary 0 and 1. v)Spin-Transfer Torque Random-Access Memory (STT-RAM).A powerful Frankenstein that combines the capacity of DRAM with the speed of SRAM, along with improved non-volatility and near unlimited endurance. vi) 3D XPoint. With this tech, instead of relying on transistors to store information, 3D Xpoint uses a microscopic mesh of wires, coordinated by a "selector" that are stacked on top of one another.

            In other words, remember when we said “HDDs and SSDs can be compared to your long-term memory, whereas flash is more akin to your short-term memory”? Well, 3D Xpoint will handle both and do so better than either than either separately. Regardless of which option wins out, all of these new forms of flash memory will offer more memory capacity, speed, endurance and power efficiency.