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.

Microelectronics in space

With approximately 1,500 active satellites orbiting Earth, most of them carry highly sophisticated microelectronics that support communication and enable research that was scarcely imaginable a generation ago. Telecom satellites keep people around the world continuously in touch and informed, research satellites monitor global weather, while other missions provide scientists with information on the earth’s magnetic field and geomagnetic storms.

Increasing the gain of avalanche photodiodes (APDs) without adding more than a negligible amount of noise boosts the sensitivity of photon detectors. Leti and CNES showed that APDs made of HgCdTe (mercury cadmium telluride) significantly outperform those based on other semiconductor materials, making it possible to greatly improve their sensitivity, while maintaining a nearly constant signal-to-noise ratio.

Electronic boards for us are delivering a service onboard the launcher- Gilibert said. “Of course, we are shaking them a lot and warming them up and down. However, the ideal situation for us would be … to test the functional aspects to make sure it works as a functional chain onboard the launcher, and get rid of having to demonstrate one by one that all the equipment is qualified for the dynamic, radioactive and thermal environment of space.” In space and on Earth, the challenges and opportunities for the microelectronics industry are far reaching.