Head Blaze

When you are at a loss for something to invent just remember that even the most common things had to be invented. Find a need and fill it.

With apologies to the muppets Pigs in Space it seems that the real pigs in space is actually us. Looks like we can invent satellites like crazy but not a way to remove the old non-working ones.

Article: Space debris: evolution in pictures

Between the launch of Sputnik on 4 October 1957 and 1 January 2008, approximately 4600 launches have placed some 6000 satellites into orbit, of which about 400 are travelling beyond geostationary orbit or on interplanetary trajectories.

Today, it is estimated that only 800 satellites are operational – Continue Reading »

And the race is on! Just imagine what you could store with that much memory

Scientists unveil revolutionary ‘racetrack’ computer memory
By Roger Highfield, Science Editor

A Californian team has developed a new generation of memory that combines the high performance and reliability of solid state “flash” memory, stored in microchips, with the high capacity of the PC’s hard disk drive, which is cheap but contains moving parts and is slow.

In two papers in the journal Science, Dr Stuart Parkin and colleagues at the IBM Almaden Research Centre in San Jose describe a revolutionary technology dubbed “racetrack” memory, or RM memory.

The team believes that it marks a milestone that could lead to electronic devices capable of storing far more data in the same amount of space than is possible today, with lightning-fast boot times, far lower cost and unprecedented stability and durability. Continue Reading »