Green laser pointers

Amit Samantaray

Green laser pointers were first commercially sold in the year 2000. They operate at the wavelength of 532 nm. Laser diodes of this wavelength are not available so the green light is obtained by the use of "DPSSFD" laser technology.
The process:-
A very high-powered Infrared laser diode working at 808 nm pumps a tiny block of Nd: YVO4 that generates light at 1,064 nm. This feeds a potassium titanyl phosphate intracavity frequency doubler crystal that produces green light of a visible 532 nm wavelength. High-powered green lasers use lithium triborate instead of KTP.
Features:-
An infrared filter, which is behind the mirror completely, removes the radiation of infrared spectrum from the output beam. In order to reduce cooling problems and prolong battery life, some green lasers operate in pulse or quasi-continuous-wave (QCW) mode. The Class III a laser product gives an output power of 5mw. This is the one of highest-powered street legal laser. Some green lasers even have an output of 10 mw, which has a range of 20,000 feet in darkness. Some even have a 3-second delay feature as these are high-powered lasers and can blind a person. Some laser point extenders are also available. They work by using lenses to minimize the beam spread of a laser. Its price starts from 55$. Majority of them have a life of around 3000 hours.
Applications:-
Green lasers can be used for a variety of roles. They can be used as pointing devices. The ability to form a continuous line in the dark is an added advantage; this has lead to its usage as rescue lights as it can be seen from miles away. It as been used for laser light shows. It is also used for sky gazing as a person can pinpoint a star by using the green laser. It can also be as laser pointers for guns, rifles. In the movie Alien vs. Predator it was used as a pointing device on some G36k carbines.
Advantages:-
The green laser has many advantages. It is fifty times brighter than a red laser because of which it can be seen from miles away, this helps in being rescued if a person is lost. It can also be used in high-tech weapons for aiming purposes. Because of its high range, Green laser pointers can be equipped in different kinds of weapons. High and low temperatures do not affect the performance of Green laser pointers so in case a person is lost in a desert, he can still use Green laser pointers to call for help, in other case, even if a person is lost some where in mountains all covered with ice, he can still use it.
Disadvantages:-
Due to its high power it can permanently damage a person's eye. As it can form a continuous line of light that might reveal a person's position so it cannot be used in stealthy operations or by SWAT.
Green laser is quite awesome but it should be used carefully.

Blue ray

Amit Samantaray

It seems like every couple of years there are new advances made and our technology springs forward. Sometimes it can be difficult to keep up with all of the incredibly fast paced advances made. Currently, blue ray technology has been brought into the mainstream and learning what this technology is can keep consumers up to date with the latest inventions in home entertainment.

Discovering What Is Blue Ray Technology
For many, home movies were originally played on the classic vcr tape. Then, the technology moved onto DVD players, and the look of the movies was sharper and of a much better quality. Now the next evolution has started with blue ray technology.
Finding out about what it is includes learning about the differences between this kind of technology and the current mass marketed DVD systems. This new kind of technology has been developing for years, since the mid 1990's when HDTV's were becoming more common for consumers to buy. A technology was needed that could record and play back the high definition recordings. Blue Ray technology was created to fill that void.
So what is so special with this technology and how is it different from the standard DVD? BR technology can store far more information that the traditional DVD, almost 5 times more storage is available on a blue ray disc. The blue ray discs use a blue ray laser to read the information where other DVD's use a red laser.
With a blue laser the wave length is shorter allowing for more storage to be used. This did cause some problems originally, as the discs were much easier to scratch. The case that held the disc had to be made more durable and was somewhat bulky. Advances in polymer coatings have advanced allowing for a better protective coating to be placed on the disc, alleviating the need for the bigger containers.
There are many companies that have a stake in the development of the next cutting edge technology and these companies are looking into both blue ray technology and a HD DVD. Some of the big companies are fighting over which technology should be used and this has caused a split in which companies support which format. Even companies that produce movies are split over which type of technology to use, which means depending on what movie a consumer wishes to purchase; they may need two different types of players.
Both the blue ray and the hddvd players are continuing to improve. In the end, consumers may discover that they enjoy both types of players and they both may be successful with consumers. Learning about what is this technology exactly can help a consumer get a good idea of basic information in regards to this new technology.

Guns that can stop cars

Amit Samantaray

EM pulse gun that can stop cars

People who have seen the film 2 fast 2 furious please recall the beginning scene where,the hero is being is chased by the cops and he is being stopped by them by using a weirdly looking gun.They fire at him and his car,which is state-of-the art, and it just dies at the next moment.

Very futuristic technology but cool right ? well thats going to be true. but not exactly as you see in the film. its not going to be a “handy” gun, its going to be mounted on the top of a car.

The EM pulse gun assembly is mounted on the top of the car and is powered by car’s alternator.It sends out high power pulses (high frequency radiations) which will kill the microprocessors of cars.The big deal with the microprocessors is that,they control the engine.They control the ignition control,fuel injector,fuel pump,etc. without the engine, the car is dead,motionless.

The EM pulse gun would be great help to the law enforcements,military bases,communication centers,oil platforms etc.

The EM pulse gun right now weighs 200 pounds.this is setup on the top of the car.It takes DC power and generates pulses with 50ns duration, and then it is amplified to 640kV using a 16 stage Marx generator.This is then transformed into microwave oscillations. These oscillations are then directed to an opposing vehicle through specially designed antennas.

The radiations from these antenna will damage the car as told before (ECU-engine control unit),etc.Actually this is not a quite new system,military had developed this long before.but the equipment was so bulky and heavy to use in a car.But the guys at Aerospace system made that thing smaller and integrated to a car.

The only drawback of the system is that it cant be used against old vehicles, old vehicles that don’t have an ECU and all those stuff. Common who is going to break the law in a 1970 “Chevrolet Nova”, so that wont be a problem.

Moving data using silicon chips

Amit Samantaray

Using photons rather than electrons to move data in chips

Today the world is hungry for bandwidth and speed. But this is limited by the way we use to connect various points. If you think am speaking about two buildings or even two countries, you are wrong. Am speaking about interconnections in a single chip. At present the interconnects in an IC is made with copper. But what is happening is at luxurious speeds as 10 billion B/s (bits per seconds) these interconnects prove to be less efficient.

Continuous experiments have given many alternatives but at the cost of high price. The best one from the array is by using optical fibers and thus replacing photons instead of electrons. The advantage of this method is that the overall cost is less compared to other methods and the data rate you can achieve is far more than that achievable through copper connects.

What’s the big deal with these interconnects anyway huh? Imagine you can download movies with just a click rather than waiting for hours, simultaneous streaming of audio, video, teleconferencing, and you name it. Sounds cool, isn’t it? This is what is possible if we have optical fiber interconnects in the chip level.

The superiority of optical connection is best explained by the following example. Optical data can travel for long distances (say 10 km) without any attenuation. The data rate can be increased by a technique called WDM-wavelength division multiplexing.

Myself is a communication engineer, so I will elaborate on this. Distortion, interference these occurs when the wavelength/frequency of two signals in a single medium becomes equal or very close. So if you can transmit several distinct frequencies at the same time, then you can use the single medium to transmit all these at the same time. In short you are multiplying the capability of the medium’s data carrying capacity. Currently using WDM you can transmit over 40 different data signals into a thin hair strand size optical fiber, all running at the data rate of 10 GBps. wonderful isn’t it, copper connects can’t even dream about it.

So why isn’t this new technology not in your chips yet ? It isn’t simple as it sounds. Optical devices are made with materials such as lithium niobate, indium phosphide etc which are very exotic compared to silicon. So its very costly and expensive to fabricate these into a normal chips.

A normal optical fiber communication link requires the following parts. Modulator-to convert electrical data into light Transmitter-to transmit this light into the fiber Optical fiber-the medium Receiver-to receive the optical data Demodulator-to convert optical data back to electrical data

What we need to do is to manufacture all these devices onto a single chip. This is the ultimate goal. What this step exactly means is you make the modulator, source, medium, detector, demodulator etc on the same silicon substrate. Researches have now enabled silicon to have optical properties. An optical channel can be made in silicon by literally etching a channel in the substrate. For source, silicon laser has been developed by Intel’s state-of-the art facilities. As for all the other parts, researches are going on.

Although they encountered many problems, they are troubleshooting them one by one. In short, the time for a single chip that is half the size of a postage stamp which is able to handle all the operations of whole building won’t be too long in the future.

Being Wireless @ 60GHz

Amit Samantaray

The new technology, being used in every field of human life has become indispensable and scientists are constantly working on improving the existing technology. The discovery of the use of blue tooth as early as 1990s lead to the development of Wi-Fi and IEEE 802.11, the latest of the series is ultrawideband systems. The most important use of having these technologies is the decreased need of cables and wires to connect electronic equipments, and the increased speed at which transmission can take place. Even with so much speed and bandwidth at hand, scientists are looking for options to utilize even more bandwidth.

Scientists are exploring all the available possibilities to acquire more bandwidth, now has turned their attention to infra red light. As of now, this new technology is used in electronic equipments requiring remote control. There have been not much research in this field till now, but situation has changed, with studies to utilize 60GHz is under way.

Along with this, study on semiconductors is also in progress. Use of silicon chips instead of the gallium-arsenide semiconductors which are used presently is being considered. This would be more cost effective and if the designs are successful, the electronic equipments would be working much faster.

In addition to the increased speed, the size of the chips and antennas also can be decreased, with the help of this new technology. The antennas and transceivers can be put together, as the size of the antennas decrease. This also would lead to the lack of need of cables to transfer the data from the antenna to the chips and from chip to chip. Also, the antistatic devices used during assembly to prevent the electrostatic discharge, can be avoided as there are no more open outputs or inputs.

With every new technology, difficulties also appear. The 60GHz wave gets obstructed by any object in its path, it also travels proportionately to the distance between the transmitter and the antenna. This would considerably decrease the power transmitted by the wave, as it reaches the antenna.

Scientists are working to solve these problems and some have come up. Some of the suggestions include using high power, use of multiple transceivers etc. The use of multiple transceivers is considered a good option, but to make it possible, the design of the transceiver would have to be changed. The transceiver which is used at present might be inadequate to meet the increased demands. And the cost of manufacturing these transceivers also has to be considered.

There are bipolar transmitters offering good speed, but at increased cost of production and there are CMOS chips with low speed and low manufacturing cost. Engineers are debating the use and disadvantages of both these. They aim at improving the CMOS chips.

Operating the technique might be difficult, but not impossible. Scientists are also considering the use of 40GHz along with 60GHz.

The use of adaptive antennas is also under evaluation. These would create a beam which would be directly received, considered a solution of the loss of power occurring at the present stage. In this new technology, a lot of emitters are to be used to reduce the loss of power. If this works out, more energy efficient antennas would be manufactured. At the same time, off chip antennas are also under consideration. This would decrease the amount of power lost after it is received at the antenna.

Terahertz Rays in Security

 

Terahertz rays aiding in the detection of security threats :

A lot of movies show a typical feature which aids the detectives to see through enemies’ camps. This is in the form of a goggle, which would not raise the concern of the adversary, and at the same time, the hero is able to see where the weapons are hidden and in several cases, disable the bombs. X-rays are used to provide this sort of a facility, which is purely fictional. The use of X-ray is limited and the machine cannot be contained to a small goggle.

But scientists are now developing a new technology which might help to an extent in this matter. By the use of terahertz rays, the scientists are hoping to detect all the security threats, like weapons and bombs which might go undetected in the present days. Terahertz rays extend from the upper limit of microwaves to the lower limit of infrared rays.

Now a days, X-rays are used to detect any fracture in the human body, and also in the security checks to check for any weapons. The use of X-rays are limited as they are harmful to the human body causing disintegration of DNA and hence cancers may be precipitated. Terahertz rays or T-rays are considered harmless, that is, they do not predispose the human body to cancers and hence can be used freely. This benefit also applies at the security checks at any airports or public places where T-rays would reflect on any weapons and can be detected easily. For that matter, T-rays have an additional benefit of detecting even plastic objects which often go undetected in X-ray. Scientists' also claim that T-rays can tell the material of the item which is reflected, as it uses a technique called spectroscopy. In this new technology, every item would be reflected in a different colour, so making out a particular item as harmful is easy.

T- rays are not required to be used close to the scanned item, as in the case of X-rays. It can be safely kept at a distance and scanning is done. A lot of research is going on to enhance the capacity of T-rays to use the spectroscopy at a distance.

The possibilities of T-rays are several. They can be used in the pharmacology industry to aid in detection of the contents of the medicines, used to detect tumors in a human body, aid in detecting any defect in the machines. These are just a few of the benefits.

With a lot of benefits under its collar, one wonders what these T-rays are?

They are part of the electromagnetic spectrum, and one area which has been less studied till now. The band width of the T-rays can be between 500gigahertz and 10 terahertz.

Studies have been going on to analyze T-rays, recently particle accelerators have been used to break up the rays and study them.

New technology are being developed to contain the T-rays and direct them accordingly. Also a cost effective method of production need to be developed. The use of synchtron to bend the electrons and produce T-rays is under research. There are still concerns of cost and cooling of the rays, and the size which is important. In addition to these, creation of a continuous wave of T-rays is a challenge the scientists are facing as when T-rays were generated in pulses, it was seen that the bandwidth decreases with distance.

So, how can this be done? Experiments are going on to see whether using two infra red laser machines can be used. The rays produced by the two machines combine to produce a T-ray. A new machine with indium-gallium-arsenide is under consideration.

Also a new technology called Quantum Cascade laser was developed in 1994, which produced rays even in the terahertz range. The wavelengths produced were directly related to the thickness of the semiconductor, which was the reason for success of these lasers. The working of the laser is as follows. An electron is put into the machine which goes to a level and shake up the protons, then fall into another level, emitting phonons. This cycle is repeated and a ray of phonons are produced.

Once the item is detected, a reflection image has to be produced as well. Experiments are going on to produce a detector to create images which can be easily captured by a video camera and reproduced.

There are defects in this new technology as well. But the positive factors are more than the negative factors, so this new technology would be of real help in detecting a lot of security threats.

By Amit Samantaray

Variable Frequency Transformers

With Variable Frequency Transformer power transfer can be done smoothly without noise.

America cannot produce all the power it drinks. It has to get help from its neighboring countries like Mexico to satisfy her. So power transfer between two grids must take place.

Circuits employing semi conductor devices were used for this purpose. But there is a problem. The power flowing in grid is in the form of AC-alternating current. This AC cannot be controlled using semiconductors. For that purpose we convert the AC to DC-Direct Current. Using the circuits we can alter any parameters of the power such as amplitude, frequency, phase etc. After that, DC is converted back to AC, ie we synthesize AC. But this AC is not as good as natural AC. The problem is harmonic distortions. As we change DC to AC a spike appears at each pulse, which is a noise and is undesired, but hard to eliminate.

With the help of new technology, VFT-Variable Frequency Transformers can do this. Variable Frequency Transformers can convert this power to and from grids without converting the power into DC thus eliminating the harmonic distortions. Another advantage with VFT is that we can have infinite phase shifts between the two powers where as in conventional devices we could have only few predefined phase shifts.

Even though VFTs employs latest technology, someone looking at the Variable Frequency Transformer will recognize it as a hydro generator. In fact AEP-American Electric Power, who has currently installed a VFT between Mexico-US grid, buys it from the same manufacturers who makes standard hydro generators.

Although Variable Frequency Transformers looks like a hydro generator, it seems like VFT has hydrophobia. There is not a drop of water involved here, although it is a hydro generator. The rotor of the Variable Frequency Transformer, is a big three phase electro-magnet which is connected to one grid and the stator, another three phase winding, a stationary winding which is connected to the other grid. When power starts to flow, the phase difference between stator and rotor cause the motor to rotate. The rotor shaft is connected to another motor, called a control motor. We apply torque on the shaft and can rotate the motor in any direction and the direction of the motor determines the direction of power flow. The Variable Frequency Transformer is like a phase shifter having infinitesimally small steps.

 

Big Bang Theory

Big Bang Theory

The Big Bang theory is an effort to explain what happened at the very beginning of our universe. Discoveries in astronomy and physics have shown beyond a reasonable doubt that our universe did in fact have a beginning. Prior to that moment there was nothing; during and after that moment there was something: our universe. The big bang theory is an effort to explain what happened during and after that moment.
According to the standard theory, our universe sprang into existence as "singularity" around 13.7 billion years ago. What is a "singularity" and where does it come from? Well, to be honest, we don't know for sure. Singularities are zones which defy our current understanding of physics. They are thought to exist at the core of "black holes." Black holes are areas of intense gravitational pressure. The pressure is thought to be so intense that finite matter is actually squished into infinite density (a mathematical concept which truly boggles the mind). These zones of infinite density are called "singularities." Our universe is thought to have begun as an infinitesimally small, infinitely hot, infinitely dense, something - a singularity. Where did it come from? We don't know. Why did it appear? We don't know.
After its initial appearance, it apparently inflated (the "Big Bang"), expanded and cooled, going from very, very small and very, very hot, to the size and temperature of our current universe. It continues to expand and cool to this day and we are inside of it: incredible creatures living on a unique planet, circling a beautiful star clustered together with several hundred billion other stars in a galaxy soaring through the cosmos, all of which is inside of an expanding universe that began as an infinitesimal singularity which appeared out of nowhere for reasons unknown. This is the Big Bang theory.

Amit Samantaray

amit.samantaray@gmail.com

The Pirate Bay Admins Found Guilty, Sentenced to a Year

Administrators at popular Bit Torrent site The Pirate Bay were found guilty of contributory copyright infringement by a Swedish court this morning and sentenced to a year in prison, according to Wired. The guilty gentlemen were also ordered to pay 3.6 million in damages to several entertainment companies—a big win for Hollywood.The folks at The Pirate Bay keep their spirits up, responding with the embedded video and their classic sense of humour:

But as in all good movies, the heroes lose in the beginning but have an epic victory in the end anyhow. That's the only thing Hollywood ever taught us.

Official Windows 7 Release Candidate Arrives on May 5

Microsoft's manufacturing Partners already have it, but the downloading masses will get a crack at the Windows 7 Release Candidate on May 5. That matches up with previous Microsoft leaks, so the download will likely be available through June 2009, and remain alive in activation through June 2010. As for the final-official-seriously-done Windows 7release? Mary Jo Foley at All about Microsoft hears October is a target.

Recession may continue:IMF

The international Monetary fund (IMF)  said that current global recession, the worst after “World War–II”, is likely to continue for a longer duration and the recovery would be sluggish. However, strong counter-cyclical policy action, combined with action to restore confidence in the financial sector, could improve prospects for recovery.

3G

3G

Amit Samantaray

3G is the 3^rd generation wireless telecommunication technology is an advanced radio communication technology which provides high speed internet access and high quality mobile telephony. The technology enables simultaneous voice and non-voice data transfer. High speed digital packet switching networks are the source of the high speed offered by 3G. Compare to traditional circuit switching technology, packet switching better transmission bandwidth utilisation and hence higher data transfer rate.

• Circuit switching involves dedicated link creation between two phones during a call leading to redundancies and high waiting time.
• Packet switching data transmitting in the form of encrypted digital data packets through the least congested route/nodes reducing redundancy in the process.

Benefits' of 3G :-

• Quality of text audio and video communication would improve through real-time supporting technology and real quality communication, enhance mobility and roaming, high quality email and internet.
• Its enables heavy broadcast and data intensive service.
• Its gives strong network security.

Nanotechnology in future cars

AMIT SAMANTARAY amit.samantaray@gmail.com

Windscreens that no longer steam up, or paint that no longer gets dirty or can be scratched: all this could be everyday reality for car drivers in just a few years time. As part of their research work, engineers at the BMW Group are examining the use of nanotechnology in future cars. The range of possibilities is large. Currently the company is working on an agent that will counter dirt and paint damage, and small nanoparticles are of great help in this.

Purchasing a new car in 2020 - the scenario: the showroom dealer, in addition to exhibiting BMW's latest shiny new models, also sets up a stand with small, colourful seed packets. The packets, however, do not have pictures of exotic plants printed on them but instead car models. The customer chooses a car, pays for it, and is then handed over his dream car in a seed packet. He scatters the seed in his garden and waits, and at some point, just like a flower, his dream car sprouts up from the earth. Atom by atom, molecule by molecule.

What today seems like science fiction could tomorrow be reality. This is because there is no reason why objects cannot be created on an atom by atom basis, the proof for this being provided as far back as 1959 by American physicist and Nobel prize winner, Richard Feynman. In 1986 US researcher Eric Drexler too prophesied that: "In the future programmable molecular-sized robots will be able to grab hold of individual atoms and place them at the exact location where we want them to be. We will be able to replicate each new object atom by atom, be it a strawberry or a car." Just one year later the first step in this direction was taken when the decisive tool for conquering the atomic world was discovered. Since then scientists have been able to precisely design and mix the building blocks of the universe. Also possible now is the construction of artificial molecules which can be used as minute machines - almost exactly as Drexler prophesied.

Drexler and Feynman are considered the intellectual fathers of nanotechnology. To some extent it is a dwarf science, as "nanos" in Greek means "dwarf", and a nanometre in physics corresponds to one billionth of a metre or one millionth of a millimetre.

The number of uses that can be made of nanotechnology in the car industry is enormous. Take, for example, scratch-free windscreens: If one mixes silane, large molecules made of silicon, metal and alcohol groups, with water, these convert into silanols, which in turn develop into blobs several nanometres in size. Chemically elongated molecules can be attached to these, the ends of which contain the chemical element, fluoride, familiar because of its use in toothpaste. If one removes the water from this mix, referred to as "sol", the blobs form an unbroken network.

"In this way a viscous gel is created", explains BMW's nano-expert, Dr. Michael Nikolaides. If this gel is then applied to vehicle surfaces, the molecules with their fluoride heads behave on the open surfaces in accordance with the laws of thermodynamics. "It is this layer of fluoride ends that makes it hydrophobic - like in the case of a Teflon frying pan", explains the nano-expert. The characteristics of these coatings offer considerable advantages: The coating is transparent and can be applied as clear lacquer over the paint on the vehicle body. Furthermore it can be water-resistant, so that dirty water does not dry into a layer of dirt on it. This lotus flower effect, also called "easy-clean", allows water to trickle down more easily and makes it almost impossible for dirt to latch on to paint. The BMW Group is carrying out research into this effect, which is called "hydrophobing". Water, when it comes into contact with the fine nanostructures on the leaf surfaces of the lotus plant, trickles down very easily and takes all the dirt with it. This is also the idea behind special nano paints; graffiti created using such paints can be wiped off as easily as chalk from a blackboard. "One disadvantage of such artificial coatings up until now has been their lack of permanence, as artificial coatings, in contrast to plants, do not grow again", explains Nikolaides. Using nanotechnology the paint on a vehicle could even be designed as a solar cell, although this has yet to be realised. The electricity generated from such a cell while the vehicle was stationary could be used to recharge the battery or to cool the inside using a heat pump. This is still a long way off, however. Help with air-conditioning is provided in the form of windscreens that incorporate nano-scale components, which, depending on the current applied, increase or decrease the rate of light and thermal radiation. Even today vehicle light is produced using nanotechnology, with the LEDs of high-quality braking lights equipped with nanometre-scale layer systems that convert electricity into light more efficiently. Another plus point: LEDs convert electricity directly into light visible to the human eye, whereas braking lights and light bulbs take a little longer to do this. This difference can represent several metres braking distance. By now the intensity of LEDs is so high that grouped together they can create the dipped beam of front headlights.

Darkening rear-view mirror

Additional uses for gigantic nanoparticles can be found in the area of screen technology. The BMW Group is using this technology in rear-view mirrors, where nanoparticles can cause an electrochemical effect to take place i.e. the darkening of a screen in response to light incidence. Electrochrome glass is made up of laminate composed of several layers, and if one applies a current of just a few volts between the two electrode layers, light-alloy lithium ions will pass through a plastic layer and link up with a metal oxide to form a complex that can absorb light. This is turn results in the screen darkening. If one reverses the polarity of the current, the metal oxide complex dissolves itself again. This process takes several minutes, however. "In just a short period of time we can darken a screen by up to 80 percent", comments a spokesperson at the BMW Group.

Sensors for the analysis of driving conditions

Driving on cold, wet winter days has one disadvantage: ice on the road only becomes noticeable when you start skidding. Glancing at the temperature indicator is also of little use. It would be much better if a car were able to reliably inform the driver each time ice began to form on the road, and this is where sensors that are able to analyse driving conditions come in handy. Small laser sensors designed for this purpose have already been introduced onto the market, but the car industry is in the process of developing even smaller ones. So-called quantum points, i.e. large blobs up to ten nanometres in size and consisting of semi-conductors, can, depending on the energy feed, conduct electricity. If one places millions of them - like jam into a doughnut - into another semi-conductor, they can be tuned to emit ultra pure laser light. This technology could then be used to examine for ice on the road. The principle behind it is the following: The laser light excites water molecules in the ice, which as a result emit radiation, and this in turn is picked up by a detector in the vehicle.

Nano-dwarves as environmental angels

Another possible application for nanotechnology is in the area of fuel cell technology and with respect to efficient pollutant filters. The target in this case is to drastically reduce fuel consumption, pollutant emissions and vehicle wear. One possible first step could be the coating of the inlet valves of catalytic converters. In the case of direct injection petrol engines, burnt fuel re-enters the combustion chamber through these inlet valves, and as a rule, unwanted hydrocarbons then deposit themselves inside the chamber. A catalytic valve coating breaks them up and prevents depositing from taking place. BMW has already introduced onto the market a catalytically coated filter system for diesel cars that is able to function without any need for additional fuel. In the distant future filters could be developed that, with the help of nanopores or forests of carbon nano-tubes, are able to capture pollutants even more efficiently. Adding nano-additives to petrol or cylinder walls could even result in catalytic converters being made redundant altogether. A definite timeframe for the introduction of these technological innovations has yet to be drawn up, however.

The engineers in BMW's materials concepts and simulations department are looking into all the various possible applications of nanotechnology, and in each area one engineer is responsible for keeping an eye on the technology, so that synergies can be used and possible applications discussed. According to Nikolaides there is no doubt whatsoever that the little helpers will facilitate driving in the future. Drivers, however, should dispel themselves of the notion that one day the existence of little nano-robots will result in problem-free driving. "That", says BMW's nanospecialist, "is something firmly in the realm of science fiction."