Cyber war might never happen

ScienceDaily (Oct. 18, 2011) — Cyber war, long considered by many experts within the defence establishment to be a significant threat, if not an ongoing one, may never take place according to Dr Thomas Rid of King's College London.

In a paper published in The Journal of Strategic Studies, Dr Thomas Rid, from the Department of War Studies, argues that cyber warfare has never taken place, nor is it currently doing so and it is unlikely to take place in the future.

Dr Rid said: 'The threat intuitively makes sense: almost everybody has an iPhone, an email address and a Facebook account. We feel vulnerable to cyber attack every day. Cyberwar seems the logical next step.

'Cyber warfare is of increasing concern to governments around the world, with many nations developing defensive -- and reportedly offensive -- capabilities.'

Recent events, such as a highly sophisticated computer worm known as Stuxnet, which was reported to have damaged the Iranian nuclear enrichment programme, have fuelled speculation that cyber warfare is imminent. There have also been alleged acts of cyber warfare originating from Russia aimed at Estonia and Georgia.

However, Dr Rid states that to constitute cyber warfare an action must be a potentially lethal, instrumental and political act of force, conducted through the use of software. Yet no single cyber attack has ever been classed as such and no act alone has ever constituted an act of war.

Dr Rid concludes: 'Politically motivated cyber attacks are simply a more sophisticated version of activities that have always occurred within warfare: sabotage, espionage and subversion.'

Dr Rid specialises in cyber security and conflict, irregular conflict and counterterrorism. He is currently researching how armies use social media and is working on a project on the subject of cyber security.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by King's College London.

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Journal Reference:

Thomas Rid. Cyber War Will Not Take Place. Journal of Strategic Studies, 2011; 1 DOI: 10.1080/01402390.2011.608939

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Portable tech might provide drinking water, power to villages

ScienceDaily (May 4, 2011) — Researchers have developed an aluminum alloy that could be used in a new type of mobile technology to convert non-potable water into drinking water while also extracting hydrogen to generate electricity.

Such a technology might be used to provide power and drinking water to villages and also for military operations, said Jerry Woodall, a Purdue University distinguished professor of electrical and computer engineering.

The alloy contains aluminum, gallium, indium and tin. Immersing the alloy in freshwater or saltwater causes a spontaneous reaction, splitting the water into hydrogen and oxygen molecules. The hydrogen could then be fed to a fuel cell to generate electricity, producing water in the form of steam as a byproduct, he said.

"The steam would kill any bacteria contained in the water, and then it would condense to purified water," Woodall said. "So, you are converting undrinkable water to drinking water."

Because the technology works with saltwater, it might have marine applications, such as powering boats and robotic underwater vehicles. The technology also might be used to desalinate water, said Woodall, who is working with doctoral student Go Choi.

A patent on the design is pending.

Woodall envisions a new portable technology for regions that aren't connected to a power grid, such as villages in Africa and other remote areas.

"There is a big need for this sort of technology in places lacking connectivity to a power grid and where potable water is in short supply," he said. "Because aluminum is a low-cost, non-hazardous metal that is the third-most abundant metal on Earth, this technology promises to enable a global-scale potable water and power technology, especially for off-grid and remote locations."

The potable water could be produced for about $1 per gallon, and electricity could be generated for about 35 cents per kilowatt hour of energy.

"There is no other technology to compare it against, economically, but it's obvious that 34 cents per kilowatt hour is cheap compared to building a power plant and installing power lines, especially in remote areas," Woodall said.

The unit, including the alloy, the reactor and fuel cell might weigh less than 100 pounds.

"You could drop the alloy, a small reaction vessel and a fuel cell into a remote area via parachute," Woodall said. "Then the reactor could be assembled along with the fuel cell. The polluted water or the seawater would be added to the reactor and the reaction converts the aluminum and water into aluminum hydroxide, heat and hydrogen gas on demand."

The aluminum hydroxide waste is non-toxic and could be disposed of in a landfill.

The researchers have a design but haven't built a prototype.

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by Purdue University. The original article was written by Emil Venere.

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

View the original article here

Portable tech might provide drinking water, power to villages

ScienceDaily (May 4, 2011) — Researchers have developed an aluminum alloy that could be used in a new type of mobile technology to convert non-potable water into drinking water while also extracting hydrogen to generate electricity.

Such a technology might be used to provide power and drinking water to villages and also for military operations, said Jerry Woodall, a Purdue University distinguished professor of electrical and computer engineering.

The alloy contains aluminum, gallium, indium and tin. Immersing the alloy in freshwater or saltwater causes a spontaneous reaction, splitting the water into hydrogen and oxygen molecules. The hydrogen could then be fed to a fuel cell to generate electricity, producing water in the form of steam as a byproduct, he said.

"The steam would kill any bacteria contained in the water, and then it would condense to purified water," Woodall said. "So, you are converting undrinkable water to drinking water."

Because the technology works with saltwater, it might have marine applications, such as powering boats and robotic underwater vehicles. The technology also might be used to desalinate water, said Woodall, who is working with doctoral student Go Choi.

A patent on the design is pending.

Woodall envisions a new portable technology for regions that aren't connected to a power grid, such as villages in Africa and other remote areas.

"There is a big need for this sort of technology in places lacking connectivity to a power grid and where potable water is in short supply," he said. "Because aluminum is a low-cost, non-hazardous metal that is the third-most abundant metal on Earth, this technology promises to enable a global-scale potable water and power technology, especially for off-grid and remote locations."

The potable water could be produced for about $1 per gallon, and electricity could be generated for about 35 cents per kilowatt hour of energy.

"There is no other technology to compare it against, economically, but it's obvious that 34 cents per kilowatt hour is cheap compared to building a power plant and installing power lines, especially in remote areas," Woodall said.

The unit, including the alloy, the reactor and fuel cell might weigh less than 100 pounds.

"You could drop the alloy, a small reaction vessel and a fuel cell into a remote area via parachute," Woodall said. "Then the reactor could be assembled along with the fuel cell. The polluted water or the seawater would be added to the reactor and the reaction converts the aluminum and water into aluminum hydroxide, heat and hydrogen gas on demand."

The aluminum hydroxide waste is non-toxic and could be disposed of in a landfill.

The researchers have a design but haven't built a prototype.

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by Purdue University. The original article was written by Emil Venere.

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

View the original article here

Portable tech might provide drinking water, power to villages

ScienceDaily (May 3, 2011) — Researchers have developed an aluminum alloy that could be used in a new type of mobile technology to convert non-potable water into drinking water while also extracting hydrogen to generate electricity.

Such a technology might be used to provide power and drinking water to villages and also for military operations, said Jerry Woodall, a Purdue University distinguished professor of electrical and computer engineering.

The alloy contains aluminum, gallium, indium and tin. Immersing the alloy in freshwater or saltwater causes a spontaneous reaction, splitting the water into hydrogen and oxygen molecules. The hydrogen could then be fed to a fuel cell to generate electricity, producing water in the form of steam as a byproduct, he said.

"The steam would kill any bacteria contained in the water, and then it would condense to purified water," Woodall said. "So, you are converting undrinkable water to drinking water."

Because the technology works with saltwater, it might have marine applications, such as powering boats and robotic underwater vehicles. The technology also might be used to desalinate water, said Woodall, who is working with doctoral student Go Choi.

A patent on the design is pending.

Woodall envisions a new portable technology for regions that aren't connected to a power grid, such as villages in Africa and other remote areas.

"There is a big need for this sort of technology in places lacking connectivity to a power grid and where potable water is in short supply," he said. "Because aluminum is a low-cost, non-hazardous metal that is the third-most abundant metal on Earth, this technology promises to enable a global-scale potable water and power technology, especially for off-grid and remote locations."

The potable water could be produced for about $1 per gallon, and electricity could be generated for about 35 cents per kilowatt hour of energy.

"There is no other technology to compare it against, economically, but it's obvious that 34 cents per kilowatt hour is cheap compared to building a power plant and installing power lines, especially in remote areas," Woodall said.

The unit, including the alloy, the reactor and fuel cell might weigh less than 100 pounds.

"You could drop the alloy, a small reaction vessel and a fuel cell into a remote area via parachute," Woodall said. "Then the reactor could be assembled along with the fuel cell. The polluted water or the seawater would be added to the reactor and the reaction converts the aluminum and water into aluminum hydroxide, heat and hydrogen gas on demand."

The aluminum hydroxide waste is non-toxic and could be disposed of in a landfill.

The researchers have a design but haven't built a prototype.

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by Purdue University. The original article was written by Emil Venere.

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

View the original article here

Functioning synapse created using carbon nanotubes: Devices might be used in brain prostheses or synthetic brains

ScienceDaily (Apr. 22, 2011) — Engineering researchers the University of Southern California have made a significant breakthrough in the use of nanotechnologies for the construction of a synthetic brain. They have built a carbon nanotube synapse circuit whose behavior in tests reproduces the function of a neuron, the building block of the brain.

The team, which was led by Professor Alice Parker and Professor Chongwu Zhou in the USC Viterbi School of Engineering Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical Engineering, used an interdisciplinary approach combining circuit design with nanotechnology to address the complex problem of capturing brain function.

In a paper published in the proceedings of the IEEE/NIH 2011 Life Science Systems and Applications Workshop in April 2011, the Viterbi team detailed how they were able to use carbon nanotubes to create a synapse.

Carbon nanotubes are molecular carbon structures that are extremely small, with a diameter a million times smaller than a pencil point. These nanotubes can be used in electronic circuits, acting as metallic conductors or semiconductors.

"This is a necessary first step in the process," said Parker, who began the looking at the possibility of developing a synthetic brain in 2006. "We wanted to answer the question: Can you build a circuit that would act like a neuron? The next step is even more complex. How can we build structures out of these circuits that mimic the function of the brain, which has 100 billion neurons and 10,000 synapses per neuron?"

Parker emphasized that the actual development of a synthetic brain, or even a functional brain area is decades away, and she said the next hurdle for the research centers on reproducing brain plasticity in the circuits.

The human brain continually produces new neurons, makes new connections and adapts throughout life, and creating this process through analog circuits will be a monumental task, according to Parker.

She believes the ongoing research of understanding the process of human intelligence could have long-term implications for everything from developing prosthetic nanotechnology that would heal traumatic brain injuries to developing intelligent, safe cars that would protect drivers in bold new ways.

For Jonathan Joshi, a USC Viterbi Ph.D. student who is a co-author of the paper, the interdisciplinary approach to the problem was key to the initial progress. Joshi said that working with Zhou and his group of nanotechnology researchers provided the ideal dynamic of circuit technology and nanotechnology.

"The interdisciplinary approach is the only approach that will lead to a solution. We need more than one type of engineer working on this solution," said Joshi. "We should constantly be in search of new technologies to solve this problem."

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by University of Southern California, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

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Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

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