Two companies have announced plans to investigate asteroid mining. While the basics of identifying likely mining prospects with telescopes and deep space probes is straight forward enough, what the companies have not disclosed is a method for refining discovered ore. I believe that by adapting smelting and refining technology we currently use on Earth for…
The exact date of their arrival varies depending on who you ask. Google wants self-driving cars by 2017, but traditional car companies still think they are 5, 10, 20 or more years away. Regardless of when the first car hits the road, the transition from traditional to self-drivers will occur far faster than many believe.…
In my discussions with others, either with my peers or those older than I, I often hear the tired refrain that the American century is over. Soon, we will fall, dominated by the Chinese and the coming wave of the developing world. Our students are lazy, our economy is languishing, our infrastructure is deteriorating, and…