Plasma-powered flying saucer
Pass a current or magnetic field through a conducting fluid and it will generate a force. Numerous aerospace engineers have tried and failed to exploit this phenomenon, known as magnetohydrodynamics, as an exotic form of propulsion for aircraft. But perhaps attempts so far have all been too big.
A very small design could have a better chance of taking off, says Subrata Roy, an aerospace engineer at the University of Florida, Gainesville, US.
With a span of less than 15 centimetres, his aircraft qualifies as a micro air vehicle (MAV), but it has an unconventional design to say the least. It is a saucer shape covered with electrodes that ionise air to create a plasma. This plasma is then accelerated by an electric field to push air around and generate lift.
Roy says the machine can be filled with helium to reduce its weight, and is efficient enough to be powered by onboard batteries. Its ability to hover and generate lift electronically means that it is particularly robust against gusts of wind that send other MAVs off course, says Roy.
All he needs to do now is build one and get it flying. Like other MAVs, the primary application would probably be surveillance, but a plasma flying saucer would make a great toy too.
Read the full wingless hovering micro-flyer patent application.
Spinal disc transplant
Nearly four out of five people experience back pain at some point in their lives. For the worst affected, having some vertebrae fused together is the only way to prevent further pain. But this puts an increased burden on the adjacent vertebrae, which can cause further problems.
Artificial replacements are far from ideal, because like artificial hips and knees they eventually break down and have to be replaced. Now Keith Luk at the University of Hong Kong Medical Centre has developed a way to harvest the soft tissue discs that absorb shocks and let the spine flex from cadavers and transplant them into patients.
In theory, transplanting the dics and part of the vertebrae either side should overcome the problems of fused vertebrae, because the donor bone should form a natural strong bond with the recipient’s tissues.
The technique consists of removing the disc along with some cartilage and bone, rinsing the section in saline solution and freezing it in a cryopreservative solution.
When needed, the extracted chunk of spine is thawed and transplanted into the patient along with growth promoters such as stem cells, to encourage natural healing. Luk reported last year that the first trials of the technique, used to replace neck vertebrae, were a success. Applying it to the more complex lower back, where most back pain starts will be more difficult though.
Read the full spinal disc transplant patent application.
Carbon nanotubes are tiny tubes of carbon atoms. When properly formed and lined up, they can be superb conductors or semiconductors, have high thermal conductivity and huge mechanical strength. The versatile structures are touted as being invaluable for everything from space elevators to anti-HIV treatments.
But nanotubes are tricky to control. So far it has only been possible to lay them down at random, which makes exploiting their amazing properties much more difficult.
Now Mary Chan, a chemical engineer at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore has come up with a simple solution.
She suggests suspending the nanotubes in water and passing the fluid through narrow channels. The nanotubes would only be able to pass through the channels if they are aligned with the direction of flow.
When the liquid is drained, the aligned nantotubes settle into place creating a material in which the extraordinary properties of carbon nanotubes can be exploited to the full.
Read the full nanotube filter patent application.
Artificial red blood cells, Dissolving hypodermics, Huntingdon’s treatment, Diamond-cooled nuclear reactorFlapping spy vehicle, Anti-ecstasy antibodies, Non-explosive hydrogen storage, Shape-shifting dishwasher, Long-life solar cells, and Heartbeat radar.