The Anchor House, Inc.

The Age of Sensors

ccox — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 16:56:56 +0000

By Stanley Trout

Often we describe a specific time in human history as an age, such as the age of reason, the bronze age or the middle ages. Many people call the time we live in today the “Information Age” because of the rise and dominance of computers in our lives, and I would agree that it is an apt description. However, I would like to discuss another name that may well describe the time we live in, especially the future, and that is the “Age of Sensors”.

Why sensors? It really is a natural consequence of our heavy use of computers. Computers give us a great tool for handling data of all kinds: the names and addresses of all our contacts may be organized in Outlook, our checkbook may be organized by Quicken and all our correspondence may be stored as Word files. Computers handle all this data and much more with ease. In fact, if we think about how we interact with the computer, by keyboard, mouse, scanner, web cam, etc., they are all just ways to enter information into the computer. With such a useful tool at our fingertips, I think that the challenge of our time, our new frontier, is finding more and better ways to bring information to computers and that is why I say we live in the age of sensors. Let me offer just one simple example.

I had the opportunity this summer to rent a Toyota Prius for a week. It is a great example of modern automotive technology. The actual fuel economy numbers are really impressive and significantly better than the new EPA mileage ratings. (see www.fueleconomy.gov) I drove almost 1600 miles and consumed a little over 30 gallons of gasoline, for an average of just over 52 miles per gallon. (The metric numbers are 2500 km, 115 liters and 4.5 l/100 km.) But my initial interaction with this car was of a much more mundane matter. I had a low tire pressure warning. Checking with my tire gauge revealed the pressure in one of my tires was just 22 psi (1.5 x 105 Pa), well below the 35 psi (2.4 x 105 Pa) recommended by Toyota, yet not low enough to be readily noticeable to someone just looking at the tire. In this case, a small sensor from the tire was giving me the warning. Technically, this is a difficult sensing problem. It must be done wirelessly since the tire must be free to rotate, yet this technology is available on most cars these days.

This example gives us a clue about how much sensing technology has improved in the last few decades. Our automobiles are now a vast collection of sensors, continuously feeding a wide variety of information to the onboard computer about the condition of the car, its passengers and its environment. Sensors give us the ability to optimize the performance of the car, provide troubleshooting information to our mechanic and improve our personal comfort as we drive. Over time we can expect the number, the sophistication and the benefits of sensors to increase.

What is at the heart of a sensor? The simplest sensors are merely switches, that turn on and off in response to a particular stimulus. The automotive crash sensor is a good example of this idea, and since it is a magnetic sensor, it is one of my favorites. Here the sensor is normally off, but under the proper conditions - the rapid acceleration of a crash - the sensor switches on, deploys the air bag and may even initiate an automatic call to OnStar® for help. This sensor is an example of excellent engineering, since the sensor must activate with absolute certainty during a crash, and never at any other time. Not deploying during a crash is dangerous for the passengers and a false deployment is expensive and also potentially dangerous.

More complicated sensors are proportional, meaning that the response to a stimulus varies with the magnitude of the stimulus. A photosensor in a camera is a good example of this technology. The exposure is adjusted in response to the ambient light. The less available light the longer the exposure and the greater the aperture opening.

There are two great challenges on the horizon for sensors. One is coming up with new materials to make new sensing devices. This is an active area of research operating at the intersection of physics, chemistry, materials science, electrical and mechanical engineering. The goal of this research is to find new ways to take advantage of some unusual material characteristics to measure some parameter. That parameter could be almost anything, speed, time, temperature, distance, pressure, etc. While many sensors have some sort of magnetic connection, not all sensors are based on magnetic phenomena.

The other challenge is learning to apply the sensor technologies we already have to solve some nagging control problems. Advances in this technology have brought us vehicles that are far more efficient, less-polluting and safer than they were just a decade or so ago. They allow us to control rush hour traffic by adjusting traffic signals in response to the prevailing traffic pattern, to control the temperature and lighting of our homes, to monitor our factories remotely, for example. All we need is a sensor, a computer and some software. But we should expect wider deployment of sensors in all facets of our daily lives, as we learn more about how to use sensors. This means that if you have a device that you would like to control, either a system already exists, or it will be available soon.

This is why I am so optimistic about this technology and believe that we are in the “Age of Sensors”.

More information about Stanley Trout can be found at http://www.spontaneousmaterials.com/.

Cutting Edge Rare Earth Research Revealed in Alabama

ccox — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 12:16:17 +0000

By Terry Gatchell

Tuscaloosa, AL On June 22-26, more than 150 researchers from seventeen countries met at the University of Alabama’s Shelby Hall to share and discuss the latest developments in lanthanide science and technology at the 25th Rare Earth Research Conference. The triennial event is marked by the presentation of the Frank H. Spedding Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Science and Technology of the Rare Earths. This year’s recipient, William J. Evans of the University of California, Irvine, is a pioneer in the area of lanthanide-based reduction chemistry. His groundbreaking suite of reduction reactions involves not just europium, ytterbium and samarium, but all the metals in the lanthanide series. Previously considered impossible, the development of these new types of reduction reactions has carved a new niche for the rare earths and may have significant implications for energy research.

William J. Evans of UC Irvine, received the Spedding Award for his work in lanthanide reduction chemistry

Fullerene chemist Luis Echegoyen of Clemson University reported breakthroughs in his “trapped buckyballs.” The conformation of these molecular cages changes depending on the trimetallic rare earth nitrides trapped inside - namely gadolinium, neodymium, promethium and cerium - allowing for their isolation and determination of their electrochemical behavior.

In the area of materials science, James H. Dickerson of Vanderbilt University has assembled europium oxide nanocrystals into both translucent and opaque thin films, which can be employed in photoactive coatings and dielectric devices. His research group has produced stable, monodisperse (i.e. not aggregated), sub-3 nanometer europium, terbium and gadolinium oxide nanocrystals with the robust optical properties desirable for use in high-resolution video displays and luminescent probes in immunoassay applications. Possibly the most interesting aspect of Dickerson’s research is the discovery of unexpected magnetization reversal in the smallest europium sulfide nanocrystals, which have a diameter less than 2.0 nanometers.

James H. Dickerson of Vanderbilt University

In the area of solid state cooling, work has been done by T. Takabatake of Hiroshima University in Japan which shows promise for cerium, ytterbium, and europium-based thermoelectric materials.

Biomedical applications such as lanthanide-based nanoprobes for MRI applications are also a prevalent area of research. Highly sensitive, nanoscale probes have many advantages, including the potential to detect changes occurring at cellular and sub-cellular levels. The lanthanides are of particular interest because their unique paramagnetic properties may provide magnetic resonance multi-contrast imaging probes, as investigated by Enzo Terreno at the Molecular Imaging Center at the University of Torino, Italy.

Also on the horizon are cleaner, more efficient methods of extraction and separation of lanthanides and their chemical cousins, the actinides. This is good news for both the rare earth mining industry and the environment. Highlights from the conference include dithiophosphinic acids (DPAH) and phosphonium ionic liquids such as Cyphos®. The DPAHs have been recently developed by Dean R. Peterman et al at the Idaho National Laboratory and can separate americium and europium with a separation factor of ~100,000 at low pH, resulting in a derivative that is stable for long periods when exposed to ambient atmospheric conditions.

As the field of rare earth research grows, so does our understanding of the fascinating electronic, magnetic and optical properties of the once obscure lanthanides. Consequently, the scientific community will come to use these chemically coherent elements as a “17 position dial,” as described by Paul C. Canfield, of the Ames Laboratory and Department of Physics at Iowa State University. With increasing precision, properties such as the size of the unit cell, anisotropy, and band filling can be tuned to suit a wide range of applications.

“Rare Earth Alley” Makes Debut in Vancouver

ccox — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 05:43:32 +0000

By Clint Cox

The World Resource Conference was held in Vancouver on June 15-16. Cambridge House International put on another great show, with a well-attended show. People commented that it may have been a little smaller than past shows, but there was good attendance on Monday (the second day of the show). There was a pretty good “Potash! Get some potash!” buzz in the hallways, but I tried to stay focussed on what was happening in the REE business. New during this conference was the very prominent presence of a Toyota Prius hybrid sitting between two Rare Earth companies (Great Western Minerals and Avalon Ventures):

The great thing about the visual aid was the posters listing how the REEs were used throughout the vehicle. It will be interesting to see if this type of display can help the investing public understand how REEs will affect us all moving forward.

Even if the investing public has not yet caught on — many junior exploration companies have decided that REEs are a hot topic and worth pursuing. There are an increasing number of companies taking a closer look at their projects for Rare Earths, and many are now assaying for the REEs. Undoubtedly, some interesting projects will come out of this, and we look forward to looking at new data as it becomes available!

Next week we will have a person on the ground at the 25th Rare Earth Research Conference in Alabama.