Children's Museum Provides A Spectrum Of Experience

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Children's Museum Provides A Spectrum Of Experience

You may not think of the electromagnetic spectrum as a museum exhibit, but one amateur radio club in Indiana put it on display - and showed it in action - at the Terre Haute Children's Museum recently.

Laurel Tincher, program manager of the Terre Haute Children's Museum, called QRZ, in a manner of speaking and the Wabash Valley Amateur Radio Association answered that call. She invited the club to present a day of ham-related activities to showcase the kinds of things amateur radio can do. According to club president Kevin Berlen, K9HX, 100 or so visitors on Saturday the 24th August got that opportunity. They participated in a radio-related scavenger hunt and enjoyed activities that taught them a little more about Morse Code. As the hams made QSOs on SSB using a remote-controlled HF station, the youngsters got a better understanding of what HF propagation can do.

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Transistor Promises Faster, More Energy-Efficient Operation

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A new type of transistor is in the works inside a US campus laboratory. It is resilient and super-fast but, for now, it is still a work in progress.

A new transistor in development inside a Massachusetts laboratory is said to be extremely tough and resilient and offer super-fast switching, while meeting - or even exceeding - industry standards.

Researchers at MIT first announced the transistor's development in 2021 when they published the results of their study which explored the use of an ultra-thin ferroelectric material made from boron nitride. At that time the report was carried in the journal, Science, researchers wrote only of the possibilities.

Now it is a reality. Working inside the laboratory, the scientists created that faster, more energy-efficient transistor and they claim that even after 100 billion switches, there are no signs of degradation. Researchers told Popular Mechanics magazine that, for electronic devices such as computers, this eliminates the need for selective storage on a chip. Scientists also say that boron nitride has another advantage: it remains stable over long periods of time because its polarization can be reversed when there is an electric field.

The next reality - actually manufacturing it - could be a lot tougher. Scientists acknowledged that despite the great gains in this development, they still don't have a way to mass produce it.

More Report - https://www.sciencealert.com/radical-new-super-tough-transistor-could-revolutionize-electronics

Solar Cycle 25 Producing Record High Sunspot Numbers

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Solar Cycle 25 Producing Record High Sunspot Numbers

Record High Solar Cycle 25 Solar Maximum Sunspot Numbers Have Improved HF Propagation Since Mid-July and Possibly Bringing Worldwide 6 Meter F2 Propagation This Fall.

According to the NOAA Space Weather Prediction Centre (SWPC), Solar Cycle 25 likely reached its highest sunspot number yet of at least 299 on 8th August 2024.

The World Data Centre - Sunspot Index and Long-Term Solar Observations (SILSO) publishes near-real-time Estimated International Sunspot Number (EISN) reports based on its global network of reporting stations. Daily EISN reports during Solar Cycle 25 were consistently well below 200 until suddenly rising to 218 on 14th July and reaching 289 on July 18th, but then declining to 178 on 22nd July 2024.

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