Quicker N-waste decay

The decaying of radioactive nuclear waste from the nuclear reactors could be speeded up to 10 times by a novel process using high frequency radiowaves, according to Professor Howard R Reiss of the United States. The entire process can be carried out at the location where the nuclear reactor is operating, he said in Mumbai on a recent visit. ‘‘This will have the advantage of carrying out the disposal of n-waste on the site where the fission nuclear reactor is operating and even make use of the energy emanated from the accelerated decaying process of high level waste to produce electricity, said Reiss, who was once the head of the nuclear physics division of the Naval Ordnance Laboratory in US.

He said experiments are being conducted in small scales on this. “Once this theory is proved through experiments using high end of AM radio band of 1.55 mhz, it will solve current uncertainties in the disposal of radioactive waste,” he said. Currently, the radioactive spent fuel from the reactors are transported for reprocessing to remove plutonium and the rest of the high level waste are allowed to decay naturally.

Even faster WiFi

While most people are still figuring out Wi-Fi, along comes 802.11n, a faster wireless standard that transmits data up to four times as fast as the current Wi-Fi standard, 802.11g, and up to 20 times the speed of the earlier 802.11b. Netgear’s WNR834B wireless router, the latest in the RangeMax line, can accommodate all three varieties, and offers four Ethernet ports.The router is best for transmitting large files around a closed network. For example, a business with the new router would notice a considerable speed improvement when sending data to and from office computers.

The router’s speed will have little effect on standard Web browsing. The router and accompanying wireless notebook card, the WN511B, are now readily available. One caveat that has to be considered is that, as with 802.11g before it, Netgear and other manufacturers are releasing routers and wireless cards before the 802.11n standard has been officially ratified by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. (NYT)