I can be dot grange

Last month the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) opened the way for 2012 to be the year of .coke .apple and the likes. ICANN have approved a plan to dramatically increase the number of Internet domain name endings, called generic top-level domains (gTLDs), from the current 22, which includes such familiar domains as .com, .org and .net. together with about 250 country-level domains like .uk. Individuals and organisations will be able to set up a website with almost any address if they have a legitimate claim to the domain name and can pay the significant application and registration fees. I guess the $185,000 application fee may delay the dot grange domain a few years.

MOCVD, GaN and China

IMS Research have produced an interesting report on the 2011 GaN MOCVD equipment market. The highlights of the report enforce the dominant position of China in this market. For example: China is expected in 2011 to account for 820 tools (75% of the market) with China's Q4 2011 installations alone expected to be larger than the entire worldwide 2009 market. 23 different companies will install tools in China, Veeco being the major supplier.

Appy day?

Apps are an increasingly common feature in our daily lives, offering scientists exciting opportunities for handling data. The publication Materials Today wants to know how this technology could best serve materials scientists so on the 6th July they are hosting a webinar discussion on ideas for new apps. Materials Today are seeking six participants. All participants receive a $100 worth of Amazon vouchers and applicants should email their name, contact details, current occupation/affiliation and a short paragraph (300 approx.) on why you wish to participate to Rachel Holt.

Brave but good

Whilst there is always some small print in any such offer, it is refreshing to note the 'on time or on us' approach of Open-Silicon. For qualifying work, through 2011, the silicon design and manufacturing company is offering to meet their scheduled commitment to deliver a prototype, or they will refund the originally quoted DNRE (Design Non-Recurring Engineering) cost up to a $500K maximum.

The (smallest) force be with you

In a world generally dominated by big numbers it is great to note that the Australians are thinking small. A physics researcher, Dr Biercuk, at the University of Sydney, has won the National Measurement Institute Prize for excellence in measurement techniques by a scientist under 35. In collaboration with the US National Institute of Standards and Technology, he used trapped atomic ions as sensitive detectors of applied forces and electromagnetic fields. In so doing, the researchers were able to measure forces with extraordinary sensitivity - down to the yoctonewton (yN) level. The yoctonewton represents one septillionth of a newton (ten to the minus twenty four). Biercuk and colleagues used a device consisting of about 60 beryllium ions confined in a Penning Trap. Any movement caused by an applied force was measured with a laser. The resulting measurement of forces with sensitivity at the level of 390 yoctonewtons with just one second of measurement eclipsed the previous record by three orders of magnitude.

Perspectives in Materials and Technologies for Photovoltaics

30 June 2011, Manchester Conference Centre, Manchester, UK
A one day workshop run by the Institute of Physics to discuss major issues relevant to the current and emerging photovoltaic materials and technologies, processes and characterisation techniques.

A number of prominent speakers from industry and academia from both the UK and Europe will outline the current state of knowledge in a wide range of PV technologies.

More details at Institute of Physics

Oxford Instruments purchases Omicron and Omniprobe

Oxford Instruments plc, announced the acquisition of Omicron NanoTechnology GmbH and Omniprobe, Inc. for a total of some £40m. These businesses are seen to strengthen the Group’s Nanotechnology Tools sector, by the addition of complementary products and technologies. The company believes that the acquired businesses share a similar customer base and routes to market with the existing companies and together with their existing capabilities, bring opportunities for the development of integrated new products.

Apple tops brand tree

The recent announcement by WPP-owned research company Millward Brown states that Apple is now the most valuable brand. Registering an 84 percent increase in value over the past year, Apple has emerged as the most valuable brand in the world, ending the four-year reign of Google in the sixth annual BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands study. Driven by the rise of the iPad, the study reports that the Apple brand is now estimated to be worth $153bn. This compares to Google $111bn, IBM $100bn and McDonald's $81bn. The most valuable brand in Europe being UK telecoms company Vodafone, which ranks 12th on the global list, with a brand value of $43bn.

Happy birthday your RH Prince Philip!

The best quotes from Prince Philip

Absolute spheroids (almost)

A group from the Centre for Cold Matter at Imperial College have made the most accurate measurement yet of the shape of the electron.The group studied the motion of electrons inside Ytterbium Fluoride and from this work, which spanned more than a decade, they conclude that the electron differs from being perfectly round by less than 0.000000000000000000000000001 cm. As they helpfully point out, this means that if the electron was magnified to the size of the solar system, it would still appear spherical to within the width of a human hair. The Editor is intrigued by Imperial's recent press statement that said the researchers are now planning to measure the electron's shape even more closely.