2013 World's Livable Cities Ranking

The Economist Intelligence Unit's (EIU) has published a report on the liveability of 140 cities across the globe. The ranking puts cities in Australia, Canada, Austria, Finland and New Zealand as the ideal destinations, thanks to a widespread availability of goods and services, low personal risk, and an effective infrastructure. It does not take into account the cost of living as a factor in 'liveability.'

The ranking criteria are based on 30 factors across 5 categories:

(1) Stability (weight 25%).

(2) Healthcare (weight 20%).

(3) Culture and environment (weight 25%).

(4) Education (weight 10%).

(5) Infrastructure (weight 20%).

Below table shows the top and bottom 10 livable cities in the report.

Kuala Lumpur, capital city of my country Malaysia, is ranked 78th this year, which is not much changing from the last 2 years (78th in 2011 & 77th in 2012).

New Material Makes Possible For Commercializing Waste Heat Recovery System

Lead-containing telluride has been the main material in thermoelectric system for waste-heat recovery. Despite its strong thermoelectric properties, lead telluride can't be used commercially due to health risks associated with lead.

That has sparked the rush for a similar, but safer compound.

Physicists at the University of Houston’s (UH's) physics department and the Texas Center for Superconductivity are working on an innovation that could boost vehicle mileage by 5% and power plant and industrial processing performance as much as 10%, using new non-toxic material - tin telluride.

Telluride has been studied for years, said Zhifeng Ren, M.D. Anderson Chair professor of physics at UH. Without lead, there is a much better chance for the system to be commercialized.

The research shows the potential for building a device that can capture waste heat – from vehicle tailpipes, industrial smokestacks, power plants and other sources – and convert it to electricity to boost productivity.

In order to improve the thermoelectric property, the team added indium into tin telluride to increase its conducting properties.

In one example, the device could capture heat from a car’s tailpipe and convert it to power the car’s electronics, improving the car’s mileage by about 5%, Ren said. “Even 1%, every day, would be huge,” he said, considering how much crude oil is consumed worldwide.

In 2012, U.S.A and China consumed 18.6 million barrels and 10.3 million barrels of crude oil, respectively, everyday. In ExxonMobil annual energy forecast for the next 30 years, the global energy demand will increase 35% by 2040.

The surge in demand makes even a small gain in efficiency valuable, Ren said, although he also said the process could be made more efficient in the future.

Source: http://m.uh.edu/news-events/stories/2013/september/0905zhifengren.php

FreshPaper - A Piece Of Paper To Keep Produce Fresh For 2X To 4X Longer

FreshPaper was developed by Kavita Shukla who happened upon the active ingredients after accidentally drinking some tap water while visiting her grandmother in India. Her grandma gave her a home remedy - a mixture of spices, which kept her from getting sick.

Kavita discovered a new application of her grandmother's generations-old home remedy - a remarkably effective way to keep food fresh. She was awarded a patent for FreshPaper at the age of 17. Today FreshPaper is available in stores across U.S.A. and used by farmers and families in over 35 countries.

FreshPaper could play an important role in keeping the world population fed as estimated that up to 50% of the global food supply is wasted even farmers harvest enough food to feed the planet. With 2X to 4X of freshness, less food will be spoiled during transportation and in storage.

Features:

- 5" x 5" in size.

- Simply drop into a fridge drawer, fruit bowl, or any other container filled with produce.

​- Infused with organic spices that inhibit bacterial & fungal growth, as well as enzymes that cause over-ripening

- Distinctive maple-like scent that signals the paper is active.​​​

​- Biodegradable, compostable, and recyclable.​

​- Last 2-3 weeks or until the paper's maple-like scent starts to fade.

- When stored in the original packaging, FreshPaper sheets last at least 18 months.​

Turn Your Phone Into Microscope With This Tiny Lens

Thomas Larson from Seattle, U.S.A., has come up with a new tiny micro lens design that will turn your phone or tablet camera into microscope. The "Micro Phone Lens" only measures about 6mm in diameter and capable of 15X magnification, and up to 60X with digital zoom. It is suitable for most of the phones and resistant to scratch. The lens is self-adheres and can be washed with soap and water if dirty.

 

The ultra-compact design of the Micro Phone lens is made possible through patent pending platinum catalyzed silicone technology.

The Micro Phone Lens is currently in a crowdfunding phase on Kickstarter. With US$15 of pledge will get you a lens for your phone soon.