News on China's scientific and technological development.

China reports breakthrough in reprocessing technology


Used nuclear fuel is seen in a fuel storage pool inside the world's largest nuclear waste recycling facility in an undated handout file photo taken inside Areva's La Hague recycling facility in Normandy, France. (Photo: REUTERS/AREVA/Handout/Files)



"China reports breakthrough in reprocessing technology
Jan 3, 2011, 10:26 GMT

Beijing - Chinese scientists have achieved a breakthrough in nuclear fuel reprocessing technology, effectively increasing its nuclear fuel reserves by making their use 60 times more efficient, state media reported Monday.

The new technology for extracting uranium and plutonium from spent fuel rods, developed by the China National Nuclear Cooperation, would help stretch uranium reserves to 3,000 years, up from current estimates of 50 to 70 years, CCTV reported.

'We need to reprocess the spent fuel during the heating period to extract the recyclable part from burned material, as well as the newly generated part through a series of chemical processes,' CNNC chief engineer Wang Jian was quoted as saying. 'The next step is fuel assembly.'

The facility had been developed '100 per cent' by Chinese engineers after 24 years of research, the report stressed.

France, Britain, Russia and China have each developed their own closely guarded reprocessing technologies.

China has been concerned over fuel supplies for its nuclear power programme, which Beijing plans to expand to meet swiftly rising electricity demand.

The country is the world's largest energy consumer, consumer of coal and greenhouse gas emitter.

China is building 12 new reactors and 24 are in the planning stage. Both figures are more than in any other country.

According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, China produced 70,000 gigawatts of electricity from nuclear plants and Beijing wants to increase its nuclear energy capacity eightfold by 2020, when it plans to supply 6 per cent of its energy needs from nuclear power."

Note: Thank you to "ao333" for the newslink.
----------

To "ba12": Thank you for your suggestion. I will consider it.

Top ten criteria for a technologically advanced nation

I have made my final selection for the tenth criterion to measure the technological capability of a nation. I believe that ASAT technology is a worthy test because it is a fusion of rocketry, advanced sensors, guidance systems, kinetic-kill warhead, and strategic utility. With ASAT, a country can deprive another of its GPS system (if it has one), spy satellites, communications satellites, etc.

If you disagree with any of the selections on this list or if you think another choice is more worthy, please explain your reasoning in detail and I will consider modifying this list. Thank you.

1. Send a taikonaut into space and conduct a spacewalk. (Ultimate test of aerospace technology)

[video=youtube;MvpPknmHGAM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvpPknmHGAM[/video]

2. Build indigenous Aegis-class destroyer with advanced phased array radars. (Sophisticated radar technology and integrated battlespace defense)

Type 052C Lanzhou-class destroyer can be seen at 1:16 in the video.
[video=youtube;SuW7JzF1dSs]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuW7JzF1dSs[/video]

3. Build fifth-generation stealth fighters. (Military technology prowess for air dominance; by controlling the airspace, you control the high ground and can rain bombs down at will)

[video=youtube;1EBztMJBhAs]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EBztMJBhAs[/video]

4. Build world's-fastest bullet trains that travel an average of 380 kph. (Amazing mechanical engineering)

[video=youtube;3YC8vq1rgks]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YC8vq1rgks&feature=fvst[/video]

5. Build world's-fastest supercomputer. (Unmatched computer technology)

[video=youtube;EQ9qsjGFVe0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=EQ9qsjGFVe0[/video]

6. Launch a record 15 rocket/satellite launches in 2010 without a single failure. (Test of rocket reliability technology)

[video=youtube;G0nH2iPOzL8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0nH2iPOzL8[/video]

7. Build nuclear submarines. (Complex compact nuclear reactor technology)

If you have not yet seen this video then it is a MUST-watch! It is a dazzling display of the hardware in China's PLA Air Force. A Chinese nuclear submarine can be seen at 10:39 and a Type 052C destroyer at 10:47 in the video.
[video=youtube;N5aBsW604RA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5aBsW604RA[/video]

8. Build a cryogenic rocket engine. (Rocket engine technology for heavy-lift rocket)

The following impressive video is a successful 200-second rocket-engine burn of the forthcoming 2014 Long March V. Having completed this milestone, the talented rocket scientists have moved on to designing and building the final heavy-lift rocket engine that will carry Chinese taikonauts to the moon.

[video=youtube;836xtLHRhcs]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=836xtLHRhcs[/video]

----------

To place the development of cryogenic rocket engines in its proper historical context, I thought you might want to know that NASA developed the world's first cryo engine in 1961 and China flight-tested her first cryo engine in 1984 (i.e. 27 years ago).



"The first operational cryogenic rocket engine was the 1961 NASA design the RL-10 LOX LH2 rocket engine, which was used in the Saturn 1 rocket employed in the early stages of the Apollo moon landing program."



"The YF-73 is China's first successful, cryogenic, gimballed engine, using liquid hydrogen (LH2) fuel and liquid oxygen (LOX) oxidizer. It was developed in the early 1980s and first flight was in 1984."

9. Build commercial satellites that weigh over 5,000 kg or 10,000 pounds with a service lifetime of 15 years. (World-class satellite technology)


DFH-4 satellite bus (or platform) designed and built by CGWIC (i.e. China Great Wall Industrial Corporation)

10. Demonstrated ASAT (i.e. anti-satellite multistage missile) to destroy a satellite. (Critical capability to deprive another nation of its eyes and ears in the sky; also eliminates GPS guidance for opposing nation's weapons)

[video=youtube;30mMVq2nEnQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30mMVq2nEnQ[/video]

China builds world's longest bridge




Longest: The Qingdao Haiwan Bridge was completed on December 27 and is 26.4 miles long - the equivalent of 174 Tower Bridges.


Shortcut: With an overall length of 42.58km, the route between Qingdao and Huangdao will be shortened by 30km, cutting the travel time by about 20 minutes.



"China builds world's longest bridge
China's vaulting economic ambition has set a new record with the construction of the world's longest bridge over water.


The sheer scale of the Qingdao Haiwan Bridge reveals the advances made by Chinese engineers in recent years. (Photo: WENN)


World's top ten longest bridges

By David Eimer, Beijing 8:02PM GMT 08 Jan 2011

At 26.4 miles long, the Qingdao Haiwan Bridge would easily cross the English Channel and is almost three miles longer than the previous record-holder, the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway in the American state of Louisiana.

The vast structure links the centre of the booming port city of Qingdao in eastern China's Shandong Province with the suburb of Huangdao, spanning the wide blue waters of Jiaozhou Bay.

Built in just four years at a cost of £5.5 billion, the sheer scale of the bridge reveals the advances made by Chinese engineers in recent years.

No longer dependant on western expertise for such sophisticated projects, the six-lane road bridge is supported by more than 5,200 columns and was designed by the Shandong Gausu Group. When it opens to traffic later this year, the bridge is expected to carry over 30,000 cars a day and will cut the commute between the city of Qingdao and the sprawling suburb of Huangdao by between 20 and 30 minutes.

At least 10,000 workers toiled in two teams around the clock to build the bridge, which was constructed from opposite ends and connected in the middle in the last few days.

A staggering 450,000 tons of steel was used in its construction – enough for almost 65 Eiffel Towers – and 2.3 million cubic metres of concrete, equivalent to filling 3,800 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

Chinese officials said that the bridge will be strong enough to withstand a magnitude 8 earthquake, typhoons or the impact of a 300,000 tonne vessel.

With its economy growing by 16 per cent a year, Qingdao is one of China's fastest-growing and most prosperous cities. The main port of the Chinese navy and home of Tsingtao Beer, China's best-known brew, it hosted the sailing events of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Briefly occupied by Germany between 1898 and 1914, Qingdao's mix of early 20th century European-style villas and churches, sandy beaches and reputation for fine seafood has seen it become one of China's most popular domestic tourist destinations in recent years. It is also regarded as a highly desirable place to live. A 2009 Chinese survey named Qingdao as China's most liveable city.

Qingdao's residents have hailed the bridge as a long overdue marvel.

"I'm so happy the bridge is finished. The old road between Qingdao and Huangdao is so crowded and now my journey will be much easier. We are a tourist city with beautiful beaches, so it is important we have good transport links," said one commuter on sina.com, China's biggest internet portal.

But people from other parts of China have denounced the huge cost of the bridge, especially as it only cuts the distance between Qingdao and Huangdao by 19 miles.

"To spend billions to save 20 minutes driving time is a waste of taxpayers money. It's just a show project to make the governor of Shandong look good," complained one commentator from Jilin Province in China's northeast.

China is already home to seven of the world's 10 longest bridges, including the world's lengthiest, the 102 mile Danyang-Kunshan rail bridge, which runs over land and water near Shanghai.

And with Beijing pumping billions into boosting China's infrastructure, the Qingdao Haiwan Bridge will not be the world's longest sea bridge for very long.

In December 2009, work started on a 31 mile bridge that will link Zhuhai in southern Guangdong Province, China's manufacturing heartland, with the financial centre of Hong Kong. The £6.5 billion project is expected to be completed in 2016."

Major American newspapers follow China's space program



"As China eyes the stars, U.S. watches warily
By Keith B. Richburg
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, January 23, 2011


Zhai Zhigang, center, seen with crewmates before the launch of Shenzhou 7, became the first taikonaut to walk in space on that 2008 flight. (Associated Press)


A rocket carrying the Chang'e-2 lunar orbiter lifted off from Sichuan province in October. The eventual goal is a manned trip to the moon. (Chinafotopress)

IN BEIJING China's grand ambitions extend literally to the moon, with the country now embarked on a multi-pronged program to establish its own global navigational system, launch a space laboratory and put a Chinese astronaut on the moon within the next decade.

The Obama administration views space as ripe territory for cooperation with China. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates has called it one of four potential areas of "strategic dialogue," along with cybersecurity, missile defense and nuclear weapons. And President Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao vowed after their White House summit last week to "deepen dialogue and exchanges" in the field. (story continues)"

Re: Major American newspapers follow China's space program


check this out. This is a super bus that goes OVER all the other traffic. I wonder how people can change lanes and merge out?

China successfully develops thousand-tonne crane


Chinese manufacturer "Zoomlion's new 1,000-tonne crawler crane, the lattice-boom QAY 1000."



"China successfully develops thousand-tonne crane
08:23, January 27, 2011

China has become the world's third country to develop and manufacture a one thousand tonne crane, along with Germany and the United States, as two new heavy-lifting cranes developed by a local machinery company have been approved for use in Xuzhou in eastern Jiangsu Province.

In a Jan. 24 display organized by China Machinery Industry Federation, two all-terrain-friendly cranes, QAY800 and QAY1000, both developed by Xuzhou Construction Machinery Group Inc. (XCMG), passed their reviews, according to a statement Xinhua received Wednesday.

The two cranes are China's first indigenous thousand-tonne cranes to become available on the market, according to Wen Bangchun and Ren Luquan, two academicians with the Chinese Academy of Sciences and also judges at the appraisal meeting.

Also, the two cranes have passed tests supervised by national authorities for construction machinery quality and met state requirements in safety and environmental-friendliness.

A major construction machinery manufacturer in China, XCMG, registered total sales of 66 billion yuan (10 billion U.S. dollars) in 2010.

Source: Xinhua"

Video: China's New Water Cannon Is Powered By A Jet Engine



"Video: China's New Water Cannon Is Powered By A Jet Engine
By Julie Beck
Posted 01.27.2011 at 3:01 pm


China's Jet-Propelled Water Cannon

Built to battle skyscraper fires, this jet-propelled water cannon is the new pride and joy of China’s Luoyang City fire department. It is made from a jet-fighter engine and is capable of spraying 4 tons of water per minute.

The price tag of $456,000 seems to be worth it, as the water is said to blast fast enough to separate fires from their oxygen supply. It has a range of almost 400 feet and can rotate a near-full 360 degrees. And if the firefighting business slows down, China can always deploy the cannon to clean the sure-to-be-megadirty streets of its future megacity.

Watch the turbo-cannon’s awesome power in action in the video below:

Re: Video: China's New Water Cannon Is Powered By A Jet Engine



China Takes Lead in Race for Clean Nuclear Power
By Richard Martin February 1, 2011 | 5:44 pm | Categories: Energy

China has officially announced it will launch a program to develop a thorium-fueled molten-salt nuclear reactor, taking a crucial step towards shifting to nuclear power as a primary energy source.

The project was unveiled at the annual Chinese Academy of Sciences conference in Shanghai last week, and reported in the Wen Hui Bao newspaper (Google English translation here).

If the reactor works as planned, China may fulfill a long-delayed dream of clean nuclear energy. The United States could conceivably become dependent on China for next-generation nuclear technology. At the least, the United States could fall dramatically behind in developing green energy.

“President Obama talked about a Sputnik-type call to action in his SOTU address,” wrote Charles Hart, a a retired semiconductor researcher and frequent commenter on the Energy From Thorium discussion forum. “I think this qualifies.”


While nearly all current nuclear reactors run on uranium, the radioactive element thorium is recognized as a safer, cleaner and more abundant alternative fuel. Thorium is particularly well-suited for use in molten-salt reactors, or MSRs. Nuclear reactions take place inside a fluid core rather than solid fuel rods, and there’s no risk of meltdown.

In addition to their safety, MSRs can consume various nuclear-fuel types, including existing stocks of nuclear waste. Their byproducts are unsuitable for making weapons of any type. They can also operate as breeders, producing more fuel than they consume.

In the 1960s and 70s, the United States carried out extensive research on thorium and MSRs at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. That work was abandoned — partly, believe many, because uranium reactors generated bomb-grade plutonium as a byproduct. Today, with nuclear weapons less in demand and cheap oil’s twilight approaching, several countries — including India, France and Norway — are pursuing thorium-based nuclear-fuel cycles. (The grassroots movement to promote an American thorium power supply was covered in this December 2009 Wired magazine feature.)

China’s new program is the largest national thorium-MSR initiative to date. The People’s Republic had already announced plans to build dozens of new nuclear reactors over the next 20 years, increasing its nuclear power supply 20-fold and weaning itself off coal, of which it’s now one of the world’s largest consumers. Designing a thorium-based molten-salt reactor could place China at the forefront of the race to build environmentally safe, cost-effective and politically palatable reactors.

“We need a better stove that can burn more fuel,” Xu Hongjie, a lead researcher at the Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, told Wen Hui Bao.

China’s program is headed by Jiang Mianheng, son of the former Chinese president Jiang Zemin. A vice president of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the younger Jiang holds a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Drexel University. A Chinese delegation headed by Jiang revealed the thorium plans to Oak Ridge scientists during a visit to the national lab last fall.

The official announcement comes as the Obama administration has committed itself to funding R&D for next-generation nuclear technology. The president specifically mentioned Oak Ridge National Laboratory in his State of the Union address Jan. 25, but no government-funded program currently exists to develop thorium as an alternative nuclear fuel.

A Chinese thorium-based nuclear power supply is seen by many nuclear advocates and analysts as a threat to U.S. economic competitiveness. During a presentation at Oak Ridge on Jan. 31, Jim Kennedy, CEO of St. Louis–based Wings Enterprises (which is trying to win approval to start a mine for rare earths and thorium at Pea Ridge, Missouri) portrayed the Chinese thorium development as potentially crippling.

“If we miss the boat on this, how can we possibly compete in the world economy?” Kennedy asked. “What else do we have left to export?”

According to thorium advocates, the United States could find itself 20 years from now importing technology originally developed nearly four decades ago at one of America’s premier national R&D facilities. The alarmist version of China’s next-gen nuclear strategy come down to this: If you like foreign-oil dependency, you’re going to love foreign-nuclear dependency.

“When I heard this, I thought, ‘Oboy, now it’s happened,’” said Kirk Sorensen, chief nuclear technologist at Teledyne Brown Engineering and creator of the Energy From Thorium blog. “Maybe this will get some people’s attention in Washington.”

While the international “Generation IV” nuclear R&D initiative includes a working group on thorium MSRs, China has made clear its intention to go it alone. The Chinese Academy of Sciences announcement explicitly states that the PRC plans to develop and control intellectual property around thorium for its own benefit.

“This will enable China to firmly grasp the lifeline of energy in its own hands,” stated the Wen Hui Bao report.

Re: Video: China's New Water Cannon Is Powered By A Jet Engine

Martian said:

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

"Video: China's New Water Cannon Is Powered By A Jet Engine
By Julie Beck
Posted 01.27.2011 at 3:01 pm

China's Jet-Propelled Water Cannon

Built to battle skyscraper fires, this jet-propelled water cannon is the new pride and joy of China’s Luoyang City fire department. It is made from a jet-fighter engine and is capable of spraying 4 tons of water per minute.

The price tag of $456,000 seems to be worth it, as the water is said to blast fast enough to separate fires from their oxygen supply. It has a range of almost 400 feet and can rotate a near-full 360 degrees. And if the firefighting business slows down, China can always deploy the cannon to clean the sure-to-be-megadirty streets of its future megacity.

Watch the turbo-cannon’s awesome power in action in the video below:

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

Click to expand...

Someone needs to get that to the Japanese whalers or the Sea Shepard organization or both. That would be great entertainment.

Gene detector to prevent child deafness in China

BEIJING, Feb. 10 (Xinhua) -- The 21 performers who danced the One Thousand Hands Buddha are admired by the Chinese people because they succeeded in spite of being deaf. Unknown to most who watched, 18 of the dancers became deaf because of inappropriate use of antibiotics.

In China, more than 1 million children become deaf due to misuse of antibiotics such as streptomycin, kanamycin and gentamicin, according to the Chinese Medical Association. But a gene detector, which can identify genes related to deafness, is expected to turn the tide on this problem.

China's State Food and Drug Administration had approved the detector for clinical use. The device will be made available for hospitals across the country, said Cheng Jing, chief technology officer of National Engineering Research Center for Beijing Biochip Technology or CapitalBio Corporation.

"Due to lack of proper equipment, doctors could not tell which patients may become deaf because of the antibiotics they prescribe. Many tragedies will be prevented by use of the device," Cheng said Wednesday.

The device detects nine mutations of four genes, which are responsible for most cases of deafness among the Chinese. Cheng says that a test by the device takes about five hours and costs 500 yuan (76.3 U.S. dollars). "Conventional methods are way more expensive and take at least three days."

The detector can also provide valuable information for both parents-to-be and new parents to prevent deafness in their babies as early as possible, Cheng said. About 30,000 babies are born deaf each year in China.

"We are getting approvals from commercial and medical authorities. The device will gradually become available in most hospitals in China in the coming years. As demand rises, it will become even cheaper in the future," Cheng said.

China has 1.8 million deaf children, 60 percent of them lost their hearing because of drug misuse, Yang Zhiyin, head of the behavioral medicine branch of the Chinese Medical Association told China Daily in January.