When a power plant motor fails, decisions must be made quickly . First is to repair or replace. If replace, the second decision is: use a standard EPAct or a NEMA Premium motor. This Power Engineering article explains how to make the best decision, and includes a chart that shows payback times for standard versus premium motors.

We all know that a DC electric utility distribution system lost out to an AC version. But EDN says DC may be making a comeback as electronics devices proliferate and dominate electric load in urban areas. Using DC generation, primarily via solar cells, and DC distribution would eliminate the need for inefficient AC/DC power supplies.

USB 3.0 is here as Gennum Corporation announced the first integrated USB 3.0 connector and controller. USB 3.0 runs at five gigabits per second with up to 300 megabytes per second of data at the application layer. One market researcher is predicting that 500 million USB 3.0 devices will be in use by 2012.

Fiber optic cables and connectors first entered networking via long range telecommunication systems. But fiber optic advances make optical interconnects viable down to the silicon circuit board (SiCB) level. This SMT article shows how optical connectors are used on SiCBs to transfer data at rates to several hundred Gbits/sec.

A major issue holding back wide deployment of wireless sensors is the high power consumption of radios. Sensors says one radio chip addresses this issue by using 5x less power than competing devices. Lower power requirements for implanted medical devices enable wireless sensors to be powered by coin cell batteries or energy harvesting devices.

Batteries store lots of energy, but take a long time to charge. Capacitors can be charged quickly, but have low energy density. Cleantech says research is increasing capacitor energy density by 10x now and possibly by another 10 soon. This could make capacitors competitive with alkaline batteries in terms of energy density.

A barrier to making efficient and reliable fuel cells is degrading platinum electrodes. Experts say making electrodes out of long platinum nanowires increases performance and opens applications for fuel cells. The platinum nanowires are 10 nm in diameter and centimeters in length, thousands of times longer than previous wires.

Nanotech and MEMS technologies will affect manufacturing more than any other sector. Small Times predicts we'll see the fabrication of structures, devices, and circuits with patterns down to 20 nm or smaller using room-temperature and non-vacuum processes. These advances will improve sensors, medical devices, and energy harvesters.

Now that recession is upon us, manufacturers need to cope. For most of us, this isn't the first economic downturn, and may not be our last either. Control presents profitable paths to take during the recession, paths that will make you and your company stronger when the economy picks up. Low-cost training is a great way to boost skills during the slowdown, and getting more out of existing assets is another good idea.

Engineers have their own brand of humor. If you like engineering humor, here's a treasure trove of it. The automation.com site has been scouring the Web for years to find the best engineering-related humor, and they have grouped their favorite cartoons and videos onto one page. Their newest twist is original cartoons created expressly for their site. You can even submit your personal favorites for consideration.

Superconducting Motors Ready?

Superconducting motors are half the size and weight of standard motors. Are these motors ready for more extensive use? Will technical hurdles hold back widespread implementation?