Continuing technological advances

Improvements ia profitabiUty of mills result from continuing technological advances providing higher yields, conservation of water, optimization of chemical processes, and more efficient use of energy. 

There are now considerable efforts being made to develop and manufacture miniaturized analytical devices (see Chapters 4 and 10) that wiU enable faster analytical times to he achieved, with smaUer sample requirements. There are now several examples in the field of microfabricated devices that have been shown to meet these aspirations. In the future, continued technological advances will result in even smaUer devices that can be taUored for a large number of analytes and that are very simple to operate. 

Initially, one may question the relevance of such exotic structures, and also the justification for devoting large amounts of time, resources and effort to their preparation and study. The answer to this question is related to one of the fundamental roles of science in today s society, namely, continued technological advancement, in part, driven by the production of new materials with enhanced and/or novel properties and by the more complete understanding of structure-property relationships for materials... 

Our entire economy is coming to depend upon continued technological advance. Eighty thousand employees of the General Electric Company, to mention one outstanding example, work today on products that did not exist before the end of World War II. 

Whether one regards the development of these remarkable materials as revolutionary or evolutionary, the fact remains that engineering plastics have changed the way we live. Indeed, continuing technological advances will have an even greater Impact on our lives as engineering plastics further penetrate markets now dominated by metals. 

Since its creation, Petrobras has discovered oil in several states, and in every decade, new oil fields are discovered. Oil production in Brazil grew from 750 rrP/ day at the time of the creation of Petrobras to more than 182,000 wP/ day in the late 90s thanks to continuous technological advances in drilling and production on the continental shelf. 

Innovation in new plastic materials exploded in the 1950s and 1960s. Continuing technological advances have resulted in an even greater impact on our lives and ETP have further penetrated markets dominated by metals. 

Technological advances continue to be made, several recent patents describe advanced phenol—formaldehyde—furfuryl alcohohol biader systems (68—70). These systems are free of nitrogen compounds that can be detrimental to metal iategrity. Systems with extended bench life have also been developed (71). 

Instmmentation advances have increased the power and quahty of the fundamental analytical techniques used in conjunction with LIMS. Unfortunately, these advances come at a price of increasing complexity and volume of information. Despite ah. of the architectural and technological advances of computer hardware and software, the demands of the information requirements still exceed the computing capabhities, so as to put continuing pressure on computer manufacturers to iacrease storage and processiag capabhities evea further. 

Approximately three-quarters of the elements in the Periodic Table are metals. The winning, refining, and fabrication of these metals for commercial use together represent the complex and diverse field of metallurgy. Metallurgy has played a vital role in society for thousands of years, yet it continues to advance and to have increasing importance in many areas of science and technology. 

In summaiy, diesel fuel with veiy low to no sulfur content is now possible with chemical and technological advances. Along with catalytic converters, electronic fuel systems, and sensors, the diesel engine for the new millennium will he capable of complying with ever more stringent EPA exliaust emissions. The diesel engine will continue to sei"ve as the main global workliorse for all of the many thousands of different applications of its power cycle. 

All fossil fuels are considered unsustainable because someday they will reach a point of depletion when it becomes uneconomic to produce. Petroleum is the least sustainable because it is the most finite fossil fuel. Although levels of production are expected to begin declining no later than 2030 (U.S. production peaked in 1970), the U.S. and world resei ves could be further expanded by technological advances that continue to improve discoveiy rates and individual well productivity. The extraction of oils found in shales (exceeds three trillion barrels of oil equivalent worldwide) and sands (resei ves of at least two trillion barrels worldwide) could also significantly increase reserves. The reserves of natural gas are comparable to that of oil, but natural gas is considered a more sustainable resource since consumption rates are lower and it burns cleaner than petroleum products (more environmentally sustainable). 

Over 80 percent of the world s energy consumption comes from nonrenewable sources that cannot be sustained indefinitely under current practices. If technological advances continue to make conventional energy resources plentiful and affordable for many years to come, the transition to more sustainable energy sources can be smooth and minimally disruptive. 

Battery technology continues to advance at a steady pace. Lithium batteries and nickel-metal-hydride batteries are now commonplace. These new rechargeable batteries eliminate the need for toxic cadmium and store more energy per unit mass. The detailed chemistry that underlies the newest advances in battery technology involves principles that are beyond the scope of an introductory course. 

The operating principles of the reviewed interferometers are well studied. However, by no means these devices are matured. For example, a mode-selective, wavelength-independent and environmental-resistant 3-dB core-cladding mode coupler is yet to be found to construct an ideal CCMI. As technology advances and research continues, we expect that more device structures will be explored and new methods will be investigated to fabricate these devices. Although the applications of these two types of sensors are yet to be explored, it is almost certain that they will find their way into real-world applications in the future. 

Fuel cell technology continues to advance with materials research. The catalyst material has been one of the major expenses in fuel cell design. An anode with about 40% less catalyst has been developed at Forsc-hungszentrum Julich GmbH in Julich, Germany. It has a bipolar plate with areas of different catalytic activity levels. The anode substrate has one phase that does not act as catalyst to methane-vapor reforming reactions, and another phase where it acts as a catalyst. 

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