Trading Water for Watts
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T H E M A G AZI N E O F TECHNOLOGY IN SID ERS 6.10 SPECIAL REPORT Special Report Lessons From TRADING AUSTRALIA’S KILLER WATER DROUGHT FOR URANIUM FROM WATTS SEAWEED and 4 Other THE HARD Crazy Schemes CHOICES START NOW U.S.A $3.99 CANADA $4.99 DISPLAY UNTIL 3 JULY 2010 SPECTRUM.IEEE.ORG 06.Cover.v2.indd 1 5/13/10 10:08 AM 80% of product ideas never make it to market. Let multiphysics simulation bring your designs to life. With Comsol Multiphysics® you are empowered to build the simulations that accurately replicate the important Get a free Proceedings CD characteristics of your designs. The key is the ability to containing over 350 published include all physical effects that exist in the real world. This simulation projects at: comsol.com/conference /cd multiphysics approach delivers results — tangible results that save precious development time and spark innovation. © 2010 COMSOL, INC. COMSOL, COMSOL MULTIPHYSICS, COMSOL REACTION ENGINEERING LAB, AND FEMLAB ARE REGISTERED TRADEMARKS OF COMSOL AB. 06a.Cov2.NA.indd 2 5/7/10 9:55 AM volume 47 number 6 north american 6.10 WATER VS. UPDATE 7 DIAGNOSTIC CONTACTS Gold-limned lenses sense the pressure in the eye and beam ENERGY the data to doctors. SPECIAL REPORT By Prachi Patel Only radical new ideas will prevent 8 AUSTRALIAN CENSORSHIP the coming clash. p. 22 10 MIND OVER MATTER 12 HEAVY METAL SOLAR CELLS WHERE WATER MEETS WATTS A map of water and energy hot spots OPINION and bright spots. p. 28 21 TECHNICALLY SPEAKING Podcasting was just the start. Now we’re all lifecasting. 1. THIRST Y MACHINES 2. U N E A S Y H ARVEST 3. T I N Y TEST BEDS By Paul McFedries DEPARTMENTS 4 BACK STORY Exploding lightbulbs! Need we say more? 6 CONTRIBUTORS 14 TOOLS & TOYS For programmers, the THE POWER OF WATER LIFE IN DROUGHT WIZARDS OF THE WATER CYCLE smartphone is a maze of twisty In the American Southwest, the In Australia, using less water can Singapore’s toilet-to-tap little passages, all of them energy problem is water. p. 30 mean spending more watts. p. 42 tech nology has rescued the dierent. By Daniel Dern BY SALLY ADEE & S AMUEL K. M OORE BY JEAN KUMAGAI country from shortages. p. 56 BY SANDRA UPSON 16 HANDS ON E-mail a new temperature THE CARBON-CAPTURE BIOFUEL’S WATER PROBLEM setting to your home’s air CONUNDRUM Irrigating biofuel crops on a grand THE SALINE SOLUTION conditioner. By David Schneider Coal power’s carbon savior could scale would be disastrous. p. 50 Desalinating seawater takes double its water woes. p. 38 BY DAVID SCHNEIDER too much energy, but emerging 20 GEEK LIFE BY SAMUEL K. M OORE technologies will help. p. 62 Does physics hold the key to PUMPING PUNJAB DRY BY SALLY ADEE existence? An award-winning documentary lets you decide. CHINA REWIRES ITS RIVERS Cheap energy endangers By Susan Karlin A massive water diversion project India’s ability to feed itself. p. 52 MALTA TAKES CONTROL aims to slake the industrial BY SEEMA SINGH With the world’s first multi utility 80 THE DATA north’s thirst. p. 40 smart grid, Malta hopes to save The trade-o between water and BY ANNE-MARIE CORLEY water, energy, and money. p. 65 energy is tough, but the trade-o WITH YU-TZU CHIU BY HARRY GO LDSTEIN between carbon emissions and water is even tougher. COVER AND THIS PAGE, TOP: DAN SAELINGER; BOTTOM, FROM LEFT: GREGG SEGAL; BRAD DECECCO; DARREN SOH By Samuel K. Moore SPECTRUM.IEEE.ORG JUNE 2010 • IEEE SPECTRUM • N A 1 06.Contents.NA.indd 1 5/13/10 4:54 PM Make an impact Unleash the power of CST STUDIO SUITE®, the No. 1 technology for electromagnetic simulation. 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