A technology called Fischer Trospch (FT) synthesis can extract fuels like diesel and ethanol from coal. Two factors are making FT synthesis a potential component of the United States energy program: the high cost of oil, which makes FT synthesis economically viable, and improvements in the technology which allow more fuel to be extracted from each unit of coal.

It’s a long way to Pluto, and it would take a lot of conventional fuel to get a payload out there quickly. Rudolf Meyer of the University of California has designed a flexible solar membrane that could be used to power ion rockets after being unfurled in space. He calculates that, once thin film photoelectrics has reached the necessary sophistication and lightness, his design could get a probe to Pluto in about a year.

Liquid cooling is all the rage with the PC modding crowd; it’s much more effective than airflow at getting rid of excess heat. But all the extra hardware for the job can be troublesome – one reason why engineers at Purdue University have developed a tiny ‘MEMS’ pump that is integrated into a processor. The chip contains (literally) hair-thin channels to carry water, which is moved by electrohydrodynamic principles.

Sweet! Michael Canfield’s “Is You Is/Is You Ain’t,” first published right here on Futurismic, is being podcast on Escape Pod. Check it out.