More and more gainfully employed people who have reached a crossroad in their careers are rethinking about opportunities in the emerging green economy. One of its most promising industries is that of solar energy. At present, the pay is not something to crow about but employment in it is expected to pay off big in the near future.

Toledo provides the perfect example of this. More popularly known as the place of glass manufacturers that make car windshields, it is now slowly establishing itself as the place to be for companies developing solar panels. It is especially helpful that the University of Toledo has been doing hard-core solar cell research for the past two decades since glass is a key component in solar technology.

No matter how subtle the styling enhancements are, safety is as luxurious as anything else. Only the highest technology can be expected from high-end luxury cars. Aside from the usual array of stability control, adaptive cruise control and headlights, accident avoidance radar and airbags, the LS 600h L introduces the world’s first driver monitor.

There are two cameras that monitor the driver’s face from atop the steering column for any signs of danger such as being distracted or sleepy. The car also beeps to alert the driver when it is approaching an object. When all else fails, the safety system takes over by tightening the seatbelt, priming the brakes plus the necessary emergency preparations for crashing.

The world’s first single-molecule vehicle has been built using nano-technology. It has a chassis, pivoting axles and rotating wheels. Measuring about three to four nanometers across, it is slightly wider than a strand of DNA. The synthesis and testing of nanocars and other molecular machines are expected to provide critical insights in the investigations of bottom-up molecular manufacturing.

Man would eventually need to move objects and do work in a controlled fashion on the molecular scale and a nanocar is a great test bed for that. It is capable of rolling on its wheels in a direction of right angles to its axles. When tested on a gold surface at room temperature, strong electrical bonds held the wheels tightly against the gold but heating to about 200C enabled them to roll.

The military robot is a mechanical dog that totes hundreds of pounds of gear so that soldiers need not do so. It is said to be able to handle the unknown challenges of the battlefields. It has the ability to trot more than 3 miles an hour, climb incline of up to 45 degrees and carry up to 120 pounds, regardless of the rough terrain that is impenetrable to wheeled or tracked vehicles.

The robot’s body is a steel frame that houses a one-cylinder gasoline engine driving a hydraulic system, a computer and an inertial measurement unit that uses a fiber optic laser gyroscope and a suite of accelerometers to track its movement and position. These all function together with the legs to create the precision gait. It also sports a stereo camera and laser scanner mounted where the head would go, if it had one. The next generation of military robots will use this feature to read the terrain ahead and spot obstacles.

Once the generators of the Three Gorges Dam are in place and go online on 2009, it will be considered the world’s biggest power plant. It is expected to generate 18.2 GW or about 2% of China’s total power consumption. China’s booming economy needs to be matched by power; preferably alternative forms of energy that do not pollute air.

Extra precautions have been taken in the engineering and fault tolerance of the dam. Its other purpose is to engage in flood control. Regulation of the flow of water is made possible because of the massive 22 cubic kilometers reservoir. When fully flooded, the dam’s reservoir will be 200 meters deep.

Magnetic levitation trains or Maglev is the first fundamental innovation in the field of railway technology since the invention of the railway. The train has no wings, wheels or engine but is faster than any speeding locomotive. It was developed by a German firm based on the attraction of magnets.

Powerful magnets will lift the entire train about 10 millimeters above the special track called a guideway. The guideway directs the passage of the train while other magnets provide propulsion, braking and the speed. The phenomenal speed is attained largely due to the reduction of friction. The Maglev is certainly a glorious glide from the past to the future.

A number of exciting features are contained in a digital camera. The digital zoom is a feature that takes a portion of the image’s data and enlarges it to produce a magnification similar to the effect achieved using a telephoto lens. However, images tend to degrade more as the digital zoom becomes stronger. It is the optical zoom feature that magnifies the size of an image without degrading picture quality through lens adjustment.

The Intelligent ISO adjusts a camera’s settings to better capture moving images. A subject-motion detection circuitry will automatically adjust the setting to the appropriate virtual film speed that will help prevent motion blur. The Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) is another feature but is an exclusive Panasonic technology that compensates for the unintentional hand movements that occur while taking digital pictures.

A digital camera makes it easier to edit, catalogue, print and share photos. This has become possible since it is able to electronically capture and store pictures as compared to traditional cameras that record images on to film. Through this capability, instant preview, download and image editing can be done on the computer. Unwanted shots can easily be deleted, thus eliminating the high cost and risk of film exposure.

Processing and printing are likewise as simple. There is a choice between saving the files to an SD Memory Card or CD-ROM and have them processed at the nearest photo center or buying an affordable and compact digital photo printer and have the photos printed in one’s home. Digital cameras are compatible with a number of devices like TVs and DVD recorders. Viewing the photos on a widescreen TV makes for an exceptional experience.

In spite of each type’s inherent strong and weak points, there are some areas in which their performance are more or less on equal footing. It is a fact that plasma sets are better than LCDs at displaying fast motion, but one is not likely to notice any difference when you are watching sports and action movies. Newer LCD models even have high refresh rates that are designed to improve motion handling.

There is not much difference either in longevity since both LCD and plasma sets can last for ten years or more. Both can also be mounted on the wall although larger plasma TVs which are comparably heavier might need wall studs to ensure adequate support.