About half of broadband households in the UK, France, Germany, and Spain who plan to buy a flat-panel TV in the next 12 months consider 4k important despite content concerns. “European broadcasters like BBC and France Télévisions have been innovative in incorporating digital services to reach the public, so a spike in 4k set ownership could drive broadcasters to invest in new 4k media technologies,” said Glenn Hower, research analyst, Parks Associates, as reported in Broadband TV News.
U.S. drivers bought a record 17.5 million new cars and trucks last year, surpassing the 10.4 million vehicles purchased in 2009. The Washington Post attributes the sales to a robust job market, easy credit, cheap gas, and pent-up demand. Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal reports that younger people are buying new cars, despite fears that they might be more attracted to smartphones and ride services like Lyft, in which GM is investing $500 million. According to J.D. Power, the average age of a new car owner fell to 48 in 2015 from 49 the previous year.
Boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) may help build better fighter planes and spacecraft. A team of scientists led by Changhong Ke, associate professor of mechanical engineering at Binghamton University’s Thomas J. Watson School of Engineering and Applied Science, and researcher Xiaoming Chen have determined the interface strength between BNNTs and epoxy and other polymers. “We think that this could be the first step in a process that changes the way we design and make materials that affect the future of travel on this planet and exploration of other worlds beyond our own,” said Ke. “Those materials may be way off still, but someone needed to take the first step, and we have.”
