Islamist Mohamed Morsi paid tribute on Friday to Egypt's Muslims and Christians alike and symbolically swore himself in as the country's first elected civilian president before a huge crowd at Tahrir Square.
Crowds had thronged the square from early in the day ahead of the president-elect's appearance on the eve of his official swearing-in.
Morsi, who won a run-off election earlier this month, was received with applause by the tens of thousands of people gathered in the birthplace of the revolt that overthrew his predecessor Hosni Mubarak last year.
He promised a "civilian state" and praised "the square of the revolution, the square of freedom," in what he called an address to "the free world, Arabs, Muslims... the Muslims of Egypt, Christians of Egypt."
Morsi symbolically swore himself in before the crowd, saying: "I swear to preserve the republican system... and to preserve the independence" of Egypt.
Before his triumphant arrival, chants against the ruling military which took over on Mubarak's overthrow rang out from among the crowd as people gathered from mid-morning under a searing sun.
In his speech Morsi, whose election has raised concerns among Egypt's sizeable Coptic Christian community, served the United States with advance warning that his politics will be markedly different from those of his ousted predecessor.
He told the Tahrir crowd he would work to secure freedom for Omar Abdul Rahman, a blind Egyptian cleric jailed for life over the 1993 World Trade Centre bombing.
"I will do everything in my power to secure freedom for... detainees, including Sheikh Omar Abdul Rahman," Morsi said in his address to the throng packing the hub of the 2011 revolution.
Abdul Rahman was convicted in 1995 for his role in the World Trade Centre bombing, plotting to bomb other New York targets including the United Nations, and a plan to assassinate Mubarak.
After taking the oath, Morsi will have to contend with the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, headed by Mubarak's longtime defence minister Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, that will retain broad powers after it formally transfers power.
The liberal Wafd newspaper reported that Tantawi will remain defence minister in the new government.
"Down with the power of the military," demonstrators chanted. "Field marshal, tell us the truth -- is Morsi your president or not?"
Their slogans dented hopes expressed in an editorial in the flagship state-owned daily Al-Ahram that announcement of the details of Morsi's swearing-in would end speculation about the military's real intentions.
"The swearing-in should dispel once and for all the doubts raised by those who have used every means to question the military's readiness to hand over power," it said.
-- Differences over power transfer --
-------------------------------------
The Muslim Brotherhood, from which Morsi resigned after winning the presidency, had called for a huge demonstration in Tahrir, under the slogan "Day of the transfer of power."
The presidency announced late on Thursday that Morsi would be sworn in Saturday before the Constitutional Court, after differences with the army over the transfer of power to the nation's first civilian president.
Morsi "will go at 11 am (0900 GMT) Saturday to the Constitutional Court to take the oath before the Court's general assembly", said a statement released by state news agency MENA.
Traditionally the president takes the oath in parliament, but Egypt's top court has ordered the disbanding of the Islamist-dominated legislature.
The military subsequently assumed legislative powers and also formed a powerful national security council headed by the president but dominated by generals.
By agreeing to be sworn in by the Constitutional Court, Morsi is effectively acknowledging the court's decision to dissolve parliament.
The SCAF also reserves the right to appoint a new constituent assembly should the one elected by parliament be disbanded by a court decision expected on September 1, even though though the Brotherhood insists that only parliament can appoint the assembly.
Media reports said Morsi was consulting a cross-section of Egyptian society before appointing a premier and a cabinet mostly made up of technocrats.
In a meeting with Egyptian newspaper editors reported by most dailies on Friday, Morsi pledged there would be "no Islamisation of state institutions" during his presidency.
Morsi has already met the SCAF chief, as well as a delegation from the Sunni body Al-Azhar, and another representing Egypt's Coptic church.
Amnesty International on Friday urged Morsi to break the cycle of abuse under Mubarak and put Egypt on the path to the rule of law and respect for human rights.
"Egyptians have heard many promises that their demands would be listened to and that things would change, but so far their hopes have largely been frustrated," said Salil Shetty, Amnesty's secretary general.
Ahead of his speech, Morsi attended the main weekly Muslim prayers at Al-Azhar, Sunni Islam's highest seat of learning. Its imam -- religious endowments minister in the outgoing government -- called in his sermon for an inclusive Egypt.
"This must be the homeland of all its citizens with equality between individuals in a true democracy in which all can express themselves while respecting morality," Mohammed Abdel Fadil al-Qawsi said.
The Brotherhood and Al-Azhar, whose imams are named by the Egyptian government, had strained relations under Mubarak, and Qawsi called on Morsi to maintain the institution's privileged position under his presidency.
?Growing Up With Nora Ephron? by?Emily Yoffe. Nora Ephron, award-winning screenwriter, journalist, and writer, died Tuesday night due to complications from a rare blood disorder. Yoffe, who admits that she largely credits Ephron?s influence for her own career choice, looks back at writer?s impact on her life and the lasting effect of Ephron?s wisdom.
[ [ [['Connery is an experienced stuntman', 2]], 'http://yhoo.it/KeQd0p', '[Slideshow: See photos taken on the way down]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['Connery is an experienced stuntman', 7]], ' http://yhoo.it/KpUoHO', '[Slideshow: Death-defying daredevils]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['know that we have confidence in', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/LqYjAX ', '[Related: The Secret Service guide to Cartagena]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['We picked up this other dog and', 5]], 'http://yhoo.it/JUSxvi', '[Related: 8 common dog fears, how to calm them]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['accused of running a fake hepatitis B', 5]], 'http://bit.ly/JnoJYN', '[Related: Did WH share raid details with filmmakers?]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['accused of running a fake hepatitis B', 3]], 'http://bit.ly/KoKiqJ', '[Factbox: AQAP, al-Qaeda in Yemen]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have my contacts on or glasses', 3]], 'http://abcn.ws/KTE5AZ', '[Related: Should the murder charge be dropped?]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have made this nation great as Sarah Palin', 5]], 'http://yhoo.it/JD7nlD', '[Related: Bristol Palin reality show debuts June 19]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have made this nation great as Sarah Palin', 1]], 'http://bit.ly/JRPFRO', '[Related: McCain adviser who vetted Palin weighs in on VP race]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['A JetBlue flight from New York to Las Vegas', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/GV9zpj', '[Related: View photos of the JetBlue plane in Amarillo]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 15]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/white-house-stays-out-of-teen-s-killing-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120411/martinzimmermen.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['He was in shock and still strapped to his seat', 6]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/navy-jet-crashes-in-virginia-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120406/jet_ap.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['xxxxxxxxxxxx', 11]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/russian-grannies-win-bid-to-sing-at-eurovision-1331223625-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/1/56/156d92f2760dcd3e75bcd649a8b85fcf.jpeg', '500', ' ', 'AP', ] ]
[ [ [['did not go as far his colleague', 8]], '29438204', '0' ], [ [[' the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 4]], '28924649', '0' ], [ [['because I know God protects me', 14], ['Brian Snow was at a nearby credit union', 5]], '28811216', '0' ], [ [['The state news agency RIA-Novosti quoted Rosaviatsiya', 6]], '28805461', '0' ], [ [['measure all but certain to fail in the face of bipartisan', 4]], '28771014', '0' ], [ [['matter what you do in this case', 5]], '28759848', '0' ], [ [['presume laws are constitutional', 7]], '28747556', '0' ], [ [['has destroyed 15 to 25 houses', 7]], '28744868', '0' ], [ [['short answer is yes', 7]], '28746030', '0' ], [ [['opportunity to tell the real story', 7]], '28731764', '0' ], [ [['entirely respectable way to put off the searing constitutional controversy', 7]], '28723797', '0' ], [ [['point of my campaign is that big ideas matter', 9]], '28712293', '0' ], [ [['As the standoff dragged into a second day', 7]], '28687424', '0' ], [ [['French police stepped up the search', 17]], '28667224', '0' ], [ [['Seeking to elevate his candidacy back to a general', 8]], '28660934', '0' ], [ [['The tragic story of Trayvon Martin', 4]], '28647343', '0' ], [ [['Karzai will get a chance soon to express', 8]], '28630306', '0' ], [ [['powerful storms stretching', 8]], '28493546', '0' ], [ [['basic norm that death is private', 6]], '28413590', '0' ], [ [['songwriter also saw a surge in sales for her debut album', 6]], '28413590', '1', 'Watch music videos from Whitney Houston ', 'on Yahoo! Music', 'http://music.yahoo.com' ], [ [['keyword', 99999999999999999999999]], 'videoID', '1', 'overwrite-pre-description', 'overwrite-link-string', 'overwrite-link-url' ] ]
Virtually every corner of the Google universe is being touched at Google I/O, and that now includes Google Drive. A version 2 update to the Drive SDK gives Android and iOS developers the option of building the cloud storage into their mobile apps, whether it's downloads, uploads or on-the-spot edits. The programming interface has likewise been expanded as a whole to handle everyday file duties, such as conversions, copying and revision handling. Web-only users are taken care of with support for embedded shares and opening Google documents in any given software that will take the exportable formats. The updated Drive SDK is ready to go, with a flood of apps either coming or already here -- if you want to hop on the bandwagon, just take a peek at the source link.
BEIJING?Many Chinese exporters are starting to hoard the dollars they earn, betting that the yuan is unlikely to appreciate much more, a shift in strategy that is having a ripple effect throughout the country's financial system.
Until recently, Chinese exporters like state-owned Huihong International Group and privately held Saijia Co. had rushed to sell their dollar earnings to banks as soon as they got paid, in exchange for the appreciating yuan. Now, because the Chinese currency no longer seems certain to rise, those companies are holding their dollars for as long as they can.
"In the past, we would exchange ...
BY LINGLING WEI
BEIJING?Many Chinese exporters are starting to hoard the dollars they earn, betting that the yuan is unlikely to appreciate much more, a shift in strategy that is having a ripple effect throughout the country's financial system.
Until recently, Chinese exporters like state-owned Huihong International Group and privately held Saijia Co. had rushed to sell their dollar earnings to banks as soon as they got paid, in exchange for the appreciating yuan. Now, because the Chinese currency no longer seems certain to rise, those companies are holding their dollars for as long as they can.
Texas Motor Speedway? ?Texas Motor SpeedwayLatest from The Business Journals2nd-round bracket voting under way in Social MadnessRound 2 of Social Madness: It's bracket time1st round voting in Social Madness competition ends today Follow this company is zooming past its artistic counterpart the Granada Theater with nearly triple the points in the second round of the Dallas-area bracket competition of Social Madness.
But the Granada Theater still has time to rebound.
Social Madness ? presented by the Dallas Business Journal and its national parent, American City Business Journals ? is a contest that measures a company's social media know-how with online votes and new Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn followers.
Texas Motor Speedway and the Granada Theater are in the final four within the small-business category of the competition that's similar to the March Madness college basketball tournament. Points for the second round of the bracket will be gathered through July 2.
By mid-Thursday, Texas Motor Speedway had 3,320 points, and the Granada Theater had 1,376 points.
One reason for the surge behind Texas Motor Speedway: an entire four-person team devoted to the track's social media efforts.
"We are reaching out to a younger demographic through Facebook, Twitter and YouTube," said Louis Mora, a Texas Motor Speedway spokesman. "That's a demographic we are trying to go after."
The Granada Theater has a similar goal and aims to be on the cutting edge of technology in promoting its concerts, said Gavin Mulloy, the Granada's promotions manager.
"We saw what Nic Adler was able to do with The Roxy in Los Angeles, and we really wanted to grow it," Mulloy said.
As far as beating out Texas Motor Speedway, only time will tell. And Mulloy says its an honor to go up against the speedway.
Candace covers commercial and residential real estate and sports business.
[ [ [['Connery is an experienced stuntman', 2]], 'http://yhoo.it/KeQd0p', '[Slideshow: See photos taken on the way down]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['Connery is an experienced stuntman', 7]], ' http://yhoo.it/KpUoHO', '[Slideshow: Death-defying daredevils]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['know that we have confidence in', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/LqYjAX ', '[Related: The Secret Service guide to Cartagena]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['We picked up this other dog and', 5]], 'http://yhoo.it/JUSxvi', '[Related: 8 common dog fears, how to calm them]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['accused of running a fake hepatitis B', 5]], 'http://bit.ly/JnoJYN', '[Related: Did WH share raid details with filmmakers?]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['accused of running a fake hepatitis B', 3]], 'http://bit.ly/KoKiqJ', '[Factbox: AQAP, al-Qaeda in Yemen]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have my contacts on or glasses', 3]], 'http://abcn.ws/KTE5AZ', '[Related: Should the murder charge be dropped?]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have made this nation great as Sarah Palin', 5]], 'http://yhoo.it/JD7nlD', '[Related: Bristol Palin reality show debuts June 19]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have made this nation great as Sarah Palin', 1]], 'http://bit.ly/JRPFRO', '[Related: McCain adviser who vetted Palin weighs in on VP race]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['A JetBlue flight from New York to Las Vegas', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/GV9zpj', '[Related: View photos of the JetBlue plane in Amarillo]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 15]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/white-house-stays-out-of-teen-s-killing-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120411/martinzimmermen.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['He was in shock and still strapped to his seat', 6]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/navy-jet-crashes-in-virginia-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120406/jet_ap.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['xxxxxxxxxxxx', 11]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/russian-grannies-win-bid-to-sing-at-eurovision-1331223625-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/1/56/156d92f2760dcd3e75bcd649a8b85fcf.jpeg', '500', ' ', 'AP', ] ]
[ [ [['did not go as far his colleague', 8]], '29438204', '0' ], [ [[' the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 4]], '28924649', '0' ], [ [['because I know God protects me', 14], ['Brian Snow was at a nearby credit union', 5]], '28811216', '0' ], [ [['The state news agency RIA-Novosti quoted Rosaviatsiya', 6]], '28805461', '0' ], [ [['measure all but certain to fail in the face of bipartisan', 4]], '28771014', '0' ], [ [['matter what you do in this case', 5]], '28759848', '0' ], [ [['presume laws are constitutional', 7]], '28747556', '0' ], [ [['has destroyed 15 to 25 houses', 7]], '28744868', '0' ], [ [['short answer is yes', 7]], '28746030', '0' ], [ [['opportunity to tell the real story', 7]], '28731764', '0' ], [ [['entirely respectable way to put off the searing constitutional controversy', 7]], '28723797', '0' ], [ [['point of my campaign is that big ideas matter', 9]], '28712293', '0' ], [ [['As the standoff dragged into a second day', 7]], '28687424', '0' ], [ [['French police stepped up the search', 17]], '28667224', '0' ], [ [['Seeking to elevate his candidacy back to a general', 8]], '28660934', '0' ], [ [['The tragic story of Trayvon Martin', 4]], '28647343', '0' ], [ [['Karzai will get a chance soon to express', 8]], '28630306', '0' ], [ [['powerful storms stretching', 8]], '28493546', '0' ], [ [['basic norm that death is private', 6]], '28413590', '0' ], [ [['songwriter also saw a surge in sales for her debut album', 6]], '28413590', '1', 'Watch music videos from Whitney Houston ', 'on Yahoo! Music', 'http://music.yahoo.com' ], [ [['keyword', 99999999999999999999999]], 'videoID', '1', 'overwrite-pre-description', 'overwrite-link-string', 'overwrite-link-url' ] ]
Contact: David Ruth david@rice.edu 713-348-6327 Rice University
Technique could turn any surface into a lithium-ion battery; may be combined with solar cells
HOUSTON (June 28, 2012) Researchers at Rice University have developed a lithium-ion battery that can be painted on virtually any surface.
The rechargeable battery created in the lab of Rice materials scientist Pulickel Ajayan consists of spray-painted layers, each representing the components in a traditional battery. The research appears today in Nature's online, open-access journal Scientific Reports.
"This means traditional packaging for batteries has given way to a much more flexible approach that allows all kinds of new design and integration possibilities for storage devices," said Ajayan, Rice's Benjamin M. and Mary Greenwood Anderson Professor in Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science and of chemistry. "There has been a lot of interest in recent times in creating power sources with an improved form factor, and this is a big step forward in that direction."
Lead author Neelam Singh, a Rice graduate student, and her team spent painstaking hours formulating, mixing and testing paints for each of the five layered components two current collectors, a cathode, an anode and a polymer separator in the middle.
The materials were airbrushed onto ceramic bathroom tiles, flexible polymers, glass, stainless steel and even a beer stein to see how well they would bond with each substrate.
In the first experiment, nine bathroom tile-based batteries were connected in parallel. One was topped with a solar cell that converted power from a white laboratory light. When fully charged by both the solar panel and house current, the batteries alone powered a set of light-emitting diodes that spelled out "RICE" for six hours; the batteries provided a steady 2.4 volts.
The researchers reported that the hand-painted batteries were remarkably consistent in their capacities, within plus or minus 10 percent of the target. They were also put through 60 charge-discharge cycles with only a very small drop in capacity, Singh said.
Each layer is an optimized stew. The first, the positive current collector, is a mixture of purified single-wall carbon nanotubes with carbon black particles dispersed in N-methylpyrrolidone. The second is the cathode, which contains lithium cobalt oxide, carbon and ultrafine graphite (UFG) powder in a binder solution. The third is the polymer separator paint of Kynar Flex resin, PMMA and silicon dioxide dispersed in a solvent mixture. The fourth, the anode, is a mixture of lithium titanium oxide and UFG in a binder, and the final layer is the negative current collector, a commercially available conductive copper paint, diluted with ethanol.
"The hardest part was achieving mechanical stability, and the separator played a critical role," Singh said. "We found that the nanotube and the cathode layers were sticking very well, but if the separator was not mechanically stable, they would peel off the substrate. Adding PMMA gave the right adhesion to the separator." Once painted, the tiles and other items were infused with the electrolyte and then heat-sealed and charged.
Singh said the batteries were easily charged with a small solar cell. She foresees the possibility of integrating paintable batteries with recently reported paintable solar cells to create an energy-harvesting combination that would be hard to beat. As good as the hand-painted batteries are, she said, scaling up with modern methods will improve them by leaps and bounds. "Spray painting is already an industrial process, so it would be very easy to incorporate this into industry," Singh said.
The Rice researchers have filed for a patent on the technique, which they will continue to refine. Singh said they are actively looking for electrolytes that would make it easier to create painted batteries in the open air, and they also envision their batteries as snap-together tiles that can be configured in any number of ways.
"We really do consider this a paradigm changer," she said.
###
Co-authors of the paper are graduate students Charudatta Galande and Akshay Mathkar, alumna Wei Gao, now a postdoctoral researcher at Los Alamos National Laboratory, and research scientist Arava Leela Mohana Reddy, all of Rice; Rice Quantum Institute intern Andrea Miranda; and Alexandru Vlad, a former research associate at Rice, now a postdoctoral researcher at the Universit Catholique de Louvain, Belgium.
The Advanced Energy Consortium, the National Science Foundation Partnerships for International Research and Education, Army Research Laboratories and Nanoholdings Inc. supported the research.
This news release can be found online at http://news.rice.edu/2012/06/28/rice-researchers-develop-paintable-battery/
Watch a video about Rice's paintable batteries: http://youtu.be/qJDI5cAdhys
Related links:
Read the paper at www.nature.com/srep/2012/120628/srep00481/full/srep00481.html
An electron microscope image of a spray-painted lithium-ion battery developed at Rice University shows its five-layer structure. (Credit: Ajayan Lab/Rice University)
Conventional lithium-ion batteries wrap active layers into a canister or other portable container. But Rice University researchers have found a way to paint those layers onto any surface, which opens up the possibility of turning those surfaces into storage devices. (Credit: Neelam Singh/Rice University)
Rice University graduate student Charudatta Galande wires an array of LEDs to a set of batteries painted on the surface of ceramic tiles. A team of Rice researchers has invented a form of paintable lithium-ion battery that can be applied to virtually any surface. (Credit: Jeff Fitlow/Rice University)
Rice University graduate student Charudatta Galande, Professor Pulickel Ajayan and graduate student Neelam Singh show off the first test device for their paintable batteries, an array of standard ceramic tiles combined with a solar cell and an array of LEDs, which the batteries powered for six hours. (Credit: Jeff Fitlow/Rice University)
Ceramic tiles coated with battery paints and then heat-sealed powered LEDs spelling out "RICE" for six hours in an experiment at Rice University. The lithium-ion batteries can be painted on virtually any surface. (Credit: Jeff Fitlow/Rice University)
A beer stein served as an able substrate for a paintable battery developed at Rice University. (Credit: Jeff Fitlow/Rice University)
Located on a 300-acre forested campus in Houston, Rice University is consistently ranked among the nation's top 20 universities by U.S. News & World Report. Rice has highly respected schools of Architecture, Business, Continuing Studies, Engineering, Humanities, Music, Natural Sciences and Social Sciences and is known for its "unconventional wisdom." With 3,708 undergraduates and 2,374 graduate students, Rice's undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio is 6-to-1. Its residential college system builds close-knit communities and lifelong friendships, just one reason why Rice has been ranked No. 1 for best quality of life multiple times by the Princeton Review and No. 4 for "best value" among private universities by Kiplinger's Personal Finance. To read "What they're saying about Rice," go to www.rice.edu/nationalmedia/Rice.pdf.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Contact: David Ruth david@rice.edu 713-348-6327 Rice University
Technique could turn any surface into a lithium-ion battery; may be combined with solar cells
HOUSTON (June 28, 2012) Researchers at Rice University have developed a lithium-ion battery that can be painted on virtually any surface.
The rechargeable battery created in the lab of Rice materials scientist Pulickel Ajayan consists of spray-painted layers, each representing the components in a traditional battery. The research appears today in Nature's online, open-access journal Scientific Reports.
"This means traditional packaging for batteries has given way to a much more flexible approach that allows all kinds of new design and integration possibilities for storage devices," said Ajayan, Rice's Benjamin M. and Mary Greenwood Anderson Professor in Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science and of chemistry. "There has been a lot of interest in recent times in creating power sources with an improved form factor, and this is a big step forward in that direction."
Lead author Neelam Singh, a Rice graduate student, and her team spent painstaking hours formulating, mixing and testing paints for each of the five layered components two current collectors, a cathode, an anode and a polymer separator in the middle.
The materials were airbrushed onto ceramic bathroom tiles, flexible polymers, glass, stainless steel and even a beer stein to see how well they would bond with each substrate.
In the first experiment, nine bathroom tile-based batteries were connected in parallel. One was topped with a solar cell that converted power from a white laboratory light. When fully charged by both the solar panel and house current, the batteries alone powered a set of light-emitting diodes that spelled out "RICE" for six hours; the batteries provided a steady 2.4 volts.
The researchers reported that the hand-painted batteries were remarkably consistent in their capacities, within plus or minus 10 percent of the target. They were also put through 60 charge-discharge cycles with only a very small drop in capacity, Singh said.
Each layer is an optimized stew. The first, the positive current collector, is a mixture of purified single-wall carbon nanotubes with carbon black particles dispersed in N-methylpyrrolidone. The second is the cathode, which contains lithium cobalt oxide, carbon and ultrafine graphite (UFG) powder in a binder solution. The third is the polymer separator paint of Kynar Flex resin, PMMA and silicon dioxide dispersed in a solvent mixture. The fourth, the anode, is a mixture of lithium titanium oxide and UFG in a binder, and the final layer is the negative current collector, a commercially available conductive copper paint, diluted with ethanol.
"The hardest part was achieving mechanical stability, and the separator played a critical role," Singh said. "We found that the nanotube and the cathode layers were sticking very well, but if the separator was not mechanically stable, they would peel off the substrate. Adding PMMA gave the right adhesion to the separator." Once painted, the tiles and other items were infused with the electrolyte and then heat-sealed and charged.
Singh said the batteries were easily charged with a small solar cell. She foresees the possibility of integrating paintable batteries with recently reported paintable solar cells to create an energy-harvesting combination that would be hard to beat. As good as the hand-painted batteries are, she said, scaling up with modern methods will improve them by leaps and bounds. "Spray painting is already an industrial process, so it would be very easy to incorporate this into industry," Singh said.
The Rice researchers have filed for a patent on the technique, which they will continue to refine. Singh said they are actively looking for electrolytes that would make it easier to create painted batteries in the open air, and they also envision their batteries as snap-together tiles that can be configured in any number of ways.
"We really do consider this a paradigm changer," she said.
###
Co-authors of the paper are graduate students Charudatta Galande and Akshay Mathkar, alumna Wei Gao, now a postdoctoral researcher at Los Alamos National Laboratory, and research scientist Arava Leela Mohana Reddy, all of Rice; Rice Quantum Institute intern Andrea Miranda; and Alexandru Vlad, a former research associate at Rice, now a postdoctoral researcher at the Universit Catholique de Louvain, Belgium.
The Advanced Energy Consortium, the National Science Foundation Partnerships for International Research and Education, Army Research Laboratories and Nanoholdings Inc. supported the research.
This news release can be found online at http://news.rice.edu/2012/06/28/rice-researchers-develop-paintable-battery/
Watch a video about Rice's paintable batteries: http://youtu.be/qJDI5cAdhys
Related links:
Read the paper at www.nature.com/srep/2012/120628/srep00481/full/srep00481.html
An electron microscope image of a spray-painted lithium-ion battery developed at Rice University shows its five-layer structure. (Credit: Ajayan Lab/Rice University)
Conventional lithium-ion batteries wrap active layers into a canister or other portable container. But Rice University researchers have found a way to paint those layers onto any surface, which opens up the possibility of turning those surfaces into storage devices. (Credit: Neelam Singh/Rice University)
Rice University graduate student Charudatta Galande wires an array of LEDs to a set of batteries painted on the surface of ceramic tiles. A team of Rice researchers has invented a form of paintable lithium-ion battery that can be applied to virtually any surface. (Credit: Jeff Fitlow/Rice University)
Rice University graduate student Charudatta Galande, Professor Pulickel Ajayan and graduate student Neelam Singh show off the first test device for their paintable batteries, an array of standard ceramic tiles combined with a solar cell and an array of LEDs, which the batteries powered for six hours. (Credit: Jeff Fitlow/Rice University)
Ceramic tiles coated with battery paints and then heat-sealed powered LEDs spelling out "RICE" for six hours in an experiment at Rice University. The lithium-ion batteries can be painted on virtually any surface. (Credit: Jeff Fitlow/Rice University)
A beer stein served as an able substrate for a paintable battery developed at Rice University. (Credit: Jeff Fitlow/Rice University)
Located on a 300-acre forested campus in Houston, Rice University is consistently ranked among the nation's top 20 universities by U.S. News & World Report. Rice has highly respected schools of Architecture, Business, Continuing Studies, Engineering, Humanities, Music, Natural Sciences and Social Sciences and is known for its "unconventional wisdom." With 3,708 undergraduates and 2,374 graduate students, Rice's undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio is 6-to-1. Its residential college system builds close-knit communities and lifelong friendships, just one reason why Rice has been ranked No. 1 for best quality of life multiple times by the Princeton Review and No. 4 for "best value" among private universities by Kiplinger's Personal Finance. To read "What they're saying about Rice," go to www.rice.edu/nationalmedia/Rice.pdf.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Facebook has named Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg to its board of directors, making her the first woman on the company?s board, which includes seven men.
Sandberg joined Facebook in 2008 and she has played a key role in leading the social network as it has moved to become a public company with a $16 billion IPO in mid-May.
Her promotion comes as Facebook, a company started in a Harvard dorm room in 2004, seeks to promote a more mature image
The composition of Facebook?s board attracted the attention of the California State Teachers' Retirement System, the second-largest largest pension fund in the United States, which in the past has criticized its lack of diversity.
It applauded Sandberg's promotion to the Facebook board as a good first step toward greater corporate leadership diversity, but also urged the social network to ?continue diversifying the board toward greater independence and representation of the Company's user base.?
Atomico, the technology investment firm founded by Niklas Zennstr?m (a co-founder of Skype) has been deploying its funds in Europe for some time now, and most recently Zennstr?m was taking an interest in Brazil. Indeed, Atomico has an office there. But for whatever reason he's decided to lead the fund next into Japan, with the appointment today of Shinichi Iwata, former President of Skype Japan, to head up Atomic's new Tokyo office.
From left, Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany, BCS executive director Bill Hancock and SEC Commissioner Mike Slive smile during an interview after a BCS presidential oversight committee meeting and media availability, Tuesday, June 26, 2012, in Washington. A committee of university presidents on Tuesday approved the BCS commissioners' plan for a four-team playoff to start in the 2014 season. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
From left, Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany, BCS executive director Bill Hancock and SEC Commissioner Mike Slive smile during an interview after a BCS presidential oversight committee meeting and media availability, Tuesday, June 26, 2012, in Washington. A committee of university presidents on Tuesday approved the BCS commissioners' plan for a four-team playoff to start in the 2014 season. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
FILE - In this Jan. 9, 2012, file photo, the Coaches' Trophy is displayed before the BCS National Championship game between the LSU and Alabama in New Orleans. College football will finally have a playoff. Come 2014, the BCS is dead. A committee of university presidents on Tuesday, June 26, 2012, approved the BCS commissioners' plan for a four-team playoff to start in the 2014 season. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)
Virginia Tech President Charles Steger, third from left, smiles as he and others arrive for a media availability after a BCS presidential oversight committee meeting, Tuesday, June 26, 2012, in Washington. A committee of university presidents on Tuesday approved the BCS commissioners' plan for a four-team playoff to start in the 2014 season. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Bill Hancock, BCS executive director, smiles during an interview after a BCS presidential oversight committee meeting and media availability, Tuesday, June 26, 2012, in Washington. The committee announced a new post-season format for a four-team playoff for the major college football national championship. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany speaks during a media availability after a BCS presidential oversight committee meeting, Tuesday, June 26, 2012, in Washington. A committee of university presidents on Tuesday approved the BCS commissioners' plan for a four-team playoff to start in the 2014 season. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
WASHINGTON (AP) ? Playoffs and tournaments long have determined champions of every college sport from baseball to bowling.
The exception was major college football.
That ended Tuesday. Come 2014, the BCS is dead.
A committee of university presidents approved a plan for a four-team playoff put forward by commissioners of the top football conferences.
For years, the decision-makers had balked at any type of playoff because they said it would diminish the importance of the regular season. If only two teams had a chance to win a championship in the postseason, even one loss could be too many. That made for some very high stakes regular-season games. As recently as 2008, Southeastern Conference Commissioner Mike Slive proposed the type of plan adopted Tuesday, and it was quickly shot down.
Four years later, minds changed. The 12 university presidents stood shoulder to shoulder on a stage at a news conference in a posh hotel in the nation's capital and delivered the news.
"It's a great day for college football," BCS Executive Director Bill Hancock said. "As soon as the commissioners realized they could do this and protect the regular season, the light went on for everybody."
The move completes a six-month process for the commissioners, who have been working on a new way to determine a major college football champion after years of griping from fans. The latest configuration is certain to make even more money for the schools than the old system ? and not satisfy everyone.
"There were differences of views," said Virginia Tech President Charles Steger, who headed the BCS presidential oversight committee. "I think it would be a serious mistake to assume it was a rubber stamp."
Nebraska Chancellor Harvey Perlman was the most notable holdout. He had said he preferred the status quo or a tweak of the Bowl Championship Series. Perlman said the playoff still wouldn't be his first choice, but he was not going to stand in the way of progress.
"This is the package that was put forth and we will strongly support it," he said.
Instead of simply matching the nation's No. 1 and No. 2 teams in a title game after the regular season, the way the BCS has done since 1998, the new format will create a pair of national semifinals.
Many college football fans have been clamoring for a playoff for years, and the BCS has been a constant target for criticism. Lawmakers have railed against it. A political action committee was formed, dedicated to its destruction. The Justice Department looked into whether it broke antitrust laws. Even President Obama said he wanted a playoff.
Now it's a reality.
No. 1 will play No. 4, and No. 2 will play No. 3 on Dec. 31 and/or Jan. 1. The sites of those games will rotate among the four current BCS bowls ? Rose, Orange, Fiesta and Sugar ? and two more to be determined. One of the new sites will likely be wherever the newly formed bowl created by the SEC and Big 12 is played, Slive said.
The Cotton Bowl, played at the $1.1 billion Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, has long wanted to be part of the BCS and is expected to make a strong push to be in the semifinal rotation.
The winners of the semis will advance to the championship on the first Monday in January that is six or more days after the last semifinal. The first "Championship Monday," as it was called in the BCS release, is set for Jan. 12, 2015.
The site of the title game will move around the way the Super Bowl does, with cities bidding for the right to host.
The teams will be selected by a committee, similar to the way the NCAA basketball tournament field is set. The men's tournament has 68 teams, and 37 at-large bids.
The football committee will have a much tougher task, trying to whittle the field down to four. This season, 125 schools will play at the highest level of college football.
Among the factors the committee will consider are won-loss record, strength of schedule, head-to-head results and whether a team is a conference champion. The selection committee will also play a part in creating matchups for the games at the four sites that do not hold a semifinal in a given year.
"I think it's tremendous progress," Washington State coach Mike Leach, a playoff proponent. "Five years ago there wasn't even dialogue about a playoff. Instead of diving in the water, they dipped their toes in. I think it's' going to be ridiculously exciting and it's going to generate a bunch of money. I wish they dived in."
The BCS had given automatic qualifying status to six conferences, the SEC, Big Ten, Big 12, Atlantic Coast Conference, Pac-12 and Big East. That allowed those leagues better access to the big, high-payout games than the other five conferences, such as the Mountain West and Conference USA.
Automatically qualified status is gone and the commissioners believe the new system will create more interesting games beyond the ones that determine the national title.
"What the system now is, several semifinals, championship game and some access bowls. By creating a couple of access bowls, people will be able to play high-quality opponents in big venues with big brands," Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany said.
No one has put a hard number on it yet, but this new format figures to more than double the TV revenue of the current BCS and Rose Bowl contracts. Those pay out about $155 million annually.
The commissioners want to lock in this format for 12 years with a television partner. The current four-year BCS deal with ESPN runs through the 2013 season. The new format will be presented to potential TV partners in the fall, starting with ESPN.
"I think we have found what we think is the right place and it stabilizes the postseason for a length of time that I think is healthy for the game," said Slive, whose members have won the last six BCS championships.
There are still some details to work out ? such as who will be on the committee and what new bowls will be involved in the semifinal rotation ? but all the decision-makers are on board.
Lower divisions of college football already have a playoff, but the highest level has always used bowls and polls to determine its champion. Those days are coming to an end.
"We believe this new format will be good for student-athletes, for the alumni and for our institutions," Steger said. "It's a best of both worlds result. It captures the excitement of the playoff while protecting the regular season."
___
Follow Ralph D. Russo at www.Twitter.com/ralphdrussoAP
Researchers from North Carolina State University have found a way to create much slimmer thin-film solar cells without sacrificing the cells' ability to absorb solar energy. Making the cells thinner should significantly decrease manufacturing costs for the technology.
"We were able to create solar cells using a 'nanoscale sandwich' design with an ultra-thin 'active' layer," says Dr. Linyou Cao, an assistant professor of materials science and engineering at NC State and co-author of a paper describing the research. "For example, we created a solar cell with an active layer of amorphous silicon that is only 70 nanometers (nm) thick. This is a significant improvement, because typical thin-film solar cells currently on the market that also use amorphous silicon have active layers between 300 and 500 nm thick." The "active" layer in thin-film solar cells is the layer of material that actually absorbs solar energy for conversion into electricity or chemical fuel.
"The technique we've developed is very important because it can be generally applied to many other solar cell materials, such as cadmium telluride, copper indium gallium selenide, and organic materials," Cao adds.
The new technique relies largely on conventional manufacturing processes, but results in a very different finished product. The first step is to create a pattern on the substrate using standard lithography techniques. The pattern outlines structures made of transparent, dielectric material measuring between 200 and 300 nm. The researchers then coat the substrate and the nanostructures with an extremely thin layer of active material, such as amorphous silicon. This active layer is then coated with another layer of dielectric material.
Using dielectric nanostructures beneath the active layer creates a thin film with elevated surfaces evenly spaced all along the film ? like crenellations at the top of a medieval castle.
"One key aspect of this technique is the design of the 'nanoscale sandwich,' with the active materials in the middle of two dielectric layers. The nanostructures act as very efficient optical antennas," Cao says, "focusing the solar energy into the active material. This focusing means we can use a thinner active layer without sacrificing performance. In the conventional thin-film design, using a thinner active layer would impair the solar cell's efficiency."
###
North Carolina State University: http://www.ncsu.edu
Thanks to North Carolina State University for this article.
This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.
?Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for ?fair use? for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.?
Popular Posts
Matt hughes, to meet diego sanchez this fall
Since his crushing 21 second TKO loss to BJ Penn at UFC 123, Matt Hughes has been a somewhat invisible figure on the MMA scene working away on his farm in Illinois. Having won 3 straight fights, prior to this loss, Hughes looked to be on a crash course straight back to the title after [...]
Unhealthy and Unsafe Weight Loss Fads
It is hard to get through a single day without seeing an advertisement on TV or in your favorite magazine that promises that you can lose 10 pounds in your first week or lose 20 pounds in one month without dieting. Sometimes, they promote some diet pill or supplement containing some exotic ingredient, sometimes they [...]
Naturally losing weight
Many men and women all over the world are beginning their weight loss campaign in order to stay fit and add dazzle to their personality. Some people tend to gain weight at a very fast pace, and this problem can be traced to the slow metabolism of the body, and improper consumption of food. The [...]
The chest fly dumbbell exercise
This dumbbell exercise improves your ability to lift objects. It also improves your physical appearance, and is an excellent addition to any fitness program. ? Tips ? You will probably need to use a lighter weight dumbbell for this exercise For maximum intensity, try to extend your arms as far as possible without losing control [...]
Tom Blackman
Q.1 Why did you start bodybuilding and did you have any goals of competing to begin with? I originally started training to supplement my Jiu Jitsu training as I was fighting in tournaments and needed more strength and endurance. Over time I liked the change and decided to get more into the bodybuilding aspect rather [...]
Last month, I had the deep pleasure of speaking with award-winning women's marketing expert and now playwright, author and actor Mary Lou Quinlan about her new book, play and programs called The God Box Project. I was blessed too to have a personal preview of the power of The God Box: Sharing My Mother's Gift of Faith, Love and Letting Go. I attended Mary Lou's book launch party in New York City and heard her speak firsthand of her mother Mary's transformative ritual of writing notes in which she shared her brief prayers to God on behalf of everyone whom she loved, cared about and wished the best for in her life. Reading the book, I felt changed somehow, reminded of how, when I'm stressed and over-the-top busy as many of us are each day, we move away from the compassion and kindness in our hearts to thinking only of ourselves and our own self-preservation, closing ourselves down from our most loving and caring selves.
About The God Box
As Mary Lou explains, when her beloved mother, Mary Finlayson, died, her family was left bereft -- until Quinlan found her mother's "God Box," or rather, boxes. These simple containers were stuffed with tiny notes written by Mary, asking and praying for everything from the right flooring for her daughter's new home to a cure for her own blood cancer. Mary's petitions are presented with love and without expectation. Note by note, Quinlan unearths insights into her mother's compassion, faith, and perseverance, and revelations of her innermost thoughts -- nostalgic, surprising, and even a bit shocking. And through the journey, the author discovers her own more empathetic, more engaged self -- the woman her mother had believed in all along.
Curious as to Mary Lou's transformation from corporate and entrepreneurial powerhouse focused on helping advertising clients understand the inner thoughts of female consumers, to author and performer who is in essence a spiritual midwife of her mother's lessons in humility, compassion and care, I asked Mary Lou to share about that transition.
Mary Lou explains:
I realize in looking back that my mother supersedes all. In reflecting on my career, I see and appreciate deeply that I built a successful professional life and made my mark in marketing. I believe I followed a path that has been diverse, accomplished, and satisfying. My job as head of my marketing firm Just Ask a Woman (now a division of Mary Lou Quinlan & Co.) was to tell the truth -- the whole truth -- about what women feel and hold inside, and to honor those thoughts and feelings. Perhaps it's the time of my life now where I realize that I am strong enough to speak from my heart, fully myself -- to integrate the various parts of me and tell my own whole truth. The advantage of being an entrepreneur is that I don't answer to anyone -- other than my clients -- and in the end, with my business being about telling the truth about what women feel, why would I draw the line personally about what I deeply feel? I've always been the same woman at work -- determined, funny, happy, passionate. But certainly in my years in advertising, my job was to win and retain the business of clients and doing so sometimes required of me to draw lines between my personal views and those of my clients. My messages were focused on my clients' interests, not my own. That's the job -- leading an advertising agency means putting my clients' needs first. But when I launched Just Ask a Woman in 1999, I created a company where I started to let my full voice be heard. The next wave of sharing my authentic voice was in 2005 when I wrote my book Time Off for Good Behavior. Telling the truth about women in business and in corporate America rattled cages in a big way. For instance, I shared in the book that it's okay to take a break from your job and do what you need to restore yourself. Sometimes work just isn't enough. And in another book, What She's Not Telling You, I also revealed that women often tell half-truths -- sometimes as a form of defense that keeps women stuck, but also as a way of detouring a probing marketer from getting inside their inner space.
As I've progressed, I've now hit a point where telling my mother's story -- one of spirituality and of practical life lessons, aspiration, love, and even death -- feels right for me. A friend said to me, "This is the job you were meant to grow into. This was meant to be your life."
Women and the Workforce
About women's challenges in the workforce, Mary Lou shared that women's advancement in business remains an uphill climb. Arguments made in the media and by many corporate leaders and managers about how women should behave and advance in business seem to continually force women into narrower and narrower avenues of compliance. Women are told they should network but not just network with women, for instance.
Unfortunately, there's been a focus on what women are not doing correctly. Career paths are not more free-flow as they should be -- they're getting tighter and tighter, and blame keeps falling back on women as to why they haven't advanced, as opposed to our looking at the broader culture, systems and support. I'm all about letting yourself be fully ambitious and internally sound -- not having to make a choice between the two. When do you wake up and say, "This is my life!"? When you retire? That's too late.
The ultimate outcome of The God Box Project, play and programs?
The God Box is a wonderful, sharing, compassionate way to bring hope to your life. It's also a comforting ritual particularly in our world today that feels so worried, tight, negative, divisive. To share something unifying and uplifting is a powerful legacy that I dream of passing on, on Mom's behalf.
My dream is that millions of people around the world -- men and women -- will begin the tradition of The God Box, and find in that little ritual some needed relief, hope, comfort that supports their own beliefs. I believe that The God Box can truly help make a more compassionate, kind and loving world. It also helps us rethink the relationships that were so fundamental in our lives and our upbringing -- our mother-daughter/father-daughter relationships and what they gave us. Reconnecting to our love for our family, and healing what let us down in our family lives, is also an outcome I dream of for The God Box.
To me, Mary Lou offers women the world over a powerful and successful role model for living an authentic, integrated and meaningful professional life. I for one am so grateful for Mary Lou's work -- for giving me a pathway to see and believe that supporting our deeply held spiritual beliefs doesn't have to be something we keep separate from our professional identities. Honoring our full selves and bringing forth our compassionate, loving hearts in both our personal and professional lives will help us heal the world back to health.
Check out The God Box Project.com (and don't miss the new The God Box mobile app on iTunes). Feel how transformational it can be to share your deepest hopes and prayers for yourself and for your loved ones and those you care about.
For more by Kathy Caprino, click here.
For more on becoming fearless, click here.
?
Follow Kathy Caprino on Twitter: www.twitter.com/kathycaprino
The laws of supply and demand also apply when it comes to land values?greater supply and lower demand push prices down, and vice versa. You might wish to know precisely what influences land supply and demand?and more. You?ll make more educated land acquisition decisions if you understand precisely how land is valued.
Area. Land in Utah?s urban spots costs more than land in rural areas due to the fact that space is generally more limited in the former. The basic safety in a community is an additional factor. For instance, properties in locations with high criminal offense rates are most likely to have near-bottom rates. In contrast, you can expect real estate prices in special and upscale communities to be on the high end.
Purchaser and Vendor Attitudes. Sellers who wish to transfer land ownership as soon as possible, for any sort of reason, may lower land rates significantly. However, the more prospective purchasers are toward a piece of property, the more likely the vendor will charge greater for it. So when purchasing land, ask the seller whether there have been offers from other buyers.
Development. The more developments upon a piece of land, the more useful it is and, as a result, the higher its value. In rural areas, the more fertile land is, the higher its cost. Ascertain whether you could possibly get a bargain by purchasing developed land versus land that you?ll have to enhance yourself.
Local Laws. The development of Utah land for sale is normally subject to stipulations by local laws; though it may be possible to develop a location outside zoning laws, these may take longer and, in effect, drive up the property cost. Due to the fact that urban areas allow more room for development, rates here are also elevated. Not all urban places are priced equally, though; low-density spots normally cost less than high-density ones. It always pays to be aware of Utah zoning and property tax laws whenever you?re opting to develop a property further.
Timing. Did you know that there are two days annually that are best for purchasing Utah land for sale? For example, on Easter Sunday, practically no one wishes to get real estate, so you have more bargaining power with the seller. The same applies to Christmas; real estate costs are at the lowest in December, and folks are typically more giving than usual at this moment.
Analyze the real estate market right before picking any land for sale in Utah. If you play your cards right, you can get a fantastic bargain on real estate property. For more info on timing the market, visit homebuying.about.com/od/marketfactstrends/qt/REMarkets.htm.
No related posts.
The laws of supply and demand also apply when it comes to land values?greater supply and lower demand push prices down, and vice versa. You might wish to know precisely what influences land supply and demand?and more. You?ll make more educated land acquisition decisions if you understand precisely how land is valued.
Area. Land in Utah?s urban spots costs more than land in rural areas due to the fact that space is generally more limited in the former. The basic safety in a community is an additional factor. For instance, properties in locations with high criminal offense rates are most likely to have near-bottom rates. In contrast, you can expect real estate prices in special and upscale communities to be on the high end.
Purchaser and Vendor Attitudes. Sellers who wish to transfer land ownership as soon as possible, for any sort of reason, may lower land rates significantly. However, the more prospective purchasers are toward a piece of property, the more likely the vendor will charge greater for it. So when purchasing land, ask the seller whether there have been offers from other buyers.
Development. The more developments upon a piece of land, the more useful it is and, as a result, the higher its value. In rural areas, the more fertile land is, the higher its cost. Ascertain whether you could possibly get a bargain by purchasing developed land versus land that you?ll have to enhance yourself.
Local Laws. The development of Utah land for sale is normally subject to stipulations by local laws; though it may be possible to develop a location outside zoning laws, these may take longer and, in effect, drive up the property cost. Due to the fact that urban areas allow more room for development, rates here are also elevated. Not all urban places are priced equally, though; low-density spots normally cost less than high-density ones. It always pays to be aware of Utah zoning and property tax laws whenever you?re opting to develop a property further.
Timing. Did you know that there are two days annually that are best for purchasing Utah land for sale? For example, on Easter Sunday, practically no one wishes to get real estate, so you have more bargaining power with the seller. The same applies to Christmas; real estate costs are at the lowest in December, and folks are typically more giving than usual at this moment.
Analyze the real estate market right before picking any land for sale in Utah. If you play your cards right, you can get a fantastic bargain on real estate property. For more info on timing the market, visit homebuying.about.com/od/marketfactstrends/qt/REMarkets.htm.
No related posts.
Source: Land for Sale in Utah: 5 Pricing Factors to Think About
The former Northern Ireland and Queens Park Rangers footballer Alan McDonald died yesterday at the age of 48.
McDonald, who managed Glentoran when they won the Irish League championship in 2009, collapsed while playing golf. The Belfast-born centre-half played in the Northern Ireland team that drew 0-0 against England in 1985 to qualify for the World Cup finals. McDonald was captain of QPR, for whom he made more than 400 appearances. He also won 52 international caps, scoring three goals.
According to an article from Albuquerque Public Schools (APS), the Albuquerque Public Schools Education Foundation will sponsor the first-ever Albuquerque Public School Superintendent's Cup Golf Tournament August 1, 2012 for the foundation's Horizon Campaign.
The Campaign will help support students with literacy, fine arts, and science and technology programs, including extra-curricular activities at the middle and high school levels and will also benefit? the Albuquerque Public School Education Foundation, which has injected more than $300,000 into district classrooms in the past 18 months.
?This is going to be a fun tournament, something that will allow the APS community to get together, hit some balls and really get to know one another better,? said tournament committee member Phill Casaus of the Albuquerque Public School Education Foundation.
Prizes and lunch will be provided.
Cost to play in the tournament at the University of New Mexico's Championship Course is $85 per player or $340 a team.
To learn more about the tournament, or to sign up, click www.aps.edu/education-foundation/superintendents-cup
![[ Back to EurekAlert! ]](http://www.eurekalert.org/images/back2e.gif){kind=small}
Public release date: 28-Jun-2012
Share ] 
