Following my retirement, we have closed our company for new business.

Please do not hesitate to contact me directly, our email portal remains open and I would be delighted to hear from you and provide ongoing support or advice.

Richard Thomson

support@rta-instruments.com

Companies represented up to the end of December 2023. Please now contact them directly.

k-Space Associates, Inc.
Phone: +1 (734) 426-7977
requestinfo@k-space.com
https://www.k-space.com

STAIB INSTRUMENTS GmbH
Phone: +49 8761 76 24 0
sales@staibinstruments.com
https://www.staibinstruments.com/

Friday, 17 January 2014

Positive feedback for Thermo Scientific XPS Simplified website

We have been delighted with the extremely positive feedback received from our customers and contacts. The site provides information about XPS and you can obtain valuable information from the powerful Knowledge Base. This is a store of XPS information offering advice on experimental considerations, and spectral interpretation. Thermo Scientific's XPS Science poster is still available, an outline of the basics of the technique and some applications - contact us if you would like a copy.

Wednesday, 15 January 2014

In brief

At the current rates of growth and investment, China’s total funding of R&D is expected to surpass that of the US by about 2022. Schaft, Inc. won the latest DARPA Robotics Challenge trial putting the robots through events simulating the tasks needed to be performed in a disaster scenario. The DESY X-ray light source PETRA III has been used to observe the real time degradation of organic solar cells.

Monday, 13 January 2014

1058 aim for 2025

Mars One has a plan to form a human settlement on Mars with the first people landing on the planet in 2025. Over 200000 people applied for what is ultimately aimed to be 24 places and the first selection phase is now complete with 1058 candidates still under consideration. 297 are American, 75 Canadian and 62 Indians. Mars One intends that the project will be funded by investors and the rights from the documentary-cum-reality TV broadcasting of the tests, training and final selection.

Thursday, 9 January 2014

Almost right

Most people want computers to be faster and more accurate. However a group at Purdue University are working on developing computers aimed at ‘approximate computing’. Most computers are designed to compute precise results even when it is not necessary. Approximate computing encompasses using computers to perform calculations good enough for certain tasks that don't require perfect accuracy, potentially doubling efficiency and reducing energy consumption. Approximate computing could endow computers with a capability similar to the human brain's ability to scale the degree of accuracy needed for a given task.

Tuesday, 7 January 2014

IBM’s 5 in 5

IBM has revealed its latest predictions for five big innovations that will change our lives within five years. In a nutshell, IBM says: The classroom will learn you; Buying local will beat online; Doctors will use your DNA to keep you well; A digital guardian will protect you online and The city will help you live in it. Their predictions for Big Data trends in 2014 include the rise of the Chief Data Officer. 1984 beckons.