TPI July 2012

The July issue

events calendar

Welcome to the latest issue of Tube Products International. We have features on materials logistics and packaging as well as oil and gas pipelines this issue. Tube China is also just around the corner of course and the magazine team will be there in force, so please come and say hello and I hope the show is a great success for all concerned. The other exciting news for the magazine is that from next year (the January issue) we will be producing two extra issues – moving to six a year – which is a really positive step for the magazine and, we would like to think, the tube products industry. We are very proud that the magazine has now established itself at the heart of the industry and it, of course, means we can keep you even more up to date with all of the latest tube product-related news and features and help to publicise your innovative tube products. A recent major story that really caught my attention shows that no one can doubt the constant innovative uses that are found for the humble tube. Researchers from NASA and Korea’s National Nanofab Center have come up with an innovative twist on the tube that could transform computer technology – nanoscale vacuum tubes. As explained in a recent paper from Applied Physics Letters, the tiny tubes were manufactured using the same processes applied to silicon semiconductors. An important twist on the idea sees a small cavity etched into silicon, bordered by a source, a gate and a drain. The cavity does not enclose a vacuum, but at 150 nanometres across is so small that electrons flowing through it are unlikely to bump into any other matter. That setup means electrons can pass unimpeded, instead of having to struggle their way through silicon (which is a relatively inefficient process). Because the circuits in the devices rely on the gap, they can also work well in nasty spots like space where radiation can knock physical circuits into literal disarray. The researchers are therefore rather keen on nano vacuum tubes as a way

2012

25-28 September

Tube China International Exhibition www.mdna.com

23-27 October

EuroBlech (Germany) International Exhibition www.euroblech.com

30 October – 1 November

Tube India International Exhibition www.mdna.com

12-14 November

Fabtech (Las Vegas, USA) International Exhibition www.fabtechexpo.com

27-29 November

Valve World Expo (Germany) International Exhibition www.valveworldexpo.com

2013

7-10 January

Tube Arabia International Exhibition www.mdna.com

20-23 February

Indometal (Indonesia) International Exhibition www.indometal.net

28-30 March

Boru 2013 (Turkey) International Exhibition www.borufuari.com

Tube Russia International Exhibition www.metallurgy-tube-russia.com

May

to harden computers on spacecraft, which today must pack all sorts of bulky and heavy radiation shielding. Next issue we have features on valves and fittings, drainage and underground tubes and plastic pipes, so feel free to get in touch with your latest news. today must pack all sorts of bulky and heavy

25-26 June June

Valve World Expo Americas International Exhibition www.valveworldexpoamericas.com

Rory McBride Editor

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TUBE PRODUCTS INTERNATIONAL July 2012

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