Comments

Arawn

Entertainment & Gaming

Rise of the Game-Playing Machines

By Posted on 8.8.2008 6 Comments
The game of Go has long been a bastion of human brilliance. While computers have gotten steadily better at playing chess and poker, they've had a harder time wrapping their silicon minds around the elegant Japanese strategy game. That's why it's a big deal that a computer Go player known as MoGo beat a top-ranked human, Myungwan Kim, yesterday.

8.10.2008 at 06:54pm - Comment by Arawn

Nine Stones is pretty significant. I'm only about 6 kyu, so something that takes 9 stones from a 9 dan is likely to beat me, but the point of choosing your moves, is to not lose points, of which this machine lost almost a hundred. My respects, to whoever managed to program that much computing power, but the game of Go is there to sharpen the mind, rather than to play a game of scores. Arawn Do you hear what I hear, then you might be selling flowers too.
The Environment

Europe Returns to Coal

By Posted on 4.25.2008 6 Comments
In a slow-motion shock to environmentalists worldwide, European countries are turning back to coal to fire new power plants. At a time when India and China are ramping up production in their outdated coal-burning facilities, the last place anyone expected to see a coal resurgence was in the generally progressive nations of Western Europe. Most turning again to coal are hamstrung by record oil and natural gas prices; Italy and Germany have the added stress of having banned new nuclear plants as an alternative.

4.27.2008 at 08:07pm - Comment by Arawn

I don't see any reason, to continue with Petroleum, and every reason to forgo Natural Gas. Natural Gas is easy to burn, with relative cleanliness, but Power Plants are large. As above, run a coal-water paste in a counterflow heat exchanger, so it's hot enough to produce Syn-Gas, and you've something as efficient as can be. Carbon-dioxide is not a dangerous Green-House Gas, because the Biosphere can metabolize it, in a long term recycling. I don't know where a developed european country is supposed to dispose of Nuclear Waste, but that stuff was never really produced for any purpose than Stock-Piled Weaponry. Hey, with Coal Fired Power Plants, you can run Electric Trolley Busses, with Regenerative Braking, and save a lot of Petroleum for the rather backwards american market, which will then sell it on to the Chinese. Arawn Do you hear what I hear, then you might be selling flowers too.
The Environment

Europe Returns to Coal

By Posted on 4.25.2008 6 Comments
In a slow-motion shock to environmentalists worldwide, European countries are turning back to coal to fire new power plants. At a time when India and China are ramping up production in their outdated coal-burning facilities, the last place anyone expected to see a coal resurgence was in the generally progressive nations of Western Europe. Most turning again to coal are hamstrung by record oil and natural gas prices; Italy and Germany have the added stress of having banned new nuclear plants as an alternative.

4.27.2008 at 08:07pm - Comment by Arawn

I don't see any reason, to continue with Petroleum, and every reason to forgo Natural Gas. Natural Gas is easy to burn, with relative cleanliness, but Power Plants are large. As above, run a coal-water paste in a counterflow heat exchanger, so it's hot enough to produce Syn-Gas, and you've something as efficient as can be. Carbon-dioxide is not a dangerous Green-House Gas, because the Biosphere can metabolize it, in a long term recycling. I don't know where a developed european country is supposed to dispose of Nuclear Waste, but that stuff was never really produced for any purpose than Stock-Piled Weaponry. Hey, with Coal Fired Power Plants, you can run Electric Trolley Busses, with Regenerative Braking, and save a lot of Petroleum for the rather backwards american market, which will then sell it on to the Chinese. Arawn Do you hear what I hear, then you might be selling flowers too.
Cars

The Race to 100 MPG

By Posted on 2.11.2008 12 Comments
Over the past several decades, the promise of the "car of tomorrow" has remained unfulfilled, while the problems it was supposed to solve have only intensified. The average price of a gallon of gas is higher than at any time since the early 1980s. The Middle East seems more volatile than ever. And even climate skeptics are starting to admit that the carbon we´re pumping into the atmosphere might have disastrous consequences. To these circumstances, automakers have responded with a fleet of cars that averages 21 miles per gallon, about four miles per gallon worse than the Model T.

3.26.2008 at 09:27pm - Comment by Arawn

or that other monthly, that offered instructions on converting a Pinto to a Diesel Centurion? How fast does this car have to move? I have a bicycle that gets way more than 100 miles per gallon. Number of units required, I'd have to check NASCAR Rules, but I recall a figure of 500. Arawn Do you hear what I hear, then you might be selling flowers too.
Cars

How Electric Cars Could Re-Arrange the Grid

By Posted on 3.13.2008 7 Comments
If the number of plug-in hybrid electric cars and trucks grows significantly, the power grid might need to be re-vamped, depending on when people decide to re-charge their rides.

3.24.2008 at 09:52pm - Comment by Arawn

This problem already exists for Air Conditioning, and a good proportion of Power Capacity exists only for the Summer. It looks like we'll have to scale price according to availability, in order to get people using Heat Pump Technology year round, and to get them using power saving devices for Vehicle Recharge. In fact, while Electric Motors give better Acceleration, Oil Burning Engines have greater range, and someone's already doing a Turbo-Electric Hybrid in a long range muscle car. Adding a portable generator to your LiPo Power Pack, won't just give you a longer range, but if we proportion electric pricing according to the spot market, many would use this feature to run their domestic Air Conditioning. It's not a big jump, from having a turbine recharger, to carrying an emergency generator, for those hot summer nights; A house of four people would need only three horsepower. Some could even be returned to the Grid. Arawn
Cars

How It Works: Tomorrow's Hybrid

By Posted on 5.15.2009 25 Comments
The ReCharge, Volvo’s concept plug-in hybrid, could squeeze 160 miles from a gallon of gas by tossing out the power-wasting transmission. It packs a small electric motor inside each wheel, so that no power is lost in the drivetrain. Here’s a look at the next generation of fuel-efficiency

3.24.2008 at 09:42pm - Comment by Arawn

I've heard that heavier tires would be less efficient, and the suppression of a heavier bounce might be the reason. The artical wasn't clear, on how the standard transmission was a cost of 10-20% of energy. Does that mean the energy soaked up by accelerating the extra mass, or the energy lost to internal frictions? An Electric Transmission will still have the burdens of Power Capacity, where an increase of force or torque will increase the diameter of the axle or conductor. The problem of ballancing the motors sounds to be what Differentials are for, and those Permanent Magnets are going to demand some kind of virtual commutator. Nikolai, from what I understand, eventually worked out a simple three phase motor, using no commutator, by replacing those Permanent Magnets with Feromagnetism. Think of them as Dynamically Defined Permanent Magnets. Trolley Busses are known for good hill-climbing acceleration, as well as regenerative breaking, but Turbines are known to have good characteristics in a narrow power band, so the rear wheels might kick the ground, electrically, but also drive the turbine for the front wheels, to eat the ground ahead, when running at speed. Rear Wheels for Acceleration, and Front Wheels to Stop and (really-really) Go. Arawn Do you hear what I hear, then you might be selling flowers too.