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Newbeak5

Cars

Tesla Motors Releases Teaser Shots of Model S Sedan

By Mike Spinelli Posted on 8.21.2009 29 Comments
Tesla's new teaser photos may be the first ones showing the new Model S sedan in mid-flog, but don't expect to catch one along the coast highway just yet. Tesla says the first deliveries of the $57,400 all-electric sedan (with a $7,500 government rebate check in hand, the price will drop just below 50 large) will commence in 2011. The company says they've already taken more than 1,000 pre-orders, along with deposits of $5,000 a pop. Here's to you, early adopters.

8.24.2009 at 04:35pm - Comment by Newbeak5

Charging stations could be set up with flywheel storage units that would run up gradually and not overload the grid.They could then charge batteries as fast as they could absorb the power.Existing flywheel storage units run on magnetic bearings in a vacuum,and store power very efficiently.
Cars

Tesla Motors Releases Teaser Shots of Model S Sedan

By Mike Spinelli Posted on 8.21.2009 29 Comments
Tesla's new teaser photos may be the first ones showing the new Model S sedan in mid-flog, but don't expect to catch one along the coast highway just yet. Tesla says the first deliveries of the $57,400 all-electric sedan (with a $7,500 government rebate check in hand, the price will drop just below 50 large) will commence in 2011. The company says they've already taken more than 1,000 pre-orders, along with deposits of $5,000 a pop. Here's to you, early adopters.

8.23.2009 at 02:04pm - Comment by Newbeak5

Battery swapping would depend on standardization of the battery,which would be no easy task.I can't see charge stations only carrying batteries to fit Tesla cars.I understand that ultracapacitors main use would be for supplying instant power for passing,etc.
The Environment

The Future of Farming: Eight Solutions For a Hungry World

By Posted on 8.7.2009 46 Comments
Today’s crops crisscross the globe: Mexico’s tomatoes end up on your plate, our wheat heads to Africa. As a result, the challenge of growing twice as much food by 2050 to feed nine billion people—with less and less land—is everyone’s problem. But scientists are hard at work fomenting a second green revolution. Here’s how nitrogen-spewing microbes, underground soil sensors and fruit-picking robots will help keep food on our tables.

8.16.2009 at 01:07pm - Comment by Newbeak5

I agree with the comments from Michaela Davies.I too have been following Valcent,both for it's food growing potential,as well as biofuel production.I find it strange that this was not touched upon in the article. Growing biofuel and crops with this method makes sense on so many levels.You have a sealed growing system immune to pests,which makes the most efficient use of resources.As well,these systems could be constructed in/near cities to eliminate transportation costs for food.
Technology

Doing Mach 2.0 In An Open Cockpit

By Dan Smith Posted on 8.4.2009 28 Comments
The spectacular picture above was (reportedly) shot high above the set of a movie. Producers for an unknown movie paid a couple of Russian pilots to fly their SU-35UB jet at speeds past Mach 2.0... without a canopy! After the flight, the pilot said, "While on this speed I even managed to pull out my fingers in glove for an inch or two outside - it became heated very fast because of immense friction force plane undergoes with the air."

7.29.2009 at 09:12pm - Comment by Newbeak5

I submitted this to Allexperts.com for their opinion: Volunteer Expert: Mark Janus (Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering) Question: Hello: Popular Science currently has an article about a SU-35 flying at Mach 2 with an open cockpit,apparently as part of a movie.Is this possible,or is it BS? Thanks Answer: I would say it's hype... while being in the wake of an object provides some "protection", at Mach 2 there would be a strong shockwave in front of the vehicle (indeed heating the flow and significantly raising the pressure), and if the flow remains supersonic the open cockpit would result in expansion fans (turning the flow and accelerating the flow) off the windshield which would attempt turn the flow into the cockpit region... also, the pilot indicating he stuck his fingers in the flow and they were warm sounds totally absurd the skin friction (shearing force) would probably be sufficient to rip a glove off a hand if not the hand off the arm... There has been some simulation of a high speed ejection that I have seen and that is pretty wild (but that was a computer simulation of what would actually happen)... and it wasn't Mach 2... Just my 2 cents....
Technology

Meet Ember, the Littlest Warbot

By Jeremy Hsu Posted on 5.29.2009 6 Comments
iRobot's multipurpose PackBot has helped lead the way among war-bots, disabling improvised explosives and carrying out recon missions for snipers. But soon paperback-sized robots such as the Ember prototype could join their larger cousins on the battlefield.

5.30.2009 at 05:57pm - Comment by Newbeak5

I can imagine it could easily carry hi-def cameras,along with a GPS and laser designator to paint targets for smart munitions.
Technology

Meet Ember, the Littlest Warbot

By Jeremy Hsu Posted on 5.29.2009 6 Comments
iRobot's multipurpose PackBot has helped lead the way among war-bots, disabling improvised explosives and carrying out recon missions for snipers. But soon paperback-sized robots such as the Ember prototype could join their larger cousins on the battlefield.

5.29.2009 at 06:05pm - Comment by Newbeak5

I wonder how quiet the motors for this thing are.It would sure help it remain stealthy.
Cars

Test Drive: Volkswagen’s Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicle Concept

By Posted on 5.22.2009 10 Comments
On the heels of the Obama administration’s announcement that it will move away from hydrogen fuel cell funding came an invitation from Volkswagen to visit the California Fuel Cell Partnership in Sacramento, CA and test drive one of their fuel cell prototypes. Well, why not?

5.24.2009 at 06:59pm - Comment by Newbeak5

I don't think that hydrogen fuel cell powered cars will be an option any time soon.Unless,of course,a technology such as hydrogen on demand is perfected.There are projects that would use pure zinc metal to generate hydrogen when combined with plain water.The reaction is simple: Zinc strips the Oxygen from the H2O leaving pure H2.When your tank of zinc is used up,you stop at a filling station for more pure zinc.Your used zinc oxide is collected and converted to metallic zinc in a solar furnace.No problems transporting volatile H2 gas,just distribute powdered zinc metal.See: tinyurl.com/c9ue9z
Entertainment & Gaming

Reefer Gladness

By Christine Cyr Posted on 4.20.2009 20 Comments
It's April 20th, National Weed Day -- the unofficial national holiday of stoners everywhere. From the party to end all parties at the University of Boulder to the crowning of Ms. High Times at an undisclosed New York City location this afternoon, the skunky perfume of cannabis is in the air. But this year, those who toke at the altar of Mary Jane may have a little more to celebrate. In politics and the media, the legalization of marijuana seems to be gaining traction.

4.20.2009 at 06:26pm - Comment by Newbeak5

See: www.leap.cc/cms/index.php "Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." - -- Albert Einstein
Science

Explosion Video of the Week: TATP

By Susannah F. Locke Posted on 3.26.2009 1 Comments
Turn up your sound and chemist Gerard Harbison will explain it all. The tiny white thing sitting in front of the orange water balloon contains a mere 1/60th of an ounce of triacetone triperoxide (TATP), the chosen detonator of would-be shoe bomber Richard Reid. (Note: TATP is still explosive when it's wet, so it's probably one of the reasons for the TSA's draconian rules about liquids.) Add a 9-volt battery and KABOOM. But there's good news.

3.26.2009 at 07:41pm - Comment by Newbeak5

I wonder why nobody has tried carrying these explosives "internally",if you get my drift.Enough to destroy a plane could be easily carried.I believe our first line of defense has to be intelligence on terrorists.There are just too many ways to subvert airport security. As well,tightening up airport security just causes terrorists to probe other vulnerabilities in our society,of which there are plenty.Again,intelligence is the only way to stay ahead of these people.
Science

Power From The People

By Posted on 3.6.2009 7 Comments
Cave Junction, Oregon, was once, long ago, the center of a gold rush boom that, like so many booms, ultimately consumed its host. Prospectors mined the land around the towns in an ever-tightening circle, until the only gold left was below the saloons, assayers and burlesque halls. Those fell next. The towns were mined right out from under themselves—with no trace left of the old frontier burgs but scars in the earth.

3.8.2009 at 11:19am - Comment by Newbeak5

The way I see it,one major obstacle to using pedal-powered vehicles for commuting is the sweat factor.Several people in my office commute to work on bikes,and as soon as they get to work,they head for the shower in the gym in the company basement.